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…..