'The Fermented Fermata' features music inspired by the apocalypse

Visions of the apocalypse, as expressed in music, will be featured in a concert being presented this week as part of a Yale seminar exploring how different cultures and religions have historically viewed the end of the millennium.

Titled "The Fermented Fermata: The Apocalypse in Music," the concert will be held at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 12, in the common room of Davenport College, 248 York St. The event is free and open to the public. The performance is sponsored by the Sawyer/
Mellon Seminar titled "Millennium and Millennialism: Motifs and Movements," and by the Middle East Studies Council at the Yale Center for International and Area Studies.

Now in its second year, the "Millennium and Millennialism" seminar examines how societies around the world reacted to previous turn-of-the-century experiences -- both religious and secular -- and how these common cultural paradigms gave rise to new social and political movements. The seminar also explores the effects of the upcoming millennium change on contemporary society.

The music featured in the Nov. 12 concert reflects some of the fears and tensions commonly associated with the apocalypse. Segments of three classical works will be featured: Haydn's "Seven Last Words of Christ," Messiaen's "Quartet from the End of Time" and Brahms' "Piano Trio op. 8."

The concert will also feature the world premiere of "Thor and the Serpent" by Michael Kelly. The work was commissioned by the Iceland Trio, which will perform the piece. The title of Kelly's work refers to myth of "Ragnarok," the doomsday of the Norse/
Icelandic gods. According to Norse mythology, during that final battle, Thor, the god of thunder, will slay a giant serpent, only to succumb to the creature's poisonous fumes.

The Iceland Trio -- featuring Nina-Margret Grimsdottir on piano, Sibbi Bernhardsson on violin and Sigurdur Bjarki Gunnarsson on cello -- was founded in New York earlier this year. The group has performed both in the United States and in Iceland.

Kelly will also perform on the viola and create music using a computer during the concert. The composer/performer is currently pursuing graduate work in music composition at the Juilliard School of Music in New York.

Also performing will be School of Music student Sarah Kim, a violinist who has performed with the Russian Samarra Philharmonic, as well as with orchestras in Wisconsin, Massachusetts and Indiana.