Concert

21st century  ·  Artist  ·  composers  ·  Concert  ·  Debussy  ·  Harp  ·  Japan  ·  John Cage  ·  Music  ·  silence  ·  Stories  ·  visual art
SECONDroom

(english below)

Ik hou van beeldende kunst, weet er niet genoeg over en besteed er minder tijd aan dan ik zou willen, maar het inspireert me. Het gaat telkens om creëren, terwijl wij als klassiek geschoolde musici toch eerder reproduceren wat een componist schreef, weliswaar met onze hele eigen touch en interpretatie.

In 2020 ontdekte ik het werk van Sarah De Vos en was meteen fan. Fan van de epoxylaag die ze op sommige werken gebruikte, maar zeker ook van het suggestieve, dat je in elk van haar werk terug vindt; ook al maakt ze iets heel figuratief, toch zie je telkens verschillende diepere lagen, die je als toeschouwer met je eigen verbeelding kan invullen.

Geïnspireerd, besloot ik contact met haar op te nemen om te polsen of we samen iets tot stand konden brengen. Joviaal als ze is, was ik meteen welkom in haar studio. 

Zalig was het, om tussen werken waar nog maar enkele schetsen op staan -wachtend op haar hand om voltooid te worden- te vertellen over mijn gps project en vooral te merken dat Sarah enorm open staat voor allerlei muziekstijlen en nieuwe uitdagingen.

Helaas gooien drukke, niet compatibele agenda’s vaak roet in het eten als het om effectieve uitvoering van een plan gaat, maar zaterdag(10/06/2023) is het zover!

Sarah en ik zijn te gast bij SECONDroom te  Antwerpen. Dit kunstinitiatief geeft gedurende enkele uren carte blanche aan kunstenaars om hun ding te doen. 

Ik zal muziek van Hosokawa, Ichiyanagi, Cage, Debussy ea, de kamer insturen en Sarah gaat met aquarel aan de slag. De muziek geeft haar, het beeld mij, impulsen om te creëren; ondertitel van de voorstelling is dan ook Synesthesie.

Hebben we dit nauwkeurig ingestudeerd? Dat was het plan, maar toen we uiteindelijk (alweer door die drukke agenda’s) een moment vonden om te repeteren, bleek dat helemaal niet nodig. Ik was zo blij dat Sarah zich meteen geraakt voelde door de live klanken en trillingen van de harp en ik zag in mijn ooghoek hoe het vouwen van de origami mij op een heel andere manier in de tijd liet bewegen. We willen het publiek maar ook elkaar verrassen en de synergie tussen ons zat goed, dus zaterdag wordt een ‘first experience’ voor het publiek, maar ook voor Sarah en mezelf.

Bij het uitkiezen van de muziek voor dit experiment, stel ik vast dat als vanzelf, alle werken die ik in mijn hoed steek om naargelang de sfeer van het moment naar boven te toveren, 2 dingen gemeen hebben: de componist werd steeds geïnspireerd door een beeld en het komen en gaan van tijd.

Denk aan Hosokawa’s Falling cherry blossoms, waar je als uitvoerder extreem kan nuanceren in timing en volume. Voor ‘Des pas sur la neige’ liet Debussy zich waarschijnlijk inspireren door het schilderij ‘La neige à Louveciennes’ van Sisley. Je hoort letterlijk de stapjes in de sneeuw van een desolaat landschap. Deze prelude was, samen met Danseuses de Delphes, één van de preludes waarvan Debussy vond dat ze “entre quatre-z-yeux” (letterlijk “tussen vier ogen”) moesten worden gespeeld, de setting zo intiem mogelijk, ze kan dus niet ontbreken zaterdag.

Sarah werkt zo goed als altijd met muziek en haalt ook bijzondere emoties uit filmmuziek, vertelde ze me.

Ik wil haar dan ook graag verrassen(hopelijk leest ze deze blog niet 🙂 met wat streepjes filmmuziek tussen het andere repertoire door. De sfeer van stukken die al in de hoed zitten en het gegeven Japan voerde me onmiddellijk naar Ryuichi Sakamoto, die ons helaas onlangs heeft verlaten. Zijn bekendste films waarvoor hij schreef zijn vast ‘The last emperor’ en ‘Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence’ , maar hij schreef ook een multimedia-opera, veranderde een glazen gebouw in een instrument en reisde naar de Noordpool om het geluid van smeltende sneeuw op te nemen, om maar te schetsen dat de man ook heel veel met synergie bezig was. 

Hij was ook erg gefascineerd door het aspect ‘tijd’. Zijn expositie uit 2021 ‘Seeing sound, hearing time’ concentreerde zich rond acht belangrijke grootschalige werken en geluidsinstallaties die opnieuw dienden te definiëren hoe we een muziekalbum of een kunsttentoonstelling ervaren, terwijl ze verschillende manieren voorstellen om de wereld te begrijpen door middel van geluid en technologie.

Het werk ‘Your Time’ (2017), gemaakt in samenwerking met Shiro Takatani, toont een piano die aanspoelde op de kust na de tsunami van de Grote Oost-Japanse Aardbeving in 2011. Voor Sakamoto vertegenwoordigde deze piano de oncontroleerbare natuurkrachten die onze omgeving, inclusief deze piano, hebben gevormd tijdens zijn reis van land naar zee en weer terug naar land. Sakamoto gelooft dat deze krachten tot op zekere hoogte ook in het vat van dit instrument zitten en daarom nieuwe geluiden en tonen kunnen uitdrukken als gevolg van de blootstelling aan de natuurlijke elementen en deze wereldwijde gebeurtenis.

Bij ons zal het een harp ipv een piano zijn en geen grote multimedia-installatie, maar een blad en penseel, de intimiteit van het moment zoveel mogelijk koesterend.

 Ons experimentele project van zaterdag geeft me nu al tonnen energie, goesting en ongeduld. Wie zin heeft om dit met ons te delen klik hier

 

“What I want to make now is music freed from the constraints of time.”

Ryuichi Sakamoto

 

I love visual art, but I don’t know enough about it and I don’t spend as much time on it as I would like, but it inspires me. It’s always about creating, while we as classically trained musicians tend to reproduce what a composer wrote, albeit with our own unique touch and interpretation.

