The Sacred and the Profane
The Sacred and the Profane
1889: Paris, France.
The Moulin Rouge has opened its doors.
Absinthe leads its revelers into hallucinatory mischief!
Edgar Allen Poe arrests readers across the globe with tales of the macabre, while composers Debussy, Ravel, and Caplet encounter the gamelan and modes of the East, providing mind-shifting inspiration...the newly-minted Eiffel Tower providing the backdrop.
Composers embrace subversive new ways of harmonic expression, while piano-makers Erard and Playel take note– seeing an opportunity for a new market. They compete to create an updated version of the harp that will accommodate these new sounds and harmonies, and commission Debussy and Ravel to showcase their new wares in opulent company salons:
The newly-minted concert harp is ushered to the front of the stage!
Join us as we track the repertoire that tells the tale – from the ouds and kanuns of the Islamic Golden Era, to the lutes of the high baroque, landing in the Belle Époque!
With virtuosic sweeps and shivers, to the most intimate of stories, to tales of the macabre – the harp takes center-stage alongside a consort of top soloists.
Watch The Trailer
Artist Collaborators:
Chad Hoopes, Violin
Stella Chen, Violin
Matthew Lipman, Viola
Mihai Marica, Cello
Repertoire:
Claude Debussy: Danses Sacrée et Profane (Quartet/Kibbey)
Camille Saint-Saëns: Fantaisie for Violin and Harp, Op. 124 (Chad Hoopes/Kibbey)
J.S. Bach: Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, BWV 565 (trans. for solo harp, Kibbey)
Benjamin Britten: Lachrymae (Matthew Lipman/Kibbey)
John Dowland: Flow my Tears (Matthew Lipman/Kibbey)
Bridget Kibbey: Bards and Griots (Kibbey)
Henriette Renié: Pièce Symphonique (Kibbey)
Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber: Preludium from Rosary Sonata, the Annunciation (Stella Chen, Kibbey)
CPE Bach: Violin Sonata in G Minor, H. 542.5 (Stella Chen/Kibbey)
André Caplet: The Mask of the Red Death, after Edgar Allen Poe (Quartet/Kibbey)
ASSOCIATED CONCERTS
Acclaim
"One of the most riveting and unusual chamber music performances of my lifetime....a Yo-Yo Ma of the harp."
-Vogue Magazine, Senior Editor Corey Seymour
"Kibbey and Hoopes conquered this late Romantic showpiece with fiery artistry and perfection of technique.”
-Seen and Heard International
In its early 20th century concert outings, [Debussy’s] Danses elicited mixed receptions, but here, unabashedly an audience rave. Indeed, the necessary kinetics made Kibbey’s performance seem like a dance in itself.
-The Boston Musical Intelligencer
"...As performance, it was pure punk rock."
-New York Music Daily
"Harpist-slash-Rockstar Bridget Kibbey brought a haunting program to the catacombs, accompanied by a crack team of top-shelf string players. Together, they performed epic music that hovers in the shadows between darkness and light, from Debussy’s Sacred and Profane dances, to Bach’s haunting Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, to the grand finale: André Caplet’s gripping Conte Fantastique. After experiencing this show, we can tell you that the harp does not equal angelic!”
-New York Events
"Yet it is Kibbey who treats us to all the possibilities of her harp, part piano, part orchestra, but in her hands, always an instrument of great mystery and beauty." "The audience was treated to another special evening, unexpected, thrilling and satisfying. This is what live classical music can be. Listening to Kibbey, the harp converts listeners.”
-Berkshire Fine Arts
