In 2004 I was asked by the chamber-choir "Quintessens" from Westervoort
in The Netherlands to write a piece in celebration of their 20th anniversary.
To take music itself as a theme for the piece was an obvious choice- a
choir exists through and for music.
It was only when I began to think about describing the essential aspects
of music in words that the complexity of the problem became clear: music
exists to express that which words cannot. Melody, rhythm and harmony supply
the grammar and the syntax of a language which begins where words fail.
Finally, with a little help from several visual artists (Mondriaan's
rhythm, Rothko's harmonic colours) i was able to find the words to describe
the ingredients - the quintessentials- of music. However, dealing with
them separately in the music proved to be impossible, since music is a
combination of all three: if one element is missing, the music tends to
disintegrate.
Although the text of each movement deals with a single element, all
are integrated within the music. Melody is expressed through rhythm and
harmony, each individual element is dependant on the others. Which is also
a good way to describe a choir.
Length: 14 minutes
Information about ordering the music can be found on the "contact" page- see link above.
"Quintessentials" was first performed on November 27th, 2004 in Westervoort,
The Netherlands
| "Quintessens" chamber choir | This page in Dutch/Nederlandse vertaling |
| Lines in Space. Pages 1-2 | Heartbeat. Pages 1-2 | Circles. Pages 1-2 |
An air in air, a line in space, a voice which speaks from heart to
heart,
Each note a word, each melody a sentence tracing memories, a shape
in time.
A guiding line, a memory, a finger in the shifting sands, a shape
in time.
Each guiding line, each melody a sentence tracing memories, a shape
in time.
A chain of continuity, a linking.
Eternity, memory, melody, the inner flow of life.
An air in air, a line in space, a voice which speaks from heart to
heart,
A counterpoint, point to point, a melody.
Heartbeat
Heart beat
We come and we go, we ebb and we flow, from high to the low, we
to and we fro.
The measurement of mortal time from cradle to the grave,
The movement of the pendulum from wave to wave to pulsing wave.
We walk to run, we leap to dance, our footsteps pace a mortal round,
A measure for our human race, the spinning of the stars in sound.
Circles
Sound Ö Circles, circles all-encompassing, circles within circles
Ö
A balancing of whole and parts, an equilibrium of sound,
A compromise of head and heart, consensus in the round.
Circles in circles in space Ö
Inner space is resonating, echoing in sympathy,
A mirror of the human soul reflected by eternity.
Interweaving consonance, a universe of living breath,
Intertwining resonance, the living sounds of love and death,
Circles, whirling, spinning running rings around the soul,
Each harmony a partial in the universal whole.