In 2020, I discovered the work of Sarah De Vos and became an immediate fan. I loved the epoxy layer she used in some of her works, but I was also drawn to the suggestive quality that you find in each of her paintings. Even when she creates something highly figurative, you always discover different layers that put your imagination at work.

Inspired, I decided to reach out to her to see if we could collaborate in some way. She warmly welcomed me into her studio, and it was wonderful to be surrounded by works in a very early stage, waiting for her touch to bring them to completion. I shared with her my GPS project and noticed that Sarah is very open to various music styles and new challenges.

Unfortunately, busy and incompatible schedules often get in the way of executing oa plan, but this Saturday (10/06/2023), it’s finally happening!

Sarah and I will be guests at SECONDroom in Antwerp. This art initiative gives artists carte blanche for a few hours to be filled in as they like.

I will send music by Hosokawa, Ichiyanagi, Cage, Debussy, and others into the air, while Sarah will work with watercolors. The music will inspire her, and the visuals will inspire me to create. The subtitle of the performance is Synthesia.

Did we rehearse this meticulously? That was the plan, but when we finally found a moment to rehearse (again, due to those busy schedules), we realized it wasn’t necessary at all. I was thrilled to see how deeply Sarah was moved by the live sounds and vibrations of the harp, and in my peripheral vision, I noticed how she -folding origami- allowed me to move through time in a completely different way. We want to surprise not only the audience but also each other, and the synergy between us is strong. So Saturday will be a ‘first experience’ for the audience, as well as for Sarah and myself.

When selecting the music for this experiment, I noticed that, naturally, all the works I included in my repertoire hat have two things in common: the composer was always inspired by an image, and they revolve around the concept of time.

Think of Hosokawa’s “Falling Cherry Blossoms,” where the performer can nuance timing and volume to the extreme.

For “Des pas sur la neige,” Debussy was likely inspired by the painting “La neige à Louveciennes” by Sisley. You can literally hear the footsteps in the snow of a desolate landscape. This prelude, along with “Danseuses de Delphes,” were preludes Debussy believed should be played “entre quatre-z-yeux” (literally, “between four eyes”), in the most intimate setting possible, so it cannot be missing on Saturday.

Sarah usually works with music and finds special emotions in film scores, she told me. So, I want to surprise her (hopefully she won’t read this blog 🙂 with a few snippets of film music interspersed with the other repertoire. The atmosphere of the pieces already in my repertoire and the theme of Japan immediately led me to Ryuichi Sakamoto, who unfortunately passed away recently. 

His most famous films for which he composed are probably ‘The Last Emperor’ and ‘Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence,’ but he also created a multimedia opera, transformed a glass building into an instrument, and traveled to the North Pole to record the sound of melting snow. As an extremely versatile man he was also fascinated by the concept of ’time.’ His 2021 exhibition, ‘Seeing Sound, Hearing Time,’ focused on eight significant large-scale works and sound installations that aimed to redefine how we experience a music album or an art exhibition while presenting different ways to understand the world through sound and technology.

The work ‘Your Time’ (2017), created in collaboration with Shiro Takatani, features a piano that washed ashore after the tsunami of the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011. For Sakamoto, this piano represents the uncontrollable natural forces that shaped our environment, including this piano, during its journey from land to sea and back to land. Sakamoto believed that to some extent, these forces are also present in this instrument and can express new sounds and tones as a result of exposure to natural elements and this global event.

In our case, it will be a harp instead of a piano and not a large multimedia installation, but rather a sheet of paper and a brush, cherishing the intimacy of the moment as much as possible.

Our experimental project on Saturday is already filling me with energy, excitement, and impatience. I would love it if you could join us! Info here

juni 6, 2023

21st century  ·  Artist  ·  composers  ·  Concert  ·  Music  ·  Orchestra  ·  Stories
Toccata, Connesson

Traveling to New York for the first time is definitely a special experience in one’s life!  Add a concert by the New York Philharmonic and the picture can’t be more beautiful!

First time New York became a triptych of first-time experiences for me: New York Philharmonic under the baton of what was then to become our new chief conductor, Stéphane Denève with works by Guillaume Connesson. The jet lag under my skin, blurred my memory as to exactly which of the 3 ‘first times’ impressed me the most.

‘The shining one’, a work for piano and orchestra dedicated to that evening’s performer Jean-Yves Thibaudet, are the first notes ever I heard from Connesson. Many more were to follow later, partly because Denève and Connesson are friends with a great musical respect for each other, and many creations were thus brought into the Brussels Philharmonic.

In all Connesson’s works you will find a special connection with rhythm , occasionally somewhat influenced by popular music and repetitive composers such as Reich and Adams. Inspiration for his musical language comes from -as the titles of his works like ‘Pour sortie au jour’, ‘Les horizons perdu’, ‘Asteria’, etc suggest- the elusive side of life; life after death, the cosmos, science fiction.

‘Toccata pour harpe’ was commissioned by the ‘Concours International de Harp Lily Laskine’. A swinging, rhythmic piece, which grants a lot of energy and gives the harp a somewhat percutative role, straying very briefly into a musing passage where you can hear the stars twinkling. Connesson processes the harmonies very thoughtfully, so the pedal work does not break the flow. When we hear a rhythmic work on piano f.e., we notice the frequent use of repeated notes, which gives a reinforcing effect. Repeating one note on harp at a faster tempo is only effective if you use enharmonisation (constantly repeating the same string, after all, means that you dampen the string and lose sound, volume and power) and Connesson has playfully incorporated this too in his Toccata. 

But he himself can explain much better why and how he writes for the harp in an interview he allowed me to write down following my recording of this Toccata.

 

EG : Vous avez écrit cette œuvre pour le concours de harpe Lily Laskine, pourquoi avoir choisi une Toccata comme sujet ?

GC: J’avais envie d’une pièce rythmique et « motorique », qui ne soit pas l’image traditionnelle de l’écriture pour harpe. Il me semblait que le visage percussif de la harpe avait été moins exploité que son charme de sonorité et son écriture en arpège.

EG: Je me souviens de la magnifique partie de harpe dans votre œuvre ‘Pour sortir au jour’ (une œuvre que nous avons enregistré avec le Brussels Philharmonic).

