19 februari, 2000 - Posthoornkerk, Amsterdam
CONCERT XIV
19 februari, 2000 - Posthoornkerk, Amsterdam
CONCERT XIV |
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presenteertHet Amsterdams KwintetAntje Lohse: mezzo-soprano Raymond Honing: flute Martine Sikkenk: mandolin Rody van Gemert: guitar Kirsten van de Hogen: harp ProgrammaTovertuin (1997) flute, mandolin, guitar, harp - Toek Numan Four Songs (1954) mezzo-sopr.,flute, guitar, harp - Igor Strawinsky - The Drake - A Russian Spiritual - Geese and Swans - Tilim-Bom Les Rayons les Ombres (1998) - Matthias Kadar mezzo-soprano, flute, mandolin, guitar, harp Now the shadow of the pillar...Part 8 (1998) - Petros Ovsepeyan alto flute, mandolin, guitar, harp -break- Petit Air II / Friedrich's Tagebuch (1998) - Martijn Voorvelt mezzo-soprano, flute, mandolin, guitar, harp Toward the Sea (1984) flute, guitar - Toru Takemitsu - The night - Moby Dick - Cape Cod Nacht (1997) - Gerard Beljon mezzo-soprano, flute, mandolin, guitar, harp ToelichtingenTovertuin (1997) - Toek Numan Originally, this piece was written for the entire quintet (with soprano). Even though tonight we shall hear the instrumental version, here follows the text that inspired the music, from 'Tovertuin' by Hendrik de Vries (1896-1989): Ik sliep, maar niet in een rozetuin Ik sliep op een berghelling, steil en schuin. Daar hoorde ik een stem die tot mij sprak: "Ik ben, die zichzelf in de wereld brak. Mijn straf is, dat ik mijzelf niet ken Omdat ik toch altijd een ander ben. Ik ben een moeder die voedt haar kind. Ik ben een monster dat mensen verslindt. Vergeefs of ik zweef en schok op de wind, Vergeefs of ik in de rotsen delf: Ik ben altijd een ander, maar nooit mijzelf". (I slept, but not in a rose-garden / I slept on a mountain slope, steep and aslant / There I heard a voice that spoke to me: / I am, who broke himself in the world / My punishment is, I don't know myself / because I am always someone else / I am a mother who feeds her child / I am a monster that devours people. / Whether I float and shake on the wind / whether I quarry in the rocks: / I am always another but never myself.) Les rayons les ombres (1998) - Matthias Kadar Text: Les rayons les ombres, Victor Hugo Vieux lierre frais gazon, Herbe, roseaux, corolles, _glise o_ l'esprit voit le dieu qu'il r_ve ailleurs Mouches qui murmures d'ineffables paroles l'oreille du patre assoupi dans les fleurs Vents, flots, hymne orageux, choeurs sans fin, voix sans nombre, bois qui faites songer le passant s_rieux; Fruits qui tombez de l'arbre imp_n_trable et sombre; Etoiles qui tombez du ciel myst_rieux; Oiseaux au cris joiyeux, vague aux plaintes profondes; Froid l_zard des vieux murs dans les pierres tapi; Plaines qui r_pandez vos souffles sur les ondes; Mer o_ la perle _cl t, terre o_ germe l'_pis; Nature d'o_ tout sort, nature o_ tout retombe, feuilles, nid, doux rameaux que l'air n'ose effleurer Ne faites pas de bruits autour de cette tombe; laissez l'enfant dormir et la m_re pleurer. Petit Air II / Friedrich's Tagebuch (1998) - Martijn Voorvelt (world premiere) The texsts consist of (1) a poem by the French poet St_phane Mallarm_ (1842-1898) and (2) Written diary and conversation fragments by German emperor Friedrich III (1831-1888) Mallarm_ attempted to say the unsayable. He died, coincidentally, of throat cramps (spasmus glottidis). Earlier he had written Petit Air II (little song) about the poet's communicative failure, symbolised by a bird's final burst of song (a phenomenon known to occur with larks): Indomptablement a d_ comme mon espoir s'y lance eclater l -haut perdu avec furie et silence. Voix _trang_re au bosquet Ou par nul _cho suivie l'oiseau qu'on n'ou t jamais une autre fois en la vie Le hagard musicien cela dans le doute expire si de mon sein pas du sien a jailli le sanglot pire. D_chir_ va-t'il entier rester sur quelque sentier! Mallarm_'s equally visionary