Bernard Andres was born in Belfort, France in the southern part of the country near the Swiss border.  He grew up in a musical family, taking piano lessons early.  In his late teens he started lessons on the harp.  He excelled and would win awards in performance competitions and later served as the principal harpist for the French Air Force Army Orchestra and the Symphonic Orchestra of Ile de France.  He retired from performing in 2005.  With secure positions and earnings, Andres turned to composition.  He is mostly self-taught and focuses on writing beautiful angular melodies.

“Algues” was composed in 1987 and is written in many versions with a solo instrument and harp.  Our performance will be with flute and harp.  Translated as “algae,” or “seaweed,” the work is a collection of seven short pieces or vignettes about gently swaying on the water.  The flute is generally in the lower register creating a gentle or melancholy tenderness to the pieces.  In the score, Andres has some unique directions for the harpist, such as playing at the bottom of the strings which creates a different timbre and holding the string at the bottom when plucking with the other hand, creating a muted short sound.