Zafraan Ensemble

“Man did not weave the web of life; he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.” This quote, attributed to Chief Si'ahl, describes on a larger scale processes that can be seen both in the compositions and in the chamber music performance itself. A work is never created without its history.

In “Arras,” Keiko Devaux draws on sound influences that represent the professions of her ancestors: the sound of the wind sweeping across the farm fields, the sound of a mechanical loom, and the musical traditions (French chansons and American-Japanese folk music) with which her family members expressed their identity.

The spinning of the threads of life, a recurring motif in Indo-European mythology, forms the basis of Eres Holz's composition “Kataklothes”: the figurations of the 10 instruments are woven into a progressive “chorale” that becomes increasingly rhythmic, complex, and playful. Csaba Ajtony's new work “Taajuu” (Haida for “wind”) expands the focus on the visual components of ensemble playing: the interconnection of coordinative gestures and sound-producing movements forms the starting point for the jointly developed composition.

Supported by the Azrieli Foundation