contemporary, Friedrich III, in 1888 followed in his father Wilhelm II's footsteps as emperor of Germany. Now, at 56, he had his chance to vent his modern, democratic ideas at last. Unfortunately he already suffered from throat cancer. Trachetomy had robbed him of his speech and he had to 'talk' by means of writing on a blocnote. A small pipe sticking through the tumor in his throat enabled him to breathe (at one occasion a new doctor rammed it in too forcefully); according to eyewitness accounts his breathing produced a strange whistling noise, and he regularly coughed up slime and bits of growth. After 99 days on the throne, severely ill and surrounded by political enemies, he died. Diary fragments by Friedrich III: "Ich muss gesund werden. Ich habe noch soviel zu tun." "Verweile noch, auch wenn alles so unsch_n ist!" "Tauwetter, Sonne, sehr ersch_pft und matt". "Sehr geplagte Nacht wegen Schleim und Hustenreiz. Gegen Morgen eigent mlicher Ton im Hals... sehr angegriffen." "Bergmann nachmittags zur Konsultation, der sich aber gleich an Sir Morell Mackenzies Stelle setzte, und mit roher Gewalt den andere Tubus hineinzw_ngte. Atmungsnot behoben. Sehr angegriffen." Written conversation fragments: "Warum steckte Bermann seine Finger in meinen Hals?" (Last words:) "Victoria, ich und die kin" Toward the Sea (1984) - Toru Takemitsu - The night - Moby Dick - Cape Cod Toru Takemitsu (1930-1996) has written several versions of Toward the Sea, but the original version is for flute and guitar. It is a colourful, impressionistic work referring to the sea and, in particular, whales (Takemitsu being Japanese, naturally he has a thing for whales). But the title also refers to the main motif: e-flat, e, a ('SEA') that is manipulated in countless ways and which forms the basis of the chords. Let it also be given away that 'sea' may be read as the final note 'c': the music gradually woks toward the c. Nacht (1997) - Gerard Beljon The Flemish poet Jotie T'Hooft quickly rose to fame in the 1970s. He led a wild life and extensively experimented with drugs. Unfortunately he could not handle the tension between his lifestyle and the pressures of being a literary phenomenon. He died from a cocaine overdose in 1977. His poem 'Nacht' is about the nightmare of not being able to stop the time. Day and night rage on endlessly, and ultimately the poet seeks help in drugs, which make him see beautiful colours (harmonics in harp, guitar and mandolin).was attracted to T'Hooft's baroque language full of contrasts, and immediately saw the musical possibilities of it. The instrumentation of Amsterdams Kwintet fitted my musical plans with the poem very well. 'Nacht' was commissioned by the Fonds van de Scheppende Toonkunst. Nacht from 'De beste gedichten van Jotie T'Hooft', Antwerpen, Manteau, 1992 De nacht raast altijd onder ons door, Een zwarte draak verslindt de zon, Een gouden draak verscheurt de maan. Urenlang versplinteren wielen van vuur Het duister en het licht sterft Op spaken van zwart water gespiest. Het is de dag, het is de nacht. Ontbind het lichaam En maak de geest vast. Praat met de draken, Drijf ijs in hun hart Verstar hun raderen; hun kaken. En uit kolken van ijzer en bloed, Mist van angstzweet en slopen Vouwt zich, in stilte, onverhoeds De pauwestaart der kleuren open. (The night always rages underneath us / A black dragon devours the sun, / A golden dragon tears up the moon. / Hours on end wheels of fire splinter / the dark and the light dies / speared on spokes of black water. // It is the day, it is the night. / Untie the body / and fasten the spirit. // Speak with the dragons, / Drive ice into their hearts / Render rigid their cogs; their jaws. // And from whirls of iron and blood, / Mist of cold sweat and demolishing / In silence, suddenly, unfolds / the peacock's tail of colours.) (translations: Martijn Voorvelt) |
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