Les Ramoneurs, harpsichord duo, to perform program of original transcriptions for 2 harpsichords

Sunday, 19 July 2015, 4:30 pm

Parish Hall, St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 2300 Bancroft Way, Berkeley, CA 94704

Admission: $10, $5 students

https://www.facebook.com/events/895786613801309/

Berkeley-native Lillian Gordis and John Walthausen’s harpsichord duo, Les Ramoneurs, to perform original two-harpsichord arrangements of 17th- and 18th-century English and French music. Lillian Gordis (b. 1992, Berkeley, CA) is a professional harpsichordist in Paris, France. She studied in Berkeley with Katherine Perl Roberts and in New York with Arthur Haas before moving to Paris at the age of 16.

In 2014, she and John Walthausen founded the harpsichord duo, Les Ramoneurs, in commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the death of Jean-Philippe Rameau. Their ensemble bears the derisive name—meaning “chimney sweep”—given to the partisans of Rameau’s innovative harmony in his operatic works.

Gordis and Walthausen represent a new generation of Americans musicians formed by multinational and transcultural experiences and studies. Deeply involved in the early music world in the US and in Europe for several years, they met during their studies at the Schola Cantorum in Basel. Both are currently pursuing careers as soloists and continuo players and perform frequently in Europe and the USA.

Their interest and sensitivity to the acoustic possibilities of a harpsichord duo lead them to experiment with a vast repertoire. Les Ramoneurs has compiled suites composed of instrumental works, drawn from the opera and the salon, transcribed for two harpsichords by the duo.

Coached by Skip Sempé, a great pioneer of the practice of playing on two harpsichords, Les Ramoneurs brings tremendous virtuosity to their transcriptions and enrich them via a deep familiarity with the expressive possibilities of double harpsichord performance. Gordis and Walthausen’s passion and respect for artistic collaboration is evident in their transcriptions where they specially privilege improvisation and risk during their concerts.