Annapolis Chamber Music Festival: Steampunk: Clearfield, Bruce and Bach

Themes of renewal and reimagining abound in the concert that marries music from four centuries apart. J.S. Bach’s second orchestral suite teems with the composer’s signature ability to craft endlessly satisfying cycles of tension and release, all while featuring the virtuosity of the flute. British composer David Bruce’s “Steampunk,” inspired by the retro-futuristic aesthetic of the same name, adds the complex and arcane construction of wind instruments to the traditional sound and look of the strings. His piece is underpinned by mechanically-tinged basslines and motives that harken to ticking clocks and turning gears. Andrea Clearfield’s “Spirit Island” for flute, bass, and piano was inspired by more natural phenomena: a canoe trip through Maligne Lake in Jasper National Park in the Canadian Rockies. Shifting timbres and colors echo the changes in nature, from slow, glacial erosion to fast-changing light and weather.