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Box Office 01782 734340 | keele . ac . uk / artskeele
Keele Concerts
Mela Guitar Quartet
7 December 2022 7:30pm
Westminster Theatre , Keele University
Entry £ 16 | Students and ages 16 & under FREE
Book online or on the door
Matthew Robinson George Tarlton Daniel Bovey Jiva Housden
“ An exalted level of perfection ” - Naxos . com
This program traverses the ages with the Mela Guitar Quartet ’ s scintillating arrangements of much-loved classical works and original compositions .
The works by Saint-Saëns , Debussy , Ravel , Glinka and Holst all look back to a previous age with their own artistic voice . Bacchanale by Saint-Saëns is biblical in its inspiration , depicting Samson being dragged into the temple of Baccus as the priests are dancing this frenzied , exotic dance . The Debussy Arabesques written in his early 20s are some of his first impressionistic works and are full of exoticism and beautiful filigree . The Ravel is a dreamy evocation of a Pavane ( slow processional dance ) that a little princess may have danced at the Spanish court in a previous age . Gustav Holst ’ s Fugal Overture reimagines the baroque form of the Fugue , in exciting , modernist way and the Glinka looks to the medieval fairytales of knights heroically rescuing princesses with the exuberant Ruslan and Ludmila Overture .
The original works are colourful , dramatic explorations of the possibilities of four guitars .
My Clock is Broken ! by British composer Laura Snowden was commissioned by the quartet in 2019 and explores the idea of trauma and acceptance , with an achingly beautiful ending reminiscent of Pink Floyd .
The title track from the quartet ’ s 2018 album is Pluck , Strum and Hammer and combines the music of Jimi Hendrix and G . F . Handel . Their houses are on Mayfair ’ s Brook Street , separated by a wall and 300 years , their music passes each other in the score like two good neighbours passing each other in the street .
Opals by the Australian composer Phillip Houghton is a mini masterwork , every movement of which depicts a different opal and its unique characteristic through the use of texture , colour and rhythmic layers . A musical tourde-force !
The concert ends with a trio of Brazilian pieces full of lyricism , fun , and percussive virtuosity .