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.
The faculty chamber music concert, held Sunday at the Longmire Recital Hall, offered a deep dive into the 20th-century composer’s repertoire, bridging the gap between academic theory and world-class performance.
“This program invited audiences to experience the full range of Frank Martin’s voice—from music that is bold, angular and harmonically adventurous to works that are lyrical, intimate and deeply expressive,” said Valerie M. Trujillo, professor of music and curator of the concert.
Active during the first half of the 20th century, Martin is celebrated for a style that emphasizes transparency and exactness.
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 very specific ways without ever muddying together.
“Martin achieved his signature ‘crunchy’ dissonance by layering melodies and harmonies from different keys together. This approach allowed him to create a modern sound that still retained a sense of beauty, rather than abandoning tonality altogether,” Principi said.
A notable highlight of the program was the “Four Sonnets to Cassandra,” a setting of poetry by Pierre de Ronsard. To provide historical and literary context, the program included insights from Amy Dill, teaching faculty from the classics department, regarding the Greek mythological figure of Cassandra, a priestess condemned to speak true prophecies that no one believed.
“Unlike other ancient prophets whose words were not believed, Cassandra remained to face the future she foretold, speaking to her family, her city, and her community, begging them to hear her words,” Dill said. “She 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.”
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.
Trujillo emphasized that exposing students to such unique repertoire is vital for their growth, as it helps open their ears to styles they might not encounter elsewhere.
“The Festival of the Creative Arts gave us the perfect opportunity to spotlight a composer I’ve long admired while bringing together performance, theory and the humanities in a way that reflects the College of Music’s commitment to artistic exploration,” Trujillo said. “My hope is that audiences left curious — wanting to listen more closely, learn more and continue discovering Frank Martin’s music long after the concert ends.”
For more information, visit research.fsu.edu/fca.