Folias Duo
Faculty Guest Recital Jacobs School of Music
October 25, 2024 at 8pm
Auer Hall – In-person and live streamed
Live Stream Link Here
We are thrilled to announce that Carmen Maret has been appointed to teach flute as an associated adjunct for the 2024–2025 academic year at the prestigious Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. To kick off this exciting year, Folias Duo will perform a faculty guest recital at Jacobs School of Music on Friday, October 25, at 8 PM in Auer Hall.
This concert is particularly special for us, not only because we’ll be sharing our music with the incredible flutists and guitarists at Jacobs, but also with the diverse interdisciplinary community at the school. It’s an honor to perform at an institution that is home to the oldest Latin American Music Center in the United States, a place where culture, history, and innovation come together in powerful ways.
Repertoire
Bergeron: Dragonfly (2019)
Bergeron: Selections from “Great Lakes” (2023)
Maret: The Way Through (2023)
Maret: Meadow Dream (2021)
Our program will feature Andrew Bergeron’s complete Dragonfly set, which we recorded on our 2023 album Heartdance. This nature-inspired work captures the delicate beauty of dragonflies, and we are eager to share it in a great hall.
We’re also excited to premiere the newest movement from Andrew’s Great Lakes series—a 12-minute piece inspired by Lake Superior, which showcases the grandeur and mystery of the largest of the Great Lakes. Additionally, Carmen will perform Lake Erie, the solo flute movement from this series, giving audiences a taste of Andrew’s intricate solo flute writing.
In addition to Andrew’s works, Carmen Maret will present two of her original compositions: The Way Through for piccolo, and Meadow Dream, a virtuosic flute and guitar piece that draws on the harmonic language of Alexander Scriabin. This latter work also incorporates melodic quotes from the tune Pure Imagination, weaving together familiar and modern elements.
We can’t wait to share this exciting program with the Indiana University community and beyond. Join us for a night of music that blends the natural world with innovative compositional techniques, performed in one of the most distinguished music schools in the country.
PROGRAM NOTES
Andrew Bergeron’s Dragonfly (2019)
Aquatic
Molting
Flying
Heartdance
Dragonfly was drafted during a month-long retreat in 2019, when Folias Duo paused their touring schedule to compose in rustic cabins in Oregon. Immersed in the natural beauty of their surroundings, Bergeron sketched these pieces by hand, inspired by the serene environment and the dragonfly’s life cycle.
Each of the four movements in Dragonfly represents a different stage of the dragonfly’s development, reflecting both the delicate and dynamic aspects of its transformation.
Aquatic
The opening movement, Aquatic, captures the early life of the dragonfly in its water-bound phase. Bergeron drew inspiration from the Argentine chacarera dance, but innovated on this traditional form by subtracting a beat from each rhythmic cycle, creating a distinctive asymmetrical meter of 11/16. The flute and guitar weave together in the Lydian-dominant mode, building tension through lyrical melodies. As the piece moves toward its coda, a dramatic unwinding of arpeggios in both instruments evokes the movement of water, adding a sense of flow and release.
Molting
Molting, the second movement, depicts the dragonfly’s transformative process of shedding its skin and growing wings. Bergeron employs the technique of double tremolo in both flute and guitar, giving the music an ethereal quality—both rapid and yet expansive. This movement is structured in two connected sections, shifting between G Dorian and A Phrygian modes. The tempo change, marked by a 5:4 ratio, mirrors the dragonfly’s metamorphosis, from the slow shedding of its old form to the rapid emergence of something new.
Flying
The third movement, Flying, is a lively dance in 7/8 time that embodies the freedom and energy of the dragonfly in flight. Bergeron juxtaposes B minor and Bb major tonalities, creating a bright and unpredictable harmonic landscape. The flute part, influenced by Astor Piazzolla’s expressive etudes, includes flutter tongue and extended tremolo techniques, while the guitar provides a rhythmic pulse that mirrors the flapping of wings. The piece reaches a thrilling conclusion with virtuosic flute arpeggios, soaring above a repeated guitar figure.
Heartdance
The final movement, Heartdance, is based on the Zortziko, a traditional Basque dance in 5/8 time, which Bergeron studied through the music of Isaac Albéniz. Its bittersweet tonality, rooted in the 5th degree of the melodic minor scale, mirrors the dragonfly’s fleeting beauty. The piece captures the joy of the dragonfly’s mating dance, tempered by the brevity of its life. With intricate duet melodies, arpeggios, and contrary motion scales, Heartdance showcases both flute and guitar. As it concludes, the guitar resonates deeply with extended dominant chords while the flute recalls earlier themes, creating a reflective and poignant finale as the dragonfly lands one last time.
Bergeron: Selections from “Great Lakes” (2023)
Lake Erie
Lake Superior
Andrew’s Great Lakes pieces not only paint a vivid picture of the lakes’ beauty but also reflect the powerful and unpredictable forces of nature. These new works highlight Folias Duo’s ongoing commitment to environmental awareness through music, a central theme in our repertoire continuing our mission to raise awareness about water conservation and the natural wonders of Michigan and the United States.
Lake Erie
In the spring of 2023, Andrew Bergeron composed Lake Erie, a piece that brings to life the ever-changing moods of one of the Great Lakes. The piece opens with a series of lively arpeggios, reminiscent of a bustling day by the shore. As the day progresses and the sun begins to set, the mood shifts. A contemplative section in C# minor emerges, but the calmness is short-lived, however, as the music of the day returns in a sweeping, energetic flow that rushes toward the coda. The piece concludes with an unexpected twist, a set of double-tongued passages that end abruptly.
Lake Superior
We are excited to present Lake Superior, the newest composition by Andrew Bergeron, written during the summer of 2024 at home in Michigan and in rustic cabins across Maryland, Virginia, and New York. Like its namesake, Lake Superior is the most expansive and intricate work in Andrew’s Great Lakes series, both in scope and in musical complexity. Scored for flute, alto flute, piccolo, and guitar, Lake Superior seeks to capture not only the stunning beauty of the largest of the Great Lakes but also its raw power and immense intensity.
Musically, Lake Superior is driven by odd meters, chromatic harmonies, and dynamic shifts that mirror the vast and often turbulent waters of the lake. The piece flows through multiple sections, each offering distinct contrasts in rhythm, key, and intensity.
Maret: The Way Through (2023)
Composed during a residency in West Virginia, Carmen Maret’s The Way Through reflects on life’s trials and bittersweet growth. Inspired by the guitar strumming of the Chilean group Inti-Illimani the piece also has a playful nod to Thundercat’s tune Them Changes in the middle section. A short improvisational detour continues before returning to a more introspective, melancholic tone, with a haunting 7/4 rhythm leading to the conclusion. The Way Through explores life’s emotional complexities, blending lightness with deeper reflections on change.
Maret: Meadow Dream (2021)
Meadow Dream is Carmen Maret’s most ambitious work, blending the mysticism of Scriabin’s harmonic language with the whimsical joy of the song “Pure Imagination” from Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. Opening with trumpet calls mimicked by guitar harmonics, the piece moves through contrasting sections, weaving mystery and simplicity. Inspired by a meadow setting, Carmen created a dynamic, virtuosic composition that incorporates a wide range of flute and guitar techniques, challenging both instruments while maintaining an element of surprise. The piece reflects Gene Wilder’s words: “If you want to view paradise, simply look around and view it.”