Klaas de Vries (composer)
Encyclopedia
Klaas de Vries is a Dutch
composer
. De Vries teaches composition at the conservatory of Rotterdam
and can be described as influential in the Dutch musical life.
, in the province of Zeeland
in the Netherlands. From 1965 to 1972 he studied piano, theory and composition on the conservatory of Rotterdam
. He continued studying composition from 1972 at the conservatory of The Hague
with the Dutch composer Otto Ketting, winning the compositionprize there in 1974. After winning this prize de Vries studied with the Croatian composer Milko Kelemen
in Stuttgart
, Germany
. De Vries won the Matthijs Vermeulen Award
twice: in 1984 for his work discantus (1982) and in 1998 for his opera A King, Riding and the Interludium for string orchestra (1996).
From 1972 to 1981 de Vries started to teach theory at the former conservatory of Twente
, and he was appointed as a lecturer in theory, instrumentation, and composition at the conservatory of Rotterdam
in 1979. Among his many students at this school are Thorkell Atlason, Antonio Pinho Vargas
, António Chagas Rosa
, Oscar van Dillen
, Andreas Kunstein
, Sergio Luque
, César de Oliveira
, Juan Felipe Waller, Philemon Mukarno, Dimitris Andrikopoulos
, Astrid Kruisselbrink, Florian Magnus Maier, Felipe Perez Santiago, Joey Roukens
, Edward Top
, Jian-Hua Zhuang
and Evrim Demirel
. De Vries gave master classes in Brussels
, Paris
, Manchester
, Porto
, Moscow
and San Francisco.
In the 1970s de Vries got involved in the organization of the STAMP-concerts, in cooperation with Theo Loevendie
. Since the 1980s de Vries got involved in the organization of the STAMP-concerts, in cooperation with Theo Loevendie
. Since the 1980s de Vries has also been active, together with the composer Peter-Jan Wagemans
, in the organization of the Unanswered Question foundation. This foundation concentrates on performing the works of the composition departments of the conservatories of Rotterdam
, Amsterdam
, The Hague
and Utrecht
.
The compositions of de Vries are being performed, among others, by the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra
, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
and the ASKO Ensemble
.
. Stravinsky being the largest influence for the The Hague school of composers; The Hague school can be characterized by the usage of collage-like harmonic blocks, a way of composing associated with composers as Louis Andriessen
. Although getting to compositional maturity in this surrounding, it did not take long for de Vries to realize the limitations of this style. Nevertheless, de Vries continued to use an anti-romantic approach to musical writing, shared with the The Hague school (Oskamp 11-29).
Another technique learned form Otto Ketting is Serialism
, though this never really fascinated him (Schneeweisz 8). Apart from one work, namely Refrains (1968) for two piano's and orchestra, he never felt comfortable using serialistic techniques. He was to abandon this approach quickly (Oskamp 123).
De Vries' further influences came from the music of Varèse
, Charles Ives
and the improvised music (Schneeweisz 8-9). From these composers he learned an open-mindedness towards musical composition, which made him able to follow his own musical path.
De Vries puts more focus on his own notes to be convincing themselves, instead of the notes being the result of pre-compositional systems (Schneeweisz 10, 11). In this sense he is highly aware of the fact that it is not possible to entirely envision what effect the written notes will have on a listener. His approach towards composition can be described as speculative (Klis 388-389). To be able to give meaning to his written notes, De Vries turned for instance to the symbolism
of Baroque
techniques, such as the falling motive to illustrate the idea of death. De Vries also turned his attention towards the re-usage of music of the past (Wenekes 30), as exemplified by his Organum (1971), in which he re-introduced Perotinus' style in a modern setting.
In his works de Vries tries to create a balance between structure and expression. One thing evolves from the other. Not just individual elements or sequences, but whole works (Schneeweisz 11-12).
. Together with the usage of instruments as the mandoline and gitar, this music evokes an exotic atmosphere (Wennekes 28).
