‘Pastoral 21’ Performed at COP26 Glasgow

The new project ‘Pastoral 21’ explores how the concept of Pastoral has changed in this time of Climate Crisis and that “while nature brought unalloyed joy for Beethoven’s contemporaries, the pastoral brings a sense of fear for us, considering how mankind has damaged it” (Prokofiev, The Times).

Commissioned by the Verbier Festival, Gabriel joins forces with the UNLTD Collective (Verbier Academy Festival alumni musicians) to present a music and sound experience for string sextet, live electronics and field recordings. The performance took place at Stereo in Glasgow during COP26. Whilst Gabriel was in Glasgow, he took part in the ‘Global Day of Action for Climate 2021’ march just before his rehearsal.

“The blend of electronic music and acoustic strings is managed effectively so that one sounds like an extension of the other, the electronic sounds gradually encroaching on the strings to suggest damage infecting the natural”. (The Times)

“That’s also true in Pastoral Reflections, Prokofiev’s specific reaction to Beethoven’s symphony, where open textures and clean lines, expertly played by the Verbier musicians, balance field recordings from the Swiss Alps and the Viennese surroundings that inspired Beethoven”. (The Times)