Bach’s Lunch Lecture and Recital Series

Concord Community Music School, Concord, NH

Toward the Sea by Toru Takemitsu for Alto Flute and Guitar

Histoire Du Tango by Astor Piazzolla for Flute and Guitar

Selections from John Downland’s Lute Songs arranged for Flute and Guitar.

Each piece evokes images and references the history

of different cultures and time periods. Takemitsu’s Toward the Sea, commissioned by

Greenpeace for the Save the Whales Campaign, contains references to Melville’s Moby Dick

through the titles “The Night”, “Moby Dick”, and “Cape Cod” and focuses on emphasizing the

spirituality of the book, quoting the passage “meditation and water are wedded together”. In

Histoire Du Tango, Piazzolla aims to explore the history of the Tango in four movements:

Bordello 1900, Café 1930, Nightclub 1960, and Concert Aujourd’hui. Each movement paints a

picture of the changes that the Tango went through during each age. Finally, in John

Downland’s Lute Songs, the image of melancholy that was fashionable in music of the time is

always present.