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The\u00a0Festival of the Creative Arts<\/a>\u00a0recently highlighted the chamber music of Frank Martin in a concert featuring faculty from the\u00a0College of Music<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0Department of Classics<\/a>.<\/p>\n The faculty chamber music concert, held Sunday at the Longmire Recital Hall, offered a deep dive into the 20th-century composer\u2019s repertoire, bridging the gap between academic theory and world-class performance.<\/p>\n \u201cThis program invited audiences to experience the full range of Frank Martin\u2019s voice\u2014from music that is bold, angular and harmonically adventurous to works that are lyrical, intimate and deeply expressive,\u201d said Valerie\u00a0M.\u00a0Trujillo, professor of music and curator of the concert.<\/p>\n Active during the first half of the 20th century, Martin is celebrated for a style that emphasizes transparency and exactness.<\/p>\n The Festival of the Creative Arts recently highlighted the chamber music of Frank Martin in a concert featuring faculty from the College of Music and the Department of Classics.(Connor Meyers)Active during the first half of the 20th century, Martin is celebrated for a style that emphasizes transparency and exactness. (Connor Meyers)A notable highlight of the program was the \u201cFour Sonnets to Cassandra,\u201d a setting of poetry by Pierre de Ronsard. (Connor Meyers)Martin achieved his signature ‘crunchy’ dissonance by layering melodies and harmonies from different keys together. (Connor Meyers)<\/p>\n Dylan Principi, an assistant professor of music theory, provided a pre-concert talk to set the stage for the audience. He compared the interaction between the instruments to the precision of a Swiss watch, noting that they interact in\u00a0very specific\u00a0ways without ever muddying together.<\/p>\n \u201cMartin achieved his signature \u2018crunchy\u2019 dissonance by layering melodies and harmonies from different keys together. This approach allowed him to create a modern sound that still\u00a0retained\u00a0a sense of beauty, rather than abandoning tonality altogether,\u201d\u00a0Principi said.<\/p>\n A notable highlight\u00a0of the program\u00a0was the \u201cFour Sonnets to Cassandra,\u201d a setting of poetry by Pierre de Ronsard.\u00a0To provide historical and literary context, the program included insights from Amy Dill, teaching faculty from\u00a0the\u00a0classics department,\u00a0regarding\u00a0the Greek mythological figure of Cassandra, a priestess condemned to speak true prophecies that no one believed.<\/p>\n \u201cUnlike other ancient prophets whose words were not believed, Cassandra\u00a0remained\u00a0to face the future she foretold, speaking to her family, her city,\u00a0and\u00a0her\u00a0community, begging\u00a0them to hear her words,\u201d Dill said.\u00a0\u201cShe lost everything for her devotion to the truth, and her voice continues to speak through art to those who might hear it now, and profit by her message.\u201d<\/p>\n The recital featured FSU faculty and guest artists, including Trujillo, Geoffrey Deibel, Read Gainsford, Suzanne Lommler, Mary Matthews, Pamela Ryan, Gregory Sauer, Natalie Sherer, Marcy Stonikas and Shannon Thomas.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Trujillo emphasized that exposing students to such unique repertoire is vital for their growth, as\u00a0it\u00a0helps open their ears to styles they might not\u00a0encounter\u00a0elsewhere.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Festival of the Creative Arts gave us the perfect opportunity to spotlight a composer I\u2019ve long admired while bringing together performance, theory and the humanities in a way that reflects the College of Music\u2019s commitment to artistic exploration,\u201d Trujillo said. \u201cMy hope is that audiences left\u00a0curious \u2014 wanting to listen more closely, learn more and continue discovering Frank Martin\u2019s music long after the concert ends.\u201d<\/p>\n