Privacy, a dimly lit chapel, Saturday night, live music for free: it’s the formula for a perfect date. Or so I thought to myself when the Tarab Cello Ensemble played at the Cochran Chapel last Saturday night. After all, nothing says “I love you” quite like a cello concert. The Tarab Cello ensemble formed at Rochester University, consisting of eight cellists. The ensemble came to P.A. because one of the players previously played at Andover and noted how beautiful the chapel was to perform in. Tarab performs modern music composed specifically for their ensemble. To quote the words of Elizabeth Brown, one of the performers, “Live music is an exhilarating part of life and should be experienced by everyone.” The concert consisted of six pieces with an intermission in the middle. The first half contained “A Cappella”, “Sisina’s Resevoir” “and “Persist.” The first piece started softly and soon evolved into a dark melody. The second piece had dark, creepy chords that turned into agreeable soft tones, while the third song was strong and powerful with riveting repetitions of strokes. After the intermission, the next three pieces were “They Ate Cellos,” “Tarab” and “Broken Cries.” “They Ate Cellos” was a short but riveting piece that started with a bang and ended with a ballad-like quality. “Tarab” was the highlight of the night. It was a conversation between the two quartets, one with soft sustained notes and the other with a violent, swinging like passion on the cello. “Broken Cries” was a quiet way to end the performance. It was composed with two lead cellos conversing with each other while the other six cellos held a background. Like the title suggested, it was a deep and filled with sad overtones. The Tarab Cello Ensemble is an amazing group of musicians that plays innovative contemporary music. It’s not everyday you can see eight cellists on a single date.