Pourquoi choisissez-vous d’ajouter une harpe à un certain endroit dans une partition, pensez-vous à une émotion particulière ? une couleur ? un effet ? Comment décidez-vous de la partition d’une œuvre orchestrale ? Dès le départ ? Ou bien commencez-vous par une base et les instruments sont ajoutés au cours du processus de composition ?

GC: Le cas de « Pour sortir au jour » est particulier parce que c’est en voyant, au Louvre, les harpes égyptiennes, retrouvées dans les tombeaux antiques, que j’ai eu l’idée du projet poétique de ce concerto. Donc les harpes étaient à la base même de l’impulsion créatrice et elles occupent donc dans cette oeuvre une place importante.

D’une manière plus générale, la règle c’est…qu’il n’y a pas de règle! Je pourrais faire une réponse différente pour chaque pièce. Mais le caractère de la pièce va m’amener à choisir d’inclure -ou pas- une harpe dans l’effectif orchestral. Et ce choix est généralement fait assez tôt dans le processus de composition.

EG : Dans la Toccata, le fragment doux avec les flageolets me rappelle les étoiles. Est-il injuste de penser qu’il y a souvent des éléments cosmiques dans votre travail (dans Pour sortir au jour, j’ai le même sentiment) ?

GC: C’est tout à fait juste, le cosmos et la contemplation stellaire sont parmi mes sources d’inspiration récurrentes. Ces images poétiques (et souvent picturales) nourrissent nombres de mes partitions.

EG : Une question qui revient dans toutes mes conversations avec les compositeurs 🙂 

Nous, harpistes, sommes obsédés par étouffer. Quelle importance accordez-vous à cela ? En raison de la vitesse de la toccata, il n’est pas possible de jouer chaque note aussi brièvement que sur un clavier, par exemple. 

GC: Cette question technique dépend bien sûr du caractère de la pièce! Mais je la laisse généralement à l’interprète : il me semble que si l’intention musicale est claire, l’interprète saura faire les choix qui conviennent. Je tiens compte, en écrivant, des spécificités des instruments : donc pour la harpe  je n’écris pas dans le même rythme harmonique qu’avec un piano. 

EG :Y a-t-il des problèmes techniques concernant l’instrument qui pourraient vous empêcher d’écrire pour lui ? Voyez-vous des améliorations qui pourraient être apportées ?

L’un des commentaires de Stéphane était que l’on pourrait peut-être intégrer un système d’amplification, qui pourrait être utilisé si nécessaire dans l’orchestre. Quel est votre point de vue à ce sujet ?

GC: Les difficultés techniques ne sont pas un obstacle pour moi avec la harpe (je ne ferai pas la même réponse avec la guitare par exemple!). Souvent les limites techniques sont aussi ce qui permet des choses différentes. Avec la harpe, des glissandos impossibles au piano par exemple. C’est la même question qu’avec les cuivres naturels (des classiques) ou modernes. Les pistons permettent évidemment plus de facilités mais ils ont aussi gommés certaines couleurs propres aux instruments anciens. Le progrès n’est toujours que relatif!

Pour cette question de l’amplification c’est un peu la même chose. Je n’y suis pas hostile en soi mais ce que l’on gagne en volume on le perd souvent en qualité de son. Donc, là aussi, cela dépend de la musique et de l’esprit de la partition. Amplifier des cordes est efficace chez Steve Reich mais dans un adagio de Mahler ce serait monstrueux!!

EG: Où dans votre vie (pensez-vous) avez-vous puisé le plus d’expérience en tant que compositeur ?

GC: Dans l’expérience de la vie et dans mes lectures.

EG : Dans quel environnement préférez-vous écrire ? Vous vous isolez ? Au contraire, avez-vous besoin de la vie autour de vous?

GC: J’ai besoin d’être chez moi, dans un environnement familier, et le plus important; d’être isolé. Avoir le sentiment que l’on m’écoute paralyse complètement mon processus créatif.

EG : Vous écrivez souvent pour des musiciens qui sont aussi vos amis intimes, comment cette amitié influence-t-elle votre composition ?

GC: J’écris de manière assez abstraite, intérieure, et rarement pour telle ou telle personnalité. Je ne fais pas des portraits musicaux de mes interprètes! Mais certaines relations amicales m’ont beaucoup apportées par un dialogue riche sur ma musique ou sur la musique en générale. L’échange avec les solistes, les chefs ou mes collègues compositeurs nourrit constamment ma réflexion sur mon langage.

februari 10, 2023

21st century  ·  Artist  ·  composers  ·  Concert  ·  Harp  ·  Japan  ·  Music  ·  Orchestra  ·  Stories
La conca del sogno

(english below)

The beauty of a days work…al enkele blogs over mijn dagelijkse muziekpraktijk droegen deze titel. Klinkt als een cliché? Hoogstwaarschijnlijk, maar soms leunen clichés dichter bij de werkelijkheid dan de werkelijkheid zelf.

Ik kan onmogelijk ontkennen dat een dag werken in het orkest, een dag studeren thuis, een dag opnemen, een dag zoeken en creëren, hoofdzakelijk bestaat uit schoonheid.

Geïsoleerd van de wereld (wat niet hetzelfde is al onwetend, integendeel), in een cocon van muziek, in het atelier van de gedachten, de vrijheid krijgen om nieuw werk te ontdekken, ouder werk te herontdekken en voortdurend je eigen grenzen te verleggen, is een rijkdom die ik iedereen toewens.

Het thema van het programma deze week is : dreams, geënt op de werken van Takemitsu, Benjamin en Dutilleux die we vertolken.

Al deze partijen zijn individueel fragmentarisch, complex, vaak melodieloos. Ze zijn ritmisch heel berekend opgebouwd, de interventie van de harp(maar evenzeer van de andere partijen) is sporadisch, erg begrensd. Bij het studeren merk je dat je in een keurslijf zit, het voelt vaak oncomfortabel, je hebt nauwelijks frases, alles is opgebouwd uit extremen en punctualiteit. 

