For