De Vries' sonata (1987) for piano solo marks a turning-point which led to an even more important role of extra-musical influences (Schneeweisz 12). The 'sonata' itself is based on the novel Dr. Faustus by Thomas Mann
. De Vries is also greatly inspired by the novels of Latin-American authors, especially by the works the Argentine author Jorge Louis Borges. In his works Borges creates a large variety of mysterious repeats form a constantly recurring theme. We can see similar trend in de Vries' compositional philosophy. As it is not possible to envision entirely the effect of written music on a listener, he or she will discover new facets in a work when subsequently listening to it. It is with this that de Vries tries to play by introducing repetition and variations on musical elements, bringing him close to the philosophy of the Argentine author (Klis 390).
Borges' idea to create alternative histories in his novels highly fascinates de Vries. In his trilogy De profundis, ...sub nocte per umbras..., Diafonía (1988–1991), de Vries reconstructs the past. The ...Sub nocte per umbras... (1989) deals with an alternative reconstruction of music from the antiquity. Diafonía (1988–1989) deals with a re-invention of folk music. The last work of the three, De profundis (1991) de Vries combines musical material from the first two works (Oskamp 122).
A further source of inspiration is the Portugese author Fernando Pessoa
, whose poems de Vries uses regularly. Pessoa's poem Abdicaçao de Vries is used by de Vries for his work Abdicaçao (1996) for a capella choir. This and other poems return in his opera A King, Riding (1996) (Wenekes 28).
De Vries' also works closely together with authors. His opera Wake (2010) is based on the disaster in Enschede
in 2000, when a firework storage facility exploded and devastated an entire part of the city. The libretto is written by the English author David Mitchell
in close cooperation with de Vries. The title of the opera is an allusion to Finnegan's Wake
by the Irish novelist James Joyce
(NPSpodium, Wind).
by the English author Virginia Woolf
. The title refers to a passage form the book. De Vries also uses three poems by Pessoa
. The Waves is made out of monologues by six different personages and deal with their individual, intellectual and emotional world. There is a seventh personage, called Percival who never speaks. He is only referred to by the six speaking personages who speak about him in a subjective way. Although Percival never speaks, he is the connecting figure among the six personages. His true identity remains a mystery. The poems of Pessoa
form a moment of reflection on the Woolf story.
The idea of multiple identities, to be found in the book, is the largest source of inspiration for de Vries. 'There is not one stable identity but many in which the reader moves from the one to the other' (Deurzen 215). The opera is based on the question about the essence of identity (Oskamp 125).
In A King, Riding the six personages are depicted by six singing voices accompanied by six solo-instruments. Percival the seventh character, also has a solo-instrument, but no singing voice as he never speaks. This led to de Vries' concept of double personages; the symbiosis of the singing part and the solo-instrument forms the personage as a whole (Deurzen 216). The solo-instruments are accompanied by electronic sounds. These electronically created sounds have both the singing voices as the solo instruments as their source. A multi-layered idea of identity is then created. The first layer is formed by the singing voices. The second layer is formed by the solo-instrumental shadow, it has the same characteristics but is more vague and flexible than the voice. The third layer is formed by the electronics, the solo-instruments are still recognizable, but get distorted (Deurzen 218).
s, combined with each other. The result is a harmonic language which sounds chromatic and dissonant, but still gives a feeling of movement (Zuidam 40).
In melodic sense A King, Riding works with a basic melodic curve, and gets altered throughout the piece. This process happens partially trough the use of electronics. It is split up in smaller entities, mirrored and changes are added. In rhythmic sense we can find a lot of proportional values (Zuidam 40).
Another important aspect is the use of Baroque rhetoric. The solo-instruments accentuate the emotional state of the singing voices using special intervals and special rhythmic patterns. Also the work as whole is build as a modern passion: solo-aria’s are being varied with instrumental and ensemble parts. These parts, among which the Pessoa poems, are build as baroque chorals and madrigals using polyphonic techniques. The poems are presented as "heterophonies" (Deurzen 217).