Maar dan, het orkest zet zich, start met repeteren -neen zo mag ik het niet stellen- iedereen speelt met zekere nieuwsgierigheid zijn frases, interventies, accenten, noten, stiltes. Na de eerste lezing zei onze chefdirigent -Kazushi Ono- enigszins ontroerd: ‘How is it possible that you get this atmosphere immediately?’

Een pluim voor het orkest? Misschien… 

Mij verbijstert het keer op keer dat een componist – hier in het bijzonder Takemitsu- in staat is om een partituur zo op te bouwen -zijn gedachten dwalend over al die instrumenten-dat hij precies dat instrument uitkiest dat het juiste detail belicht, wetende dat het werkt.

Ja, je hebt het stuk al eerder beluisterd. Ja, er staan tempo-aanduidingen en nuances. Maar hoe bevrijdend werkt het, als je voelt dat jouw partij, enigszins frustrerend in de voorbereiding, één van die puzzelstukjes is, die samen een meesterwerk maken.

Het is algemeen geweten dat componisten mooie plekken opzochten -bij writers block nodig hadden- om te schrijven, vaak afgelegen en ongerept. Hier is het bijna omgekeerd; voor mij voelde het alsof Ono een penseel vasthad waarmee hij ons musici(de kleuren) losweekte en zo met de aanwijzigingen van Takemitsu een nieuw tableau schilderde. Op momenten zoals deze zou ik zo graag mijn taal meer meester zijn, waardig aan het onbeschrijfelijke moment. Het voelde alsof ik met de auto door de bergen reed, de kleur van de lucht plots een ander blauw werd en ik achter die volgende bocht de mooiste baai uit mijn leven zag: la conca del sogno.

Wie graag een avondje droomt: klik hier

 

The beauty of a days work…already several blogs about my daily music practice carried this title. Sounds like a cliché? Most probably, but sometimes clichés lean closer to reality than reality itself.

I cannot hide the fact that a day of working in the orchestra, a day of studying at home, a day of recording, a day of searching and creating, consists mainly of beauty.

Isolated from the world(which is not the same as ignorant, quite the contrary), in a cocoon of music, in the studio of thoughts, being given the freedom to discover new work, rediscover older work and constantly push your own limits, is a wealth I wish for everyone.

The theme of this week’s programme is : dreams, grafted onto the works by Takemitsu, Benjamin and Dutilleux that we perform.

All these parts are individually fragmentary, complex, often lack melody. They are rhythmically very calculated, the intervention of the harp(but equally of the other parts) is sporadic, very bounded. When studying, you feel that you are in a straitjacket, quite uncomfortable, you hardly have any phrases, everything is built out of extremes and punctuality. 

But yesterday, the orchestra settles down, starts rehearsing -no I shouldn’t put it that way- everyone plays their phrases, interventions, accents, notes, silences with a certain curiosity. After the first reading, our chief conductor -Kazushi Ono- said somewhat moved: ‘How is it possible that you get this atmosphere immediately?’

Credits for the orchestra? Perhaps… 

It never ceases to amaze me that a composer is able to build up a score like this, let his mind wander over all those instruments and then pick exactly the instrument that highlights the right detail, knowing it works.

Yes, you’ve listened to the piece before. Yes, there are tempo indications and nuances. But how liberating it is, when you feel that your part, somewhat frustrating in preparation, is one of those pieces of the puzzle that make a masterpiece?

It is common knowledge that composers sought out beautiful places -needed them in case of writer’s block- to create, often remote and pristine. Here it is almost the other way round; to me it felt as if Ono was holding a painter’s brush with which he was loosening us musicians(colours), to paint a new tableau with Takemitsu’s pointers. At moments like this, I would so love to have more mastery over my language, worthy of the indescribable moment. It felt like I was driving a car through the mountains, the colour of the sky suddenly turned a different kind of blue and behind that next bend, there it was, the most beautiful bay ever: la conca del sogno.

Please join us for an evening of dreams 

januari 17, 2023

composers  ·  Concert  ·  Dukas  ·  Harp  ·  Music  ·  Orchestra  ·  Stories
The beauty of a days work (4)

(english below)

Het is weer enige tijd (te lang) geleden, dat ik me neerzette om te bloggen. Liefst zou ik vaker en meer schrijven, ware het niet dat het hoofd echt wel vrije schijfruimte moet bevatten om iets samenhangends te formuleren. 

Zo zijn we 2023 binnen gewandeld en na een korte professionele pauze, is het alweer tijd voor de nieuwjaarsproductie! 

Bij ieder waardevol moment hoor ik bepaalde muziek, zoals die in een film de achtergrond kleurt en zo alles nog intenser maakt.

Niet vreemd dan ook, dat als ik muziek speel of beluister, ook de beelden uit het verleden die daar voor mij bij hoorden, weer naar boven komen.

Eén van die stukken -dat tevens op het nieuwjaarsprogramma staat- is l’Apprenti sorcier van Paul Dukas. 

Mickey Mouse die genoeg heeft van poetsen, besluit zijn meesters tovermuts op te zetten en een bezemsteel te betoveren. Deze begint prompt te dweilen, Mickey Mouse legt zichzelf te slapen en uiteraard loopt de boel uit de hand en moet zijn meester tovenaar alle ellende oplossen.

Paul Dukas kende Mickey Mouse nog niet op het moment dat hij dit werk schreef, maar zal zijn geboorte in 1928 wellicht opgemerkt hebben. Hoewel Disney’s massa entertainment voor sommigen niet te vereenzelvigen valt met de persoon van Dukas, zou het toch mogelijk kunnen zijn dat de componist, deze ietwat bij de haren getrokken verfilming van zijn werk, kon appreciëren. Had hij immers niet hetzelfde gedaan met Goethe’s Der Zauberlehrling? 

Hij schreef 2 jaar voor dit werk -in één van zijn vele opiniestukken, die hij als gewaardeerd muziekcriticus publiceerde – dat muziek echt niet alleen gemaakt is om het goddelijke te evoceren, maar dat enige menselijke lichtvoetigheid best toegestaan is.

De première van dit scherzo vond plaats op 19 februari 1899; bijna werd deze afgelast, want de Parijzenaars verloren daags voordien -op 16 februari- hun president, Felix Faure en de stad was in rouw. 

