Walla Walla Chamber Music Festival

Free: Open Rehearsal

Antonio Vivaldi and André Caplet

Join WWCMF Musicians as they explore music by Antonio Vivaldi and André Caplet in the intimate tasting room of Dama Wines on Main Street in downtown Walla Walla. It’s chilly outside, but it’s toasty up close to the furnace of intensive classical music rehearsal. You will be captivated by the process or your money back! This event is free and open to the public. All ages welcome.

Artists: Timothy Christie, Viola; Elizabeth Landis, Harp; Vanessa Moss, violin; Maria Sampen, Violin; Sally Singer Tuttle, cello

Time :  10:00 am - 12:00 pm

Location : Dama Wines

Special Event - Quince Ensemble

Forbidden love. That’s the quickest synopsis of the Arthurian-era legend of Tristan and Isolde. Fleshing it out a bit, Tristan is charged with escorting Isolde, an Irish princess, from Ireland to Cornwall by boat so that she can marry King Mark of Cornwall. On the way the two somehow accidentally drink a love potion. It works. Tristan is doomed to suffer death at the hands of King Mark’s henchmen. Isolde follows suit, owing to the potency of her love for Tristan and her heartbreak upon his death.

The most famous retelling of the story is Richard Wagner’s 1865 opera, Tristan und Isolde. “Mild und leise…” For Wagner fans, these words are like a clubhouse secret password. Loosely translated, they mean “softly and gently.” But,what could that possibly mean? In the context of Wagner’s opera (music drama), they represent the commingling of love and death. It’s Act III. Isolde looks upon the dead body of her (illicit/accidental) true love, Tristan. She contemplates the tranquility of his state, savoring a new beauty even as she savors the pain of his loss. She proceeds to sing herself to an ecstatic death, overcome by his strange perfection - a Liebestod or ‘Love Death.’

Which brings us to tonight’s work, love fail, by David Lang. This masterpiece is a reexamining of the medieval romance of Tristan and Isolde from different sources. “Mild und Leise” becomes “mild, light” in movement 12 of Lang’s retelling. Scored for four treble voices and percussion, Quince Ensemble brings the work to life like no other group on the world stage today. And we have them all to ourselves. This is a special night in the now 18-year arc of WWCMF. We return to Foundry Vineyards, site of so many wonderful performances over the years.

All selections will be announced from the stage.

Artists: Kayleigh Butcher, voice; Amanda DeBoer Bartlett, voice; Liz Pearse, voice; Carrie Henneman Shaw, voice

Time :  6:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Location : Foundry Vineyards