The work was premiered the 21st of May 1996, at the Royal Circus in Brussels. The work was performed by the ASKO-Schönberg Ensemble
, conducted by Reinbert de Leeuw.
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
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
. De Vries teaches composition at the conservatory of Rotterdam
Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
and can be described as influential in the Dutch musical life.
Biography
Klaas de Vries was born on 15 July 1944 in TerneuzenTerneuzen
Terneuzen is a city and municipality in the southwestern Netherlands, in the province of Zeeland, in the middle of Zeelandic Flanders. With over 55,000 inhabitants, it is the most populous municipality of Zeeland.-Population centres :...
, in the province of Zeeland
Zeeland
Zeeland , also called Zealand in English, is the westernmost province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the south-west of the country, consists of a number of islands and a strip bordering Belgium. Its capital is Middelburg. With a population of about 380,000, its area is about...
in the Netherlands. From 1965 to 1972 he studied piano, theory and composition on the conservatory of Rotterdam
Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
. He continued studying composition from 1972 at the conservatory of The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
with the Dutch composer Otto Ketting, winning the compositionprize there in 1974. After winning this prize de Vries studied with the Croatian composer Milko Kelemen
Milko Kelemen
Milko Kelemen is a Croatian composer.- Life :Milko Kelemen studied under Stjepan Šulek in Zagreb, under Olivier Messiaen in Paris and Wolfgang Fortner in Freiburg amongst others....
in Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. De Vries won the Matthijs Vermeulen Award
Matthijs Vermeulen Award
The Matthijs Vermeulen Award is a Dutch composition prize. It was named after the Dutch composer Matthijs Vermeulen .During the years 1972 through 2004, the prize was awarded annually by the Amsterdam Foundation for the Arts...
twice: in 1984 for his work discantus (1982) and in 1998 for his opera A King, Riding and the Interludium for string orchestra (1996).
From 1972 to 1981 de Vries started to teach theory at the former conservatory of Twente
Twente
Twente is a non-administrative region in the eastern Netherlands. It encompasses the most urbanised and easternmost part of the province of Overijssel...
, and he was appointed as a lecturer in theory, instrumentation, and composition at the conservatory of Rotterdam
Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
in 1979. Among his many students at this school are Thorkell Atlason, Antonio Pinho Vargas
António Pinho Vargas
António Pinho Vargas is a Portuguese composer and pianist specialized in the performance and writing of Jazz and as well as Contemporary Music....
, António Chagas Rosa
António Chagas Rosa
António Chagas Rosa is a Portuguese composer of contemporary classical music, considered one of the leading figures of contemporary musical writing of his generation....
, Oscar van Dillen
Oscar van Dillen
Oscar Ignatius Joannes van Dillen is a Dutch composer, conductor, and instrumentalist.-Education:Van Dillen studied North-Indian classical music with Jamaluddin Bhartiya at the Tritantri School in Amsterdam and bansuri with Gurbachan Singh Sachdev at the Bansuri School of Music in Berkeley,...
, Andreas Kunstein
Andreas Kunstein
Andreas Kunstein is a composer who was born in Brühl . In his youth, he received piano lessons and wrote his first compositions. After finishing high school, he studied History and Philosophy in Düsseldorf....
, Sergio Luque
Sergio Luque
Sergio Luque is a composer of experimental classical and electroacoustic music. His work often involves computer-aided algorithmic composition and stochastic processes....
, César de Oliveira
César de Oliveira
César de Oliveira is a Portuguese composer.-External links:* biographical page, accessed 10 February 2010* profile...
, Juan Felipe Waller, Philemon Mukarno, Dimitris Andrikopoulos
Dimitris Andrikopoulos
Dimitris Andrikopoulos is a Greek-Dutch composer.-External links:** on Donemus, Amsterdam* on Superior School of Arts site, Porto...