Reeds vroeger -op 18 mei 1897- noteert men de officiële première van dit stuk voor de Societé nationale de musique, maar daar het publiek hier enkel bestond uit de muzikale high society van Parijs, mogen we niet echt spreken van een vuurdoop voor het grote publiek.

Bovendien was het de Brusselse bodem die als allereerste de klanken van de leerling tovenaar tot zich nam, toen Dukas het op 12 maart 1897 zelf voorspeelde op piano voor zijn vriend Ernest Chausson. (half Parijs was afgezakt naar Brussel voor de première in de Muntschouwburg van Fervaal, een opera van Vincent d’Indy)

Fantasia lag op een gegeven moment op mij te wachten onder de kerstboom, al blijf ik vermoeden dat de schenker het meer voor zichzelf gekocht had, weliswaar onder het mom van een brede opvoeding 🙂

Wat een indruk maakte die film op mij: muziek die ik kende kwam tot leven, de wereld van klassieke muziek werd plots gekoppeld aan beelden die mijn fantasie als kind op hol deden slaan en liet voelen welke kracht ze kan hebben in ieders leefwereld.

Gelukkig kijk ik ondertussen andere films dan die van Disney, maar dit stuk is voor mij niet los te koppelen van de hilarische dramatiek in Mickey Mouse’s ogen, dezelfde die waarschijnlijk te zien was in mijn ogen, de eerste maal dat ik dit in het orkest speelde, want de harppartij is meer dan pittig! 

Dukas was, mede door zijn perfectionisme (hij vernietigde zelf een hele boel van zijn werken), geen veelschrijver en heeft al zeker geen werk voor harp solo, maar toch heeft hij een mooi, niet zo gekend oeuvre, waarvan ook ik de harppartijen pas ontdekte, toen we met Brussels Philharmonic een inspirerende cd maakten met zijn werk. Vooral in het Adagio tranquillo uit Polyeucte, neemt de harp met de strijkers een mooie rol op.

 Disney’s artistieke ambitie stopt niet bij de visuele aspecten. Terwijl de eerste uitvoeringen van Fantasia plaatsvonden in een concertzaal, vormde de uitzending ervan in de bioscoop een groot obstakel. Eerder dan gewoon tevreden te zijn met de beschikbare technische hulpmiddelen, bedacht Disney een nieuw geavanceerd geluidssysteem om de muziekwerken en Stokowski’s interpretatie zo goed mogelijk te verspreiden en zo een echte zintuiglijke onderdompeling te creëren voor zijn publiek: de “Fantasound”.

Voor iedereen die Fantasia niet kent en/of kids heeft en dus een opvoedkundige plicht :), deze klassieker is een must op één van de komende druilerige zondagmiddagen. Er bestaat ook een Fantasia 2000, uitgebracht door Roy Edward Disney als vervolg op; zeven andere muzikale meesterwerken worden gebruikt als inspiratiebron voor de animatie. L’apprenti sorcier is het enige werk dat omwille van zijn iconische succes meegenomen wordt in de sequel, die een instant hit werd, veel groter dan zijn voorganger uit 1940.

Voor wie 2023 graag feestelijk inzet; wees welkom op één van onze nieuwjaarsconcerten in Roeselare, Brussel, Leuven en Brugge vindt hier meer info 

 

 

It has been some time (too long), since I put myself down to blogging. Ideally, I would write more often, were it not that the head really does need some free disk space to formulate something coherent. 

So we silently walked into 2023 and after a short professional break, we are now preparing for our New Year’s concerts! 

With every precious moment, I hear certain music, like that which colors the background in a film, making everything even more intense.

Not surprisingly, when I play or listen to music, those images from the past are resurfacing.

One such piece -which is also on our New Year’s program- is l’Apprenti sorcier by Paul Dukas. 

Mickey Mouse, tired of cleaning, decides to put on his master’s magic hat and casts a spell on a broomstick. This one promptly starts mopping, Mickey Mouse puts himself down for a nap and of course things get completely out of hand until his master sorcerer fixes all the trouble.

Paul Dukas did not know Mickey Mouse at the time he wrote this work, but may have noticed his birth in 1928. While Disney’s mass entertainment may not be identifiable with Dukas’ persona for some, it could still be possible that the composer, could appreciate this somewhat satirical interpretation of his work. After all, hadn’t he done the same with Goethe’s Der Zauberlehrling? 

He wrote 2 years before this work – in one of his many opinion pieces, published as an esteemed music critic – that music is really not just made to evoke the divine, but that some human levity is certainly allowed.

The premiere of this scherzo took place on 19th February 1899; it was almost cancelled, as the Parisians lost their president, Felix Faure, just days  before -on the 16th February- and the city was in mourning. 

Already earlier -on the 18th May 1897- one notes the official premiere of this piece for the Societé nationale de musique, but since the audience consisted only of the musical high society of Paris, we shouldn’t look at this as an introductory to the mainstream public.

Moreover, it was Brussels soil that was the very first to absorb the sounds of the apprentice magician, when Dukas himself played it on piano for his friend Ernest Chausson on the 12th March 1897. (Paris’ music scene had descended on Brussels for the premiere at la Monnaie for Fervaal, an opera by Vincent d’Indy.)

At one point, Fantasia was shining under the Christmas tree, waiting for me to be opened, although I continue to suspect that the grantor had bought it more for himself, though under the guise of a broad education 🙂

What an impression that film made on me: music I knew came to life, the world of classical music was suddenly linked to images that fired my imagination as a child and made me feel what power it can have in everyone’s world!

Fortunately, by now I watch films other than Disney’s, but this piece, for me, cannot be separated from the hilarious drama in Mickey Mouse’s eyes, the same one that was probably visible in my eyes the first time I played this in the orchestra, because the harp part is quite spicy! 

Dukas hasn’t got, partly due to his perfectionism (he destroyed quite a lot of his works himself), a vast oeuvre and certainly has no works for solo harp, but still he has a beautiful, not so well known oeuvre, whose harp parts I too only discovered, when we made an inspiring CD with Brussels Philharmonic featuring his work. Especially in the Adagio tranquillo from Polyeucte, the harp takes on a beautiful role with the strings.

