Phenix, the name of one of the compositions on the program, can be regarded as a sort of motto for this concert. Of the seven pieces being performed this afternoon, five have already existed in another guise. In almost all of his compositions, Geert van Keulens uses material from earlier work in one form or another. The degree of “reuse” can vary greatly per composition: sometimes it is merely an underlying harmonic pattern or a rhythmic structure, other times entire passages.
In the piano piece Frenzy, Melancholia, Vienna and the Trio, this is taken to the furthest extreme: the notes in both compositions are exactly the same; only the instrumentation differs. As a result, two completely different musical worlds are evoked. But it goes even further, because these two pieces, in turn, originated from an earlier saxophone quartet.
Phenix has a similar background. It began under the name Wals as a piece for Hoketus, then continued under the same name for two wind orchestras, was subsequently transformed into an organ work with a synthesizer track titled Around, and premiered in the Orgelpark in 2013 in collaboration with Jaap Drupsteen (who created projections on the organ front). Finally, it has taken the form in which it will be heard here for the first time this afternoon.
The song cycle Bitte an den Maler is a selection from Fünf tragische Lieder (for baritone and large orchestra) which Van Keulen has re-orchestrated for baritone and ensemble.
In Inside Out, which has three of the Twelve Studies for flute solo as its backbone, the flute part is embedded within the parts of the ensemble. Just as the musical material of the flute etudes was excavated from earlier compositions, the notes of the other voices also find their origin in the corresponding pieces.
Composers in the crosshairs of our attention