COMPASSION is Trio Lucaria’s latest concert program. They follow a thematic line and tell a story spanning several centuries, from early music into contemporary times.
Philipp Friedrich Böddecker wrote a virtuoso piece for bassoon based on the pleading for compassion of a peasant girl from the 15th century. She begs her parents not to be sent away to a monastery—a common practice in families when there were too many mouths to feed at home. With this piece, Trio Lucaria begins the concert and introduces the theorbo to the audience, adding the sound and color of a period instrument to this period music.
We continue with the festive Ciaccona by Tarquinio Merula. Following the peasant girl’s pleading, imagine she might have been successful in avoiding being sent away and instead celebrates with other inhabitants of her village.
Or were the parents dancing while the girl was sent to a monastery and forced to do a lot of praying? Prayers may be spoken or sung, and they often share mantra-like specific rhythms and tonalities. Les Folies d’Espagne by Marin Marais presents such recurring meditative yet exciting and ever-changing patterns. Following traditional practice, we add our own variations to the piece, which, through increasingly intense use of contemporary playing techniques, lead into the world premiere of Ardo Ran Varres’ Year of Compassion, dedicated to the Dalai Lama’s 90th birthday.
PERFORMERS
Trio Lucaria, consisting of Kristin Müürsepp (flute/piccolo), Priit Peterson (guitar/theorbo), and Stefan Heinrich Kerstan (bassoon), has been playing together since the summer of 2022. Their first concert took place on July 1st at St. John’s Church in Tartu, followed by performances at Alatskivi Castle, Vastseliina Church, and the German Cultural Institute in Tartu.
In the summer of 2023, they performed at wind instrument festivals in Otepää and Võru, and in 2024, they played at Knorring Manor in Tartu.
Although the ensemble consists of bass, harmony, and melody instruments, no original music has previously been composed specifically for this combination. Nevertheless, they have put together programs that allow them to fully explore each instrument’s potential, and when necessary, they adapt and arrange music themselves to highlight their best qualities.
University of Tartu Museum • Lossi 25, 51003 Tartu, Tartu maakond, Estonia