Disney’s artistic ambition does not stop at the visual aspects. While the first performances of Fantasia took place in a concert hall, its broadcast in cinemas presented a major obstacle. Rather than simply being satisfied with the available technical tools, Disney devised a new advanced sound system to best distribute the musical works and Stokowski’s interpretation, creating a true sensory immersion for its audience: the “Fantasound”.

For anyone who doesn’t know Fantasia and/or has kids and thus an educational duty 🙂 : this classic is a must-see on one of the upcoming drizzly Sunday afternoons. There is also a Fantasia 2000, released by Roy Edward Disney as a sequel; seven other musical masterpieces are used as inspiration for the animation. L’apprenti sorcier is the only work included in the sequel because of its iconic success, which became an instant hit, much bigger than its 1940 predecessor

For those who like to start 2023 in a festive way; we welcome you to one of our New Year’s concerts in Roeselare, Brussels, Leuven and Bruges: more info

 

januari 4, 2023

21st century  ·  Artist  ·  composers  ·  Concert  ·  Gordon  ·  Harp  ·  Music  ·  Orchestra  ·  Stories
Eolian (6)

The correspondance on Eolian is changing from mere technical questions to exchanging musical experience, feeling, character and enthusiasm about the impending performance.

30.8.2022

Hi Geoffrey,

Yes off course I am working on it intensively at the moment and I think it is really ripening in my head.

The only thing that I am struggling with is the very end. I am a bit worried that the glisses and repeated notes(repeating these notes is really a challenge in the tempo) won’t be loud enough compared to the orchestra, so I am searching a way to make a strong ending with lots of character, but not there yet 🙂

I feel it is really important for your work that the extreme differences between the Debussy tenderness and ‘wild’ passages come to expression, so I was wondering if  a dynamic amplification would work? I know that it is always a touchy issue in our classical world, but what do you think? I strongly believe that we should benefit from the technical possibilities we have today and not shun them. I already talked to Karen about it and she completely agrees, what do you think?

And another blog question:

It strikes me, now that I’m working a lot on your concerto, how you can sometimes very abruptly alternate emotions. I love that effect, can you explain the feeling behind it? Is it personal? Is it based on the poem?

Back to Eolian second movement for me!

Have a nice day! Eline’

 

‘Dear Eline,

Thanks so much for your message! (And your very kind birthday wishes, too!)

Of course, I completely understand the issues with the ending! This is always a concern. I did hear from Gunther that there was a plan to possibly amplify the harp. I am in favor of anything that makes you comfortable and allows us to project the proper balance with the orchestra – so no problem at all. It sounds like the plan – with a live sound engineer monitoring the balance, starting with the rehearsals – is an excellent idea. Let’s do it!

Now for the blog question: many people who know me well would tell you this is true not only of my music but … of me as well! 😉  I am glad you like it!  So I would say it is personal, in the sense that this seems to be an intrinsic aspect of my personality, but it is also informed by the poem, and by my desire to make the music vibrant and surprising and to make it breath and feel alive. Those sparks of emotion that you have identified – at least I hope this is the case! – are designed to infuse the music with life. 

I hope that makes sense, too!

Really looking forward to working with you on this premiere!

Warm regards,

Geoffrey 

Last Monday 24th October the first rehearsal with orchestra and conductor Karen Kamensek took place. I cannot describe how great it was to actually hear the concerto after months of preparation on my own! I am so much looking forward to the première on Friday the 28th October.

I would like to thank(straight from my hart(p:) all those helping me to fulfill this project; Geoffrey Gordon for writing and Karen Kamensek for taking on the challenge of conducting this new piece! Antarctica Records for the live recording and support of my GPS project!

But especially all my wonderful colleagues at Brussels Philharmonic who have been supportive in every possible way starting at the management (Gunther and Tom), the communication department(Veronique and Sonja), the library (Pieterjan) the production department (Jim, Carla, Emiel and Pol) and off course all my colleague-musicians who give me tremendous backing during the performance of Eolian!

A new harp concerto is born, those eager to attend can find all the info here!

 

THE END of the beginning!

oktober 27, 2022

21st century  ·  composers  ·  Concert  ·  glissando  ·  Gordon  ·  harmonics  ·  Harp  ·  Music  ·  Orchestra  ·  pedals  ·  Stories
Eolian (5)

Once the score (that’s the full orchestral part, so no separate solo part yet) of the first and second movements was in my possession, it was itching to start studying quickly. During these first readings, a lot of questions came up about notation, playability, printing errors, etc.

3.7.2022

‘Good morning Eline!

I am so glad you are enjoying working on the concerto!  Here are my replies to your questions about the first movement:

bar 64: is the gliss in c major? YES

bar 70: can I play one octave lower? it gives a better buzzing result. YES – DEFINITELY!

bar 106 and 176: for the left hand this is too high to play a double flageolet, can I play it one octave lower? YES, OF COURSE…

bar 114: is it correct that first group is all natural tones? 

NO! Those should not be marked that way! This is a flaw in the Finale software!  Those are repetitions of the previous measure – so F is sharp and B and E are flat! Thank you for catching that! I have attached a screenshot of that measure as it should be!

 

And for the blog – well, this is a continual issue, isn’t it! I keep track through various notations I make on a legal pad I keep near me at all times! I scribble down each measure, in a D-C-B/E-F-G-A pattern, so that whenever I need to make a change, I know where I am. But this is one of the great challenges of writing for the harp!

Enjoy your Sunday and let me know what questions you have on the other movements (as soon as I have your parts ready!)

Best, Geoffrey ‘

 

6.7.2022

‘Dear Eline…

Here is your solo part from the third movement! So we are at the finish line! Please have a look and a listen and let me know your thoughts ….!’

 

The finish line? Euh…. I have yet to master the whole concerto! 🙂 Besides, I’m about to leave on holiday. That was a bit of a difficult moment, leaving harp and score behind when you actually want to dive into that piece, time is running out after all, about 100 days left and it has to be on stage!

Fortunately, the season had also been so busy that after a few days away from my surroundings, I really did find the calm I needed to start setting my teeth into the concerto after this.

