The 11th International Pharos Contemporary Music Festival will open with the C Barré Plucked Trio performing the The (plucked) Strings Theory Project – a truly exciting programme for the unusual combination of mandolin, harp and guitar, that offers numerous timbral and technical possibilities. The concert is kindly supported by the Institut français de Chypre.
The C Barré Plucked Trio (Eva Debonne / harp, Natalia Korsak / mandolin/ Thomas Kech / guitar) is formed from the Ensemble C Barré – an instrumental ensemble of twelve core musicians founded and directed by Sébastien Boin. Currently associated with GMEM-CNCM-Marseille, a national centre for musical creation, this inimitable group is made up of musicians that are profoundly invested in the creation and dissemination of contemporary repertoire. The makeup of the Ensemble is unique, featuring very unusual combinations, and all its members are strong improvisers with a deep knowledge of other art forms as well as musical traditions. In the last few seasons, C Barré performed at the Philharmonie de Paris, Festival of Île de France, Radio France, Printemps des Arts de Monte-Carlo, Festival of Marseille, Festival Les Musiques and the Grand Théâtre de Provence and collaborated with ensembles such as the International Contemporary Ensemble (New York) and Neue Vocalsolisten (Stuttgart) as well as choreographers and dance companies such as Nederlands Dans Theater, Johanne Suanier, Michel Kelemenis and Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company (New York).
The (plucked) Strings Theory Project involves the commission and presentation of new and existing repertoire featuring an ensemble of three plucked strings: mandolin, guitar and harp. The unique combination of a plucked trio was immortalised in the 20th century by composer Goffredo Petrassi with his Seconda Serenata in 1962. A few years later, Hans-Werner Henze composed his Carillon, Récitatif, and Masque. This wonderful combination offers exciting and original timbral possibilities, and it is still underrepresented. The (plucked) Strings Theory Project aims to showcase this distinctive repertoire and ignite more interest. As part of a French American Cultural Exchange Grant, Ensemble C Barré was awarded in 2018, it commissioned new works from Evis Sammoutis, Frédéric Pattar and Birke Bertelsmeier. These works were premiered in France and subsequently in the USA, with Cyprus being their third destination.