, Astrid Kruisselbrink, Florian Magnus Maier, Felipe Perez Santiago, Joey Roukens
Joey Roukens
Joey Roukens is a Dutch composer of contemporary classical music.Roukens studied composition with Klaas de Vries at the Rotterdam Conservatoire and psychology at Leiden University. Roukens also studied piano privately with Ton Hartsuiker...
, Edward Top
Edward Top
Siemon Edward Top is a Dutch composer.Top studied violin and composition with Peter-Jan Wagemans at the Rotterdam Conservatoire. He won the Dutch prize for composition in 1999. He also studied composition with Klaas de Vries...
, Jian-Hua Zhuang
Jian-Hua Zhuang
Jian-Hua Zhuang is a Chinese-born composer active in the Netherlands.Zhuang received a Bachelor of Music degree from the Sichuan Conservatory of Music in 1988. Later, he moved to the Netherlands, completing a master's degree, also in music, at the Rotterdam Conservatory of Music in 1996. Among...
and Evrim Demirel
Evrim Demirel
Evrim Demirel is a Turkish composer and jazz pianist.Evrim Demirel was educated in Izmir High School of Fine Arts and he studied piano with Nergis Sakirzade. Then he enrolled at Bilkent University in Ankara becoming a student in the Theory-Composition Department of the Music and Performing Arts...
. De Vries gave master classes in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, Porto
Porto
Porto , also known as Oporto in English, is the second largest city in Portugal and one of the major urban areas in the Iberian Peninsula. Its administrative limits include a population of 237,559 inhabitants distributed within 15 civil parishes...
, Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
and San Francisco.
In the 1970s de Vries got involved in the organization of the STAMP-concerts, in cooperation with Theo Loevendie
Theo Loevendie
Theo Loevendie is a Dutch composer and clarinet player.Loevendie studied composition and clarinet at the Conservatoire of Amsterdam. Initially he concentrated on jazz music. As off 1968 he also wrote concert music, among which operas, concertos and chamber music...
. Since the 1980s de Vries got involved in the organization of the STAMP-concerts, in cooperation with Theo Loevendie
Theo Loevendie
Theo Loevendie is a Dutch composer and clarinet player.Loevendie studied composition and clarinet at the Conservatoire of Amsterdam. Initially he concentrated on jazz music. As off 1968 he also wrote concert music, among which operas, concertos and chamber music...
. Since the 1980s de Vries has also been active, together with the composer Peter-Jan Wagemans
Peter-Jan Wagemans
Peter-Jan Wagemans is a Dutch composer.Wagemans studied organ , composition with Jan van Vlijmen and music theory at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague. After his studies he also worked with Klaus Huber in Freiburg.According to Wagemans' philosophy, music is shaped in the observation of the...
, in the organization of the Unanswered Question foundation. This foundation concentrates on performing the works of the composition departments of the conservatories of Rotterdam
Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
, Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
and Utrecht
Utrecht
Utrecht is a city in the Netherlands.The name may also refer to:* Utrecht , of which Utrecht is the capital* Utrecht , including the city of Utrecht* Bishopric of Utrecht* Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Utrecht...
.
The compositions of de Vries are being performed, among others, by the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra
Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra
The Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra is a Dutch symphony orchestra based in Rotterdam. Its primary venue is the concert hall De Doelen. The RPhO is considered one of the Netherlands' two principal orchestras of international standing, second to the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam...
, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra is a symphony orchestra of the Netherlands, based at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. In 1988, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands conferred the "Royal" title upon the orchestra...
and the ASKO Ensemble
Asko Ensemble
Asko Ensemble is a Dutch chamber orchestra that specializes in contemporary classical music. Formed in 1965 and based in Amsterdam, the group performs traditional concerts along with film music programmes, dance and multimedia projects and modern opera....
.
