andPlay’s “Translucent Harmonies” allows listeners to deeply immerse themselves in sound, silence, and resonance. This hour-long program includes Prisma Interius VIII by Catherine Lamb (USA) and Vid stenmuren blir tanken blomma by Kristofer Svensson (Sweden), both composed in just intonation. The rare experience to hear a full program in just intonation invites one to listen in a very detailed way to the “sensation of tone.” This shifts the concept of intonation, which is often unnoticed by the listener, to the foreground, where it becomes a focal point to explore the most simple, yet nuanced, relationships in sound.

Though the evening is one curated experience, the two pieces complement each other in their form. Lamb, in her chant-like work, uses droned pitches to slowly build the relationships between notes and intervals, transforming them into longer phrases. Alternatively, Svensson creates his work out of silence, with brief melodic fragments appearing against a backdrop of silence and noise. Together, they pause time – guiding the audience through an alternate reality where there is ample opportunity to sit and listen.

andPlay
andPlay is committed to expanding the existing violin/viola duo repertoire by commissioning new works and actively collaborating with living artists. The New York City-based duo of Maya Bennardo, violin, and Hannah Levinson, viola, first played to an eager crowd on Fire Island in the summer of 2012 and has since commissioned over forty works.

andPlay has collaborated closely with numerous composers, including Scott Wollschleger, Victoria Cheah, Clara Iannotta, David Bird, Bethany Younge and Sky Macklay, and consider those relationships to be an integral part of their artistic process. Their current season includes a return to in-perform events and touring, with andPlay performing in Pennsylvania, Texas, California, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and New York. andPlay will perform new premieres this season by Shawn Jaeger, James Parker, Mariel Roberts, Lester St. Louis, and Maya Bennardo.