The Chameleon Arts Ensemble of Boston offered a stirring and cohesive performance at First Church Boston on April 5, centering its chamber concert on the theme of endings, legacies, and artistic connection. Aptly titled “How it ends?”—a nod to a quote by James Joyce—the program highlighted works associated with death, posthumous publication, or the later periods of composers’ lives. The performance, repeated on April 6, demonstrated the group’s strong sense of ensemble, especially as Rubén Rengel stepped in at the last minute for violinist Francesca dePasquale in three of the featured works.
The evening began with Maurice Ravel’s Sonata No. 1 for Violin and Piano, a piece unpublished during the composer’s lifetime but revived in a 100th-anniversary edition. Violinist Eunae Koh and pianist Vivian Chang-Freiheit presented an emotionally rich interpretation that balanced the piece’s contrasting themes. Koh’s use of bell-like harmonics added an ethereal touch, while the performers’ dynamic interplay brought the sonata’s intricate dialogue to life.
Richard Rodney Bennett’s After Syrinx I, inspired by Debussy’s Syrinx for solo flute, continued the program’s exploration of musical conversation. This duo for oboe and piano, performed by Nancy Dimock and Chang-Freiheit, felt like an intimate dialogue. The piece alternated between imitation and individuality, with delicate dynamics allowing the oboe to sing clearly, even in its lower range, against the piano’s textured accompaniment.
The concert’s centerpiece was the world premiere of Ghost Music by Laura Schwendinger. Set to Robert Frost’s poem of the same name, the piece is a deeply personal meditation on grief, inspired by the recent deaths of the composer’s father and sister. Soprano Mary Mackenzie led the septet with a haunting, wordless vocal entrance that set the tone for the emotional journey ahead.
As the ensemble—Deborah Boldin (flute), Gary Gorczyca (clarinet), Rubén Rengel (violin), Rafael Popper-Keizer (cello), Vivian Chang-Freiheit (piano), and Matt Sharrock (percussion)—joined in, the texture gradually expanded. Schwendinger’s use of sparse instrumentation, vivid word painting (such as the jagged line on “tumble and dart”), and the sensitive interplay between voice and instruments, made for a striking performance. Despite Rengel’s short notice, the ensemble performed as a tightly unified whole.
After the intermission, a short piece by Olivier Messiaen, written in 1991 for the 90th birthday celebration of Alfred Schlee, offered a welcome change of tone. Performed by Koh, Rengel, violist Scott Woolweaver, Popper-Keizer, and pianist Mika Sasaki, the work charmed the audience with playful unison pizzicatos and a breezy mood that ended too soon, leaving listeners wanting more.
The program closed with Gabriel Fauré’s Piano Quintet No. 2 in C minor, Op. 115, a piece brimming with maturity and expressiveness. The ensemble—Rengel, Koh, Woolweaver, Popper-Keizer, and Sasaki—delivered a nuanced performance. The first movement’s driving piano motifs supported a lush string texture. In the Allegro vivo, pizzicato techniques returned, adding rhythmic vitality and contrast. Woolweaver’s standout solo in the Andante moderato showcased his warm, resonant tone, while the final Allegro molto tied everything together in a joyful and well-coordinated flourish.
Throughout the evening, Chameleon Arts Ensemble reaffirmed its name—not just through the adaptability of its players, but in its ability to shift moods, textures, and themes with seamless artistry. This concert wasn’t just about how the music ends—but about how musicians come together to give endings their fullest expression.
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