Early influences
From his studies with Otto Ketting De Vries developed a fascination for Stravinsky, Bartók and BergBerg
Berg is the word for mountain in various Germanic languages, and may also refer to:-People:* Alban Berg , Austrian composer of the Second Viennese School.* Paul Berg Berg is the word for mountain in various Germanic languages, and may also refer to:-People:* Alban Berg (1885-1935), Austrian...
. Stravinsky being the largest influence for the The Hague school of composers; The Hague school can be characterized by the usage of collage-like harmonic blocks, a way of composing associated with composers as 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...
. Although getting to compositional maturity in this surrounding, it did not take long for de Vries to realize the limitations of this style. Nevertheless, de Vries continued to use an anti-romantic approach to musical writing, shared with the The Hague school (Oskamp 11-29).
Another technique learned form Otto Ketting is Serialism
Serialism
In music, serialism is a method or technique of composition that uses a series of values to manipulate different musical elements. Serialism began primarily with Arnold Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique, though his contemporaries were also working to establish serialism as one example of...
, though this never really fascinated him (Schneeweisz 8). Apart from one work, namely Refrains (1968) for two piano's and orchestra, he never felt comfortable using serialistic techniques. He was to abandon this approach quickly (Oskamp 123).
De Vries' further influences came from the music of Varèse
Varese
Varese is a town and comune in north-western Lombardy, northern Italy, 55 km north of Milan.It is the capital of the Province of Varese. The hinterland or urban part of the city is called Varesotto.- Geography :...
, Charles Ives
Charles Ives
Charles Edward Ives was an American modernist composer. He is one of the first American composers of international renown, though Ives' music was largely ignored during his life, and many of his works went unperformed for many years. Over time, Ives came to be regarded as an "American Original"...
and the improvised music (Schneeweisz 8-9). From these composers he learned an open-mindedness towards musical composition, which made him able to follow his own musical path.
Mature style
De Vries' compositions can be described as a search for an own musical identity, the main goal being the creation of a style of writing in which he can be freed from given compositional necessities. The music of Berio influenced him to abandon the The Hague school style and its static harmonic blocks. In his work bewegingen (English: movements) (1979) he experimented with the usage of fluent transitions and continuity (Oskamp 124).De Vries puts more focus on his own notes to be convincing themselves, instead of the notes being the result of pre-compositional systems (Schneeweisz 10, 11). In this sense he is highly aware of the fact that it is not possible to entirely envision what effect the written notes will have on a listener. His approach towards composition can be described as speculative (Klis 388-389). To be able to give meaning to his written notes, De Vries turned for instance to the symbolism
Symbolism (arts)
Symbolism was a late nineteenth-century art movement of French, Russian and Belgian origin in poetry and other arts. In literature, the style had its beginnings with the publication Les Fleurs du mal by Charles Baudelaire...
of Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
techniques, such as the falling motive to illustrate the idea of death. De Vries also turned his attention towards the re-usage of music of the past (Wenekes 30), as exemplified by his Organum (1971), in which he re-introduced Perotinus' style in a modern setting.
In his works de Vries tries to create a balance between structure and expression. One thing evolves from the other. Not just individual elements or sequences, but whole works (Schneeweisz 11-12).
Literary influences
In his quest for finding new ways of expression in his music de Vries also turned to literature. In his chamberopera Eréndira (1984) he uses the novel of Gabriel García MárquezGabriel García Márquez
Gabriel José de la Concordia García Márquez is a Colombian novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter and journalist, known affectionately as Gabo throughout Latin America. He is considered one of the most significant authors of the 20th century. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in...
. Together with the usage of instruments as the mandoline and gitar, this music evokes an exotic atmosphere (Wennekes 28).
De Vries' sonata (1987) for piano solo marks a turning-point which led to an even more important role of extra-musical influences (Schneeweisz 12). The 'sonata' itself is based on the novel Dr. Faustus by Thomas Mann
Thomas Mann
Thomas Mann was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and 1929 Nobel Prize laureate, known for his series of highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novellas, noted for their insight into the psychology of the artist and the intellectual...
