The collaboration between Rhiannon Giddens and Francesco Turrisi demonstrates »the ease with which music can transcend the boundaries of genre and nationality« (NPR). Together with multi-instrumentalist Turrisi, Giddens has recorded several acclaimed albums and realised major projects, such as the ballet »Black Lucy and the Bard«. The pair opens Rhiannon Giddens’ »Reflektor« festival in the intimate atmosphere of the Recital Hall.
The duo playfully blend genres across time and space: American and Italian folk music, early Baroque songs, African-American spirituals, as well as their own compositions and deconstructed arias, highlight the fluid transitions between classical and popular sounds.
The programme’s title, »When I Am Laid in Earth«, alludes to Henry Purcell’s famous Baroque aria, also known as »Dido’s Lament«. Giddens and Turrisi share a passion for early music; their albums are always preceded by intensive research. For Giddens, Purcell »wrote pop songs several hundred years ago. Essentially, we are creating a hybrid space here in which a pop song from the 1960s can exist alongside a pop song from the 17th century«.
PERFORMERS
Rhiannon Giddens vocals
Francesco Turrisi piano
PROGRAM
»When I Am Laid in Earth«
American and Italian folk music, spirituals and arias
