There’s something truly wondrous about folk music. Its capacity to instantly transport us to another world is a marvel, and in the case of Nietzsche, a powerful mechanism to remind us of our shared humanity. This program pays homage to the folk fables and pleasures of the past. The violin and clarinet —who are seemingly at home in this folk idiom—dance and wail throughout as the piano steadfastly paints scenes of different worlds. From Stravinsky’s daring dance with the devil in L’histoire du Soldat to the high octane klezmer-inspired romp of Schoenfield’s Freylakh, and Vartapet’s achingly beautiful Armenian Folk Songs, we are reminded at every turn of just how central folk music has been to helping us find meaning within this world.