Kammerorchester Basel’s “Nachtklang” (Night Sounds) concert in the Novartis Pavilion bridges the gap between music and science. You can explore the pavilion on your own before the concert or register for a guided tour here. "La Gamme, en forme d'un petit Opéra" is a programmatic chamber music work in which Marin Marais translates the formal structure of French opera to a chamber trio consisting of violin, viola da gamba, and harpsichord (basso continuo). The work, lasting over half an hour, is built upon an ascending and descending C major scale (la gamme is French for "the scale"), with a new, imaginary operatic scene unfolding on each scale degree.
The program also takes you back to an 18th-century bladder stone operation. The French composer and viola da gamba virtuoso Marais himself had to undergo this operation at the advanced age of 64. Although this operation was already a specialized discipline, it was risky, with a mortality rate of 30%. Survivors often struggled with serious complications such as infections or incontinence. Marais survived the operation, and in gratitude for his recovery, he composed "Tableau de l'Operation." This suite, an example of program music, musically illustrates the phases of the operation.
François Couperin was already combining French and Italian stylistic elements when Marais was still rejecting Italian forms. Couperin's “Concerts royaux,” which he composed for the court of Louis XIV, exemplify this blending the French suite form as the basic framework and Italian stylistic devices such as fugal movements; slow, stately adagios; or long phrases with virtuosic figures—although the suite form always remained dominant. The absence of instrumentation markings in the score is a distinctive feature of the “Concerts royaux”. The same piece can be played on the harpsichord alone, or the harpsichord can take over the bass line while the violin, viola da gamba, oboe, or flute joins in. This freedom is also found in Marais's work.
Tickets are CHF 40 for adults and CHF 20 for youths and students.

Website
kammerorchesterbasel.ch/de/konzerte/nachtklang-im-museum-i.html

Where
Novartis Pavillon
St. Johanns-Hafen-Weg 5
4056 Basel

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