. De Vries is also greatly inspired by the novels of Latin-American authors, especially by the works the Argentine author Jorge Louis Borges. In his works Borges creates a large variety of mysterious repeats form a constantly recurring theme. We can see similar trend in de Vries' compositional philosophy. As it is not possible to envision entirely the effect of written music on a listener, he or she will discover new facets in a work when subsequently listening to it. It is with this that de Vries tries to play by introducing repetition and variations on musical elements, bringing him close to the philosophy of the Argentine author (Klis 390).
Borges' idea to create alternative histories in his novels highly fascinates de Vries. In his trilogy De profundis, ...sub nocte per umbras..., Diafonía (1988–1991), de Vries reconstructs the past. The ...Sub nocte per umbras... (1989) deals with an alternative reconstruction of music from the antiquity. Diafonía (1988–1989) deals with a re-invention of folk music. The last work of the three, De profundis (1991) de Vries combines musical material from the first two works (Oskamp 122).
A further source of inspiration is the Portugese author Fernando Pessoa
Fernando Pessoa
Fernando Pessoa, born Fernando António Nogueira de Seabra Pessoa , was a Portuguese poet, writer, literary critic and translator described as one of the most significant literary figures of the 20th century and one of the greatest poets in the Portuguese language.-Early years in Durban:On 13 July...
, whose poems de Vries uses regularly. Pessoa's poem Abdicaçao de Vries is used by de Vries for his work Abdicaçao (1996) for a capella choir. This and other poems return in his opera A King, Riding (1996) (Wenekes 28).
De Vries' also works closely together with authors. His opera Wake (2010) is based on the disaster in Enschede
Enschede
Enschede , also known as Eanske in the local dialect of Twents, is a municipality and a city in the eastern Netherlands in the province of Overijssel and in the Twente region...
in 2000, when a firework storage facility exploded and devastated an entire part of the city. The libretto is written by the English author David Mitchell
David Mitchell (author)
David Stephen Mitchell is an English novelist. He has written five novels, two of which were shortlisted for the Booker Prize.- Biography :...
in close cooperation with de Vries. The title of the opera is an allusion to Finnegan's Wake
Finnegan's Wake
"Finnegan's Wake" is a ballad that arose in the 1850s in the music-hall tradition of comical Irish songs. The song is a staple of the Irish folk-music group, The Dubliners, who have played it on many occasions and included it on several albums, and is especially well known to fans of The Clancy...
by the Irish novelist James Joyce
James Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century...
(NPSpodium, Wind).
Multiple identities
The opera A King, Riding (1996) can be seen as one of de Vries' largest and most successful works until now. The opera is based on the book The WavesThe Waves
- External links :* The Waves, at wikilivres.info...
by the English author Virginia Woolf
Virginia Woolf
Adeline Virginia Woolf was an English author, essayist, publisher, and writer of short stories, regarded as one of the foremost modernist literary figures of the twentieth century....
. The title refers to a passage form the book. De Vries also uses three poems by Pessoa
Pessoa
Pessoa may refer to:People*Andy Pessoa , American actor*Ciro Pessoa , Brazilian musician*Epitácio Pessoa , Brazilian politician and jurist*Fernando Pessoa , Portuguese poet and writer...
. The Waves is made out of monologues by six different personages and deal with their individual, intellectual and emotional world. There is a seventh personage, called Percival who never speaks. He is only referred to by the six speaking personages who speak about him in a subjective way. Although Percival never speaks, he is the connecting figure among the six personages. His true identity remains a mystery. The poems of Pessoa
Pessoa
Pessoa may refer to:People*Andy Pessoa , American actor*Ciro Pessoa , Brazilian musician*Epitácio Pessoa , Brazilian politician and jurist*Fernando Pessoa , Portuguese poet and writer...
form a moment of reflection on the Woolf story.
