This Pick of the Week features the 2020 virtual performance of the International Contemporary Ensemble. Experience evocative, ethereal timbres from two very unusual instruments, two world premieres, and intimate conversations with composers Suzanne Farrin and Ash Fure. This special digital concert brings you the first performance of Farrin's “Nacht,” written for ondes Martenot, harp, percussion, bass, and voice as a co-commission from the Library's Carolyn Royall Just Fund and ICE. Farrin explores concepts of language, translation, and identity through the texts of the great mystic poets Rumi and Hafiz.

Ash Fure's “interior listening protocol 1,” created for this time of social distancing, calls for your engagement with a pair of instruments most music lovers can easily find: two mason jars or two large glasses. Fure leads a slowly evolving choreography creating an immersive, shimmering sound cloud for viewers and participants.

As part of this excerpt from the evening's offerings, you can also sample a short documentary about Suzanne Farrin and “Nacht.” The film opens a window into the creative development of the piece, and the challenges of remote rehearsals and performances in a virtual music lab.