Oratorio Chorale premieres “Travels of the Guitar”

BRUNSWICK — For their spring concert, the Oratorio Chorale will present the world premiere of Vineet Shende’s “Pravasa: Travels of the Guitar,” a work commissioned by the Chorale. Performances of are at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 18, at Studzinski Recital Hall, Bowdoin College, Brunswick, and at 3 p.m. Sunday, May 19, at Falmouth Congregational Church, Falmouth.

Pravasa, music for guitar and chorus, outlines the journey and history of the guitar and its ancestors.

The program also features composer Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s Romancero Gitano (Seven Poems by Federico Garcia Lorca) for chorus and guitar. Castelnuovo-Tedesco was among the 20th century’s most prolific composers for guitar. The Oratorio Chorale will be accompanied by virtuoso guitarist, Aaron Larget-Caplan, under the baton of director Peter Frewen.

Vineet Shende’s work incorporates a wide variety of styles, spanning musical compositions from the rhythmic world of North Indian classical music to the energy of modern rock. Shende’s music has been performed throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia

Classical guitarist Aaron Larget-Caplan’s recitals, chamber performances, and solo work have been heard in Italy, Spain and across the United States. Larget-Caplan has taught master classes at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, Adams State College (Colorado), California State University at Bakersfield, University of Vermont and the Boston Classical Guitar Society.

Derek Herzer, Oratorio Chorale accompanist, will perform two piano pieces: Nikolai Medtner’s Improvisation in B flat minor, Op. 31 Nr. 1 and Alexander Glazunov’s Idylle in F sharp major, Op. 103. Medtner is primarily known as the composer of the Fairytales and numerous piano sonatas, but the Improvisation that lies outside the realm of these more popular works is equally admirable. Glazunov’s Idylle marks the end of his composing for solo piano, and as such contains elements from all of his creative periods.

Concert tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the door, half price for students, and free for children under 12. Please note that separate tickets are required for the Brunswick and Falmouth concerts. Tickets may be purchased from members of the Chorale, at Gulf of Maine Books in Brunswick; Now You’re Cooking and Lisa Marie’s Made in Maine in Bath; Clayton’s in Yarmouth; Book Review in Falmouth; Sherman’s Books and Stationery in Freeport; and Starbird Music and Longfellow Books in Portland.

For more information, visit www.oratoriochorale.org.

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