De Materie
Encyclopedia
De Materie is a four-part vocal and orchestral composition by Dutch
composer Louis Andriessen
, which he composed over the period 1984 to 1988. Robert Wilson
directed the first staging of the work on 1 June 1989 at the Muziektheater, Amsterdam, with James Doing, Wendy Hill, Beppie Blankert and Marjon Brandsma as the soloists at the premiere. In the US, Part II of the work, "Hadewijch", was performed at the Tanglewood Festival in 1994. The complete work received its first US performance in 2004 at Lincoln Center, New York City
. "Hadewijch" received its UK premiere at the 1993 Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival
. The UK premiere of the full work was at the Meltdown Festival in 1994.
The work incorporates eclectic musical influences, ranging from Johann Sebastian Bach
and Igor Stravinsky
to the old Netherlands chanson "L'homme armé" and 20th-century boogie-woogie
. The work opens with 144 iterations of the same chord played fortissimo (very loud) and features an extended solo for two large metal boxes played with hammers. The texts are both sung and spoken. The four sections of the work incorporate various texts, with the dates of composition of each section in parentheses:
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
composer Louis Andriessen
Louis Andriessen
Louis Andriessen is a Dutch composer and pianist based in Amsterdam. He teaches composition at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague...
, which he composed over the period 1984 to 1988. Robert Wilson
Robert Wilson (director)
Robert Wilson is an American avant-garde stage director and playwright who has been called "[America]'s — or even the world's — foremost vanguard 'theater artist'". Over the course of his wide-ranging career, he has also worked as a choreographer, performer, painter, sculptor, video...
directed the first staging of the work on 1 June 1989 at the Muziektheater, Amsterdam, with James Doing, Wendy Hill, Beppie Blankert and Marjon Brandsma as the soloists at the premiere. In the US, Part II of the work, "Hadewijch", was performed at the Tanglewood Festival in 1994. The complete work received its first US performance in 2004 at Lincoln Center, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. "Hadewijch" received its UK premiere at the 1993 Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival
Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival
The Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival is held in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. It has a repertoire of cutting-edge jazz, orchestral, choral and electroacoustic performances, along with film, dance and music theatre...
. The UK premiere of the full work was at the Meltdown Festival in 1994.
The work incorporates eclectic musical influences, ranging from Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
and Igor Stravinsky
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ; 6 April 1971) was a Russian, later naturalized French, and then naturalized American composer, pianist, and conductor....
to the old Netherlands chanson "L'homme armé" and 20th-century boogie-woogie
Boogie-woogie
Boogie-woogie has the following meanings:*Boogie-woogie, a piano-based music style*Boogie-woogie , a swing dance or a dance that imitates the rock-n-roll dance of the 1950s*"Boogie Woogie" , a song by EuroGroove and Dannii Minogue...
. The work opens with 144 iterations of the same chord played fortissimo (very loud) and features an extended solo for two large metal boxes played with hammers. The texts are both sung and spoken. The four sections of the work incorporate various texts, with the dates of composition of each section in parentheses:
- Part I ("De Materie", 1986–1987): the 1581 Plakkaat van Verlatinge (Act of Abjuration), with a text on shipbuilding by Nicolaes WitsenNicolaes WitsenNicolaas or Nicolaes Witsen was mayor of Amsterdam thirteen times, between 1682-1706. In 1693 he became administrator of the VOC. In 1689 he was extraordinary-ambassador to the English court, and became Fellow of the Royal Society. In his free time he was cartographer, maritime writer, and an...
and the Idea Physicæ of David van GoorleDavid van GoorleDavid van Goorle was a Dutch theologian, and in the seventeenth century one of the first early modern atomists.... - Part II ("Hadewijch", 1987–1988): Zevende Visioen (Seventh Vision) by HadewijchHadewijchHadewijch was a 13th century poet and mystic, probably living in the Duchy of Brabant.Most of her extant writings, none of which survived the Middle Ages as an autograph, are in a Brabantian form of Middle Dutch...
- Part III ("'De Stijl", 1984–1985): text from The Principles of Plastic Mathematics by M. H. J. SchoenmaekersM. H. J. SchoenmaekersMathieu Hubertus Josephus Schoenmaekers was a mathematician and theosophist who formulated the plastic and philosophical principles of the De Stijl movement.-Source:...
, along with text about the Dutch painter Piet Mondrian - Part IV (untitled): excerpts from two sonnets by Willem Kloos, along with a passage from the diary of Marie CurieMarie CurieMarie Skłodowska-Curie was a physicist and chemist famous for her pioneering research on radioactivity. She was the first person honored with two Nobel Prizes—in physics and chemistry...
and her Nobel PrizeNobel PrizeThe Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
speech
Recording
- Nonesuch 7559-79367-2: Susan Narucki, James Doing, Cindy Oswin, Gertrude Thoma; Members of the Netherlands Chamber Choir; Schönberg Ensemble; Asko Ensemble; Reinbert de Leeuw, conductor