‘New’ Vivaldi at Klein Karoo Klassique
An unique adaptation of Vivaldi's Four Seasons masterpiece by the group World Café will be performed at Oudtshoorn's Klein Karoo Klassique festival in August. This festival of classical music, art, food and wine takes place from Friday 11 to Sunday 13 August.
Vivaldi composed his Four Seasons for string orchestra in 1723. The timeless masterpiece was published with four poems and it is alleged that Vivaldi wrote the verses himself. Petrus de Beer (violin), Stanislav Angelov (accordion) and Schalk Joubert (bass and recitation), members of the music group World Café, have now adapted this work by Vivaldi in a special way, to make it more accessible to a wider audience and to enable them to easily perform it on recital tours.
"We separated the original score in solos for violin, accordion and electric guitar. Stanislav performs the orchestra music, Schalk plays the cello, double bass and viola music and I play the music of the violin," De Beer says. The sonnet, specially translated from Italian to Afrikaans by Dr Dawid de Villiers, is recited by Joubert and binds the four musical seasons together for a journey through the seasons with word and music.
De Beer and Angelov performed at
Klein Karoo Klassique last year as part of the Cape Tango Ensemble. According to the World Café musicians, Klein Karoo Klassique creates a creative space for classical musicians to be innovative and provides a right of existence in the classical industry.
"Festivals like these bring music to a community where it is not always possible to experience a complete symphony orchestra. It creates a wonderful opportunity for audiences to experience live music. That is essentially what it is about, for both artists and audiences," says De Beer. "We look forward to introducing this Vivaldi work to audiences and sharing the experience with classical music lovers. It is also included on our first CD, which will be launched at the recital and sold after the performance."
Vivaldi se Vier Seisoene Herbesoek takes place on Saturday 12 August at 09:30 in the NG Moederkerk in Oudtshoorn. This will be the venue for all this year's recitals and will encompass a CD store and tasting experiences from the region. Tickets are available from Computicket, Shoprite/ Checkers and House & Home at R125 each.
For more information on the Klein
Karoo Klassique and for the complete music programme, visit www.klassique. co.za, or Facebook Klein Karoo Klassique, or Twitter at @kkarooklassique.
We separated the original score in solos for violin, accordion and electric guitar.