The idea of multiple identities, to be found in the book, is the largest source of inspiration for de Vries. 'There is not one stable identity but many in which the reader moves from the one to the other' (Deurzen 215). The opera is based on the question about the essence of identity (Oskamp 125).
In A King, Riding the six personages are depicted by six singing voices accompanied by six solo-instruments. Percival the seventh character, also has a solo-instrument, but no singing voice as he never speaks. This led to de Vries' concept of double personages; the symbiosis of the singing part and the solo-instrument forms the personage as a whole (Deurzen 216). The solo-instruments are accompanied by electronic sounds. These electronically created sounds have both the singing voices as the solo instruments as their source. A multi-layered idea of identity is then created. The first layer is formed by the singing voices. The second layer is formed by the solo-instrumental shadow, it has the same characteristics but is more vague and flexible than the voice. The third layer is formed by the electronics, the solo-instruments are still recognizable, but get distorted (Deurzen 218).
Compositional techniques
The work has a fundamental chord which works as a building block in harmonic sense for the entire work. All other chords and harmonies are derived from this chord. The chord, depicted as figure 1, is made out of combinations of dominant seventh chordDominant seventh chord
In music theory, a dominant seventh chord, or major minor seventh chord,is a chord composed of a root, major third, perfect fifth, and minor seventh. It can be also viewed as a major triad with an additional minor seventh...
s, combined with each other. The result is a harmonic language which sounds chromatic and dissonant, but still gives a feeling of movement (Zuidam 40).
In melodic sense A King, Riding works with a basic melodic curve, and gets altered throughout the piece. This process happens partially trough the use of electronics. It is split up in smaller entities, mirrored and changes are added. In rhythmic sense we can find a lot of proportional values (Zuidam 40).
Another important aspect is the use of Baroque rhetoric. The solo-instruments accentuate the emotional state of the singing voices using special intervals and special rhythmic patterns. Also the work as whole is build as a modern passion: solo-aria’s are being varied with instrumental and ensemble parts. These parts, among which the Pessoa poems, are build as baroque chorals and madrigals using polyphonic techniques. The poems are presented as "heterophonies" (Deurzen 217).
The work was premiered the 21st of May 1996, at the Royal Circus in Brussels. The work was performed by the ASKO-Schönberg Ensemble
Asko Ensemble
Asko Ensemble is a Dutch chamber orchestra that specializes in contemporary classical music. Formed in 1965 and based in Amsterdam, the group performs traditional concerts along with film music programmes, dance and multimedia projects and modern opera....
, conducted by Reinbert de Leeuw.
Works
- Three pieces for wind quintet (1968)
- Chain of changes for pianosolo (1968)
- Refrains, for orchestra and 2 piano's (1970)
- Five-part fantasy, for fluteensemble or other instrumentation (1971)
- Organum, for 4 trombones and 3 piano's (amplified) (1971)
- Mars, for tenorsaxofoon and piano (1972)
- Follia, for brass, percussion, electronic instruments and 5 solo-string instruments (1972-'73)
- Kwartet, for low string instruments (1973)
- Kadens, for windorchestra (1973)
- Tegenzangen, for four-part mixed choir and orchestra with choir and percussion ensemble (1973)
- Twee koralen, for 4 saxofoons (1974)
- Quasi una fantasia, for wind instruments, percussion, electronic organ and stringquintet (1975)
- Moeilijkheden, for wind instruments and piano (1977)
