In Brief
An afternoon of French Music to be performed

Historical Piano Concerts 22nd fall season opens with music for piano and violin by French composers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries at 4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 3, at the Ashburnham Community Church, Main Street (Route 12). Qi Liu will perform on the piano; Shan Jiang will perform on the violin.

The first half of the program consists of two suites of Impressionist pieces for solo piano: Estampes by Debussy (1903), and Miroirs by Ravel (1904-'05). The three pieces in Estampes evoke images of Chinese Pagodas (Pagodes), a festive Evening in Granada, (La soir'e dans Grenade) and Gardens in the Rain (Jardins sous la pluie). Miroirs consists of five pieces: Noctuelles (Night Moths), Oiseaux tristes (Sad Birds), Une barque sur loc'an (A Boat on the Ocean), Alborada del gracioso (A Comedians Farewell to His Lover at Dawn), and La vall'e des cloches (The Valley of Bells).

The second half of the program features two sonatas for piano and violin, by Debussy and by C'sar Franck.

The 1877 piano to be used in this concert represents the important French firm, Erard. Advertised as the company's "Extra-large Concert Model", this instrument has ninety keys, rather than the present standard 88; extending to a G in the bass, it allows the pianist to play the low Gsharp in Ravel's "Boat on the Ocean", which has to be faked on modern pianos. Erard continued making this model of concert piano into the 1920s.

The Historical Piano Concerts are held at Ashburnham Community Church on Sunday afternoons at 4 p.m. The church is wheelchair-accessible. Admission is $10 per person, children and students, free. For more information, call (978) 827-6232 or visit their Web site at www.frederickcollection. org. For reservations call (978) 827-5000.