After a hefty serving of Caravaggio, I stroll through Valetta, it is too hot and my focus on the beauty of this town is somewhat clouded, yet something suddenly catches my attention:

What an unexpected coincidence! I alert my travelling companions (who do wonder what all the fuss is about) and stand enthusiastically waving at the picture until even the tourists around me start looking a bit strangely, I temper myself and think: I’ve read too much about John Cage and his coincidence…….

to be continued….

oktober 26, 2022

21st century  ·  Artist  ·  composers  ·  Concert  ·  glissando  ·  Gordon  ·  Harp  ·  Music  ·  Orchestra  ·  Stories
Eolian (4)

Eolian will be finished on 1st June 2022. I will perform it on 28th October 2022. So if that deadline is maintained, I have just under 4 months to get the whole thing under my belt, which feels, to put it very mildly: grimly exciting, but a bit of pressure is nice too!
I check my mails regularly anyway, but just a bit more than usual now, until:

3.5.2022

Good Morning Eline!

The full score for the first movement is attached!  Please have a look and let me know your thoughts …

Hope all is well ….

Best,

Geoffrey

Drum roll in my head, what will it be like, what’s in it, difficult, unplayable,? beautiful?
Fortunately, I immediately feel Eolian’s thought: glissandi, bisbigliandi, lots of ‘classical’ harp techniques, yet through contemporary glasses, with lots of emotion, speed, expression, you feel the wind, but also thunder, primal power and love. I like this!

to be continued…..

oktober 26, 2022

21st century  ·  Artist  ·  composers  ·  Concert  ·  Gordon  ·  Harp  ·  Music  ·  Orchestra  ·  pedals  ·  Stories
Eolian (3)

September 2021
Meanwhile, the new concert season has started and we are trying to get back on track with normal line-ups of both orchestra and hall. Everything remains unaccustomed and uncertain; mouth masks, CO2 meters, tests, quarantines… It is very alienating to think of a new big project at this time, with an audience, the way it used to be, do we remember how it used to be?
The harp parts of Alban Berg’s violin concerto, Le chant du Rossignol and L’oiseau de feu by Stravinsky are passing on my stand. At the moment, we are also looking with excitement and, above all, uncertainty at the planned tour in early December(2021, which in the end will be cancelled) with Brussels Philharmonic to Korea.
Plans for the performance of the concerto are becoming more and more concrete. Naturally, I benefit from my correspondence with Geoffrey to ask about his view on instrumentation in general and harp in particular. This way, I try to gain some insight into the process towards the first note of Eolian.

 

22.9.2021

‘Dear Geoffrey,

I am so excited that the harp concerto is getting in a planning fase!

And here I am with yet another question for you:

At the moment in my blog mostly damping and chromatic issues come along, but I can imagine that you as a composer will have other concerns. With this information I would like to find out if it would be useful to try to adapt some technical things on the harp, maybe for the best, maybe it won’t stand, it is an experiment of which I don’t know the outcome.

 I just feel that very little has changed for our instrument since it was brought to market in 1811(I mean fundamental elements aside from strength and sound) Innovation in traditional craftsmanship as building or playing an instrument is something that I find extremely important for the future of the harp, but actually for all instruments and for classical music in general. 

Any reflections on this? Greetings, Eline’

 

 

‘Hey Eline!

Well, I am excited too!  This is great – to finally be looking at actual performance dates! I will start writing as soon as I finish the work commissioned from me by the BBC – but of course I am already planning your concerto in my head….

And your question is fascinating!  I am so glad to be involved in this with you – you are really looking at some groundbreaking concepts for the harp. My first thought is that it is always a problem that we are limited in terms of which pitches can be altered by the placement of the pedals. If I want to make chromatic changes to D and C at the same time, nearly impossible with both pedals on the same side, etc. But I am sure you have already encountered this issue many, many times!  (Also, of course, the issue of being unable to alter the highest and lowest strings with the pedals at all is another issue ….).  But let me think about this. I am sure issues will arise as I write and we can go through them together. 

(Strangely, as I am also a guitarist, there are some crossover issues with the harp, in terms of resonance and decay rate, which impact the instrument in an orchestral context. Maybe we can explore that.)

By the way, do we know who would be conducting?  Very curious to know that! Have a great weekend!

Best, Geoffrey ‘

 

26.9.2021

‘Hi Geoffrey,

You mentioned the chromatic difficulties of the harp, which we are all aware of and it is something that keeps popping up first when talking to composers. But what you wrote about also baring in mind not to use 2 pedals on the same side, kept me thinking. Off course I realized this before, but my question to you is: the setting of the pedals was made in the period of the beginning of the 19th century, so with the music style in mind that was played at that time. A placing with the circle of fifths in mind would appeared very logical then, no? 

So what is keeping me awake since your mail 🙂 is: do you think with the development of music style today, that another order of the pedals would be desired? In other words, are there combinations in pedals you often skip because of this? 

Best, Eline’

 

‘Hey Eline,

I am very happy to have you ask these questions. Please feel free to ask anything,anytime!

Your observation about the design of the pedals suiting the harmony practices of the period in which the design was conceived is very interesting!  Yes, there may be an order which is better suited to 21st century harmonies .

Is there ANY way a mechanism could be designed which would allow the harpist to assign the pedals to certain strings before the performance, rather than having them permanently linked to specific strings.  I have no idea if this is possible, but it would be amazing!

Talk soon!

Geoffrey

Fortunately, I haven’t bothered any harp makers with this thoughts yet, out of fear their eyes might roll out of their sockets :), but it’s still interesting to think about. Shouldn’t we musicians, too, with one of the most traditional, actually artisanal craft, strive for innovation wherever possible?

to be continued…..

oktober 24, 2022

21st century  ·  Artist  ·  composers  ·  Concert  ·  Gordon  ·  Harp  ·  Music  ·  Orchestra  ·  Stories
Eolian (2)

If your diary tells you you have to play Debussy or Ravel, one knows what to expect; you can estimate the preparation time you need, this music is part of your standard repertoire, it rings in your ear, it’s chiselled into your memory and flows through your body.
With a new work, none of these parameters are present. The writing style is unknown to your ears and fingers, the musical comptability unknown.
Gordon’s solo work for harp, Jeux de Création, was unpublished at this time, but fortunately I was given a copy ‘for my eyes only’ so I could  get acquainted with the way he writes for harp and gain insight into how he approaches the instrument.