- Impromptu, for flute and percussion (1978)
- Bewegingen, for 15 instruments (1979)
- Kotz, suite for 11 instruments(1979)
- Rondo, for horn and piano (1979)
- Drie harpisten, 3 pieces for 3 small harps (1979)
- Das Lebewohl? oder ... das Wiedersehn, two small pieces for string quartet (1979)
- Areas, voor groot koor en orkest met klein koor en zes instrumentalists (1980)
- Tombeau, for string orchestra (1980)
- Discantus, for orchestra (1982)
- Eréndira, opera for 5 instrumental soloists, small choir and ensemble, libretto of Peter te Nuyl (1984)
- Instrumental music from Eréndira, for ensemble (1984, rev. 1992)
- 4 tango's, for voice and 4 accordions (1985)
- Murder in the dark, 5 micronal works for harpsichord (1985)
- Phrases, for solo-soprano, mixed koor, 6 instrumental soloists and orchestra (1986)
- Sonata for piano (1987)
- Diafonía - la Creación, for two sopranos and ensemble (1988-‘89)
- Diafonía - la Creación, for two sopranos and two piano's (1988-‘89)
- Songs and dances, for violin and piano (1989)
- Sub nocte per umbras - ibant obscuri sub nocte per umbras, for large ensemble or chamber orchestra (1989)
- Berceuse, for bass-clarinet and percussion (1990)
- De profundis, for large brass orchestra (1991)
- Umbrae, for alt-recorder, bass-recorder and piano (1992)
- Eclips (Hommage à Alexandre Scriabin), for large ensemble (1992)
- Strijkkwartet nr.1 String quartet(1993)
- Déploration sur la mort de Johan Ockeghem, for ensemble
- A King, Riding, scenic oratorium in 3 parts: (1995)
- Abdicaçao, for mixed a-capella choir (1996)
- Tegen de tijd, elegie for viola-solo (1998)
- Concert voor piano en orkest, concerto for piano and orchestra (1998)
- Concert voor piano en orkest, version for piano and 6 instrumentalists (1998, rev. 2003)
- Aleph, for mixed orchestra and choir (1999)
- Litanie, for mezzo-soprano and 8 cellos (1999)
- Antagonistische ode, for orchestra (2000, rev. 2005)
- Preludium - Interludium – Postludium, for 23 solo-string players (1996-2000)
- Ghaf, for ensemble (2003)
- Versus, for brass ensemble (2004)
- Concert voor viool en orkest, concerto for violin and orchestra (2005)
- Stimmen-Engführung, for a-capella choir (2006)
- Just Numbers, Dancing, for orchestra (2007)
- Wake, opera in 4 acts. Libretto by David Mitchell. (2010)
Discography
- A King Riding (Composers' Voice)
- Areas, Bewegingen, Follia, Discantus, Phrases (Composers' Voice)
- Diafonía, Sub nocte per umbras, De Profundis (Composers' Voice)
- Bart BermanBart BermanBart Berman is a Dutch-Israeli pianist and composer, best known as an interpreter of Franz Schubert and 20th century music....
, piano: VriendJan VriendJan Vriend is a Dutch classical music composer, conductor and pianist.Vriend was born in Benningbroek, North Holland, and studied at the Amsterdam Conservatory from 1960 to 1967, with Else Krijgsoman , Anthon van der Horst and Jan Felderhof , and Ton de Leeuw...
, HeksterWalter HeksterWalter Hekster is a Dutch composer, clarinetist and conductor of classical music, specializing in contemporary classical music....
, LoevendieTheo LoevendieTheo Loevendie is a Dutch composer and clarinet player.Loevendie studied composition and clarinet at the Conservatoire of Amsterdam. Initially he concentrated on jazz music. As off 1968 he also wrote concert music, among which operas, concertos and chamber music...
, De Vries, KleinbussinkJan KleinbussinkJan Kleinbussink is a Dutch classical musician who specializes in the performance of old music. He is the cantor-organist of the Central Church in Deventer, also known as the Lebuïnus Church. He is also well known for his contributions as an instrumentalist and conductor to recordings of J.S....
(Golf) - The contemporary harpsichord (NM Classics)
- Osiris trio and guests (NM Classics)
- Cappella Amsterdam (Q disc)