14.6.2021

‘Dear Geoffrey,

Apology for not reacting sooner on your score!

I immediately read it last Tuesday, but was kept away from my email duties by a lot of harping 🙂

 It is absolutely wonderful. Like you describe yourself it is such a nice combination of familiar sounds of the Debussy idiom and todays influences and you do not compromise on the possibilities of the harp in technique or sound. Looking forward to Anne-Sophie Bertrand’s recording, which will be amazing, I am sure.

And now even more eager to discover the concerto!

Have a wonderful day, Eline’

 

Every composer is inspired in a different way; even if it is a commissioned composition, a source is needed. In Gordon’s case, that source is a poem: The Eolian harp by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. His imagination turns it into his own story which resulted in Eolian:

…..A new, dramatic and virtuosic concerto in three movements for harp and orchestra, Eolian draws title and inspiration from the well-known poem The Eolian Harp (1795) by English Romantic poet, Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834). The concerto, referencing the Aeolian harp (in fact a small lute-like instrument which creates melodious music when the wind blows across its strings), channels the beauty and intensity of expression which Coleridge brings to his deeply expressive and personal text. Allegorically, the harp symbolizes the poet and the wind symbolizes God’s breath – the poem contemplates man’s relationship with nature and the divine. Both the order and chaos found in nature abound here as the orchestra’s palette evokes sensual pleasure, divine force and staggering creative power, through Gordon’s lyrical and luminous writing. A riveting and intense first movement: “A light in sound, a sound-like power in light, Rhythm in all thought, and joyance everywhere—”. The exquisite slow second movement, contemplative, hushed and suspended: “Where the breeze warbles, and the mute still air Is Music slumbering on her instrument…”, “The sunbeams dance, like diamonds, on the main…”. The apogee of nature’s beauty represented as the purest form of allure and joy in the final movement: “Bubbles that glitter as they rise and break On vain Philosophy’s aye-babbling spring…”. Gordon’s Eolian marks an outstanding addition to the harp repertoire and to 21st century orchestral music more generally……(synopsis by Geoffrey Gordon)

 

1.8.2021

‘Dear Geoffrey, 

I am a little bit in holiday mode 🙂 

I ‘ve read your synopsis and like it very much!

First of all, I always find it interesting when new art is based on great works of the past. So the inspiration out of a poem will certainly evoke some inspiration for me as well!

For my blog and recordings, I did a lot of reading about the harp and Japanese composers. The fact that the harp is so close to nature and traditional instruments (probably also because we have direct contact with our strings, not like a pianist fe) is definitely one of the reasons these composers are inspired by the harp.

It makes me happy to read , that you too will search within this very heart of the instrument, exploring the richness which is naturally there.

Have you already started writing? Very curious! And eager to start reading and exploring! 

Groetjes(which is Dutch for cheers:)Eline’

 

‘Dear Eline,

Thanks for your message – so good to hear from you!  I am delighted that you like the brief on the concerto.

(And holiday mode is always a good thing!)

Your observations about the harp are really interesting – the idea of having direct contact with the strings is fascinating. I am very much looking forward to this experience!

I have not started writing yet…

Maybe it is holiday mode everywhere right now 😉

Cheers (this is English for Groetjes 🙂 )’

 

to be continued…….

oktober 23, 2022

21st century  ·  Artist  ·  composers  ·  Concert  ·  Gordon  ·  Harp  ·  Music  ·  Orchestra  ·  Stories
Eolian (1)

25th May 2021
The Corona waves are washing in and out and, like so many others, I am searching for positive projects to stick to.
In a few days, the release of my first recording as part of my GPS is scheduled: Suite for harp by Benjamin Britten.

Three blogs online and still quite searching, I am writing my next post that will accompany the Britten recording. Suddenly a message:

 

‘Greetings from New York. I hope this finds you well and you are surviving these strange days.
I would welcome the chance to share some of my work with you and to discuss a collaboration of some kind, Geoffrey Gordon’

 

Amazement, enthusiasm, a this-can’t-be-true feeling; really? Reaction to blog? to project?  already?

Gordon’s work had caught my attention before: he likes to work with extremes, soundscapes, clusters containing slightly impressionistic flashes. ‘Bright White Smooth’ is the title of his 2005/06 work for flute, viola and harp and in September 2021 Jeux de Création, a work for solo harp will find it’s première.

After a couple of getting to know one and other messages, the following:

 

‘Congratulations on this fascinating project! I absolutely love the harp – including all the challenges associated with writing for the instrument! – and I will be very interested to follow your research on this subject. I do think it is daunting for anyone who does not play the harp to fully grasp the instrument’s capabilities. And of course in an environment of atonalism (or even modern chromaticism), there are, at the very least, challenges with tuning and navigating through the notational issues. I think this probably does put some composers ‘off ‘the instrument, which is a shame. I hope your research will put an end to this!’

 

Of course, it would be more fun to fly to New York and meet and dream about a project together, but given the pandemic conditions, only mail brought an alternative.
His repertoire includes a concerto for bass clarinet, English horn, a double concerto for trumpet and piano, it is clear that this man has an interest in the non-mainstream instruments and it soon transpires that he has been running around with the idea of writing a harp concerto. My enthusiasm is unstoppable and my dream huge, but how does one realises something like this? How do you make sure it doesn’t remain just dreams?
Fortunately, I work at a place(Brussels Philharmonic) where dreams are listened to and there is room for daring projects.

Immediately a mail correspondence between Gordon’s management and Brussels Philharmonic is started and soon the first sketches for a new harp concerto are in the draft!

 

1.6.2021                     

‘Dear Geoffrey, I am also very thrilled that everything falls into place so fast.It would be wonderful that once you start writing the concerto we could correspond on this. It would be great if I could captivate your working process into my blog/research about harp repertoire. I am processing now some interviews with composers and conductors, but of course it is only a reflection by them on the harp scene. It would be so much more interesting if an actual working process of a concerto is documented, don’t you think?The blog is in a very early (presenting the harp)stage, but my plan is to go much more into detail, once some interesting repertoire is coming in the picture!  All the best, Eline’

 

to be continued…..

oktober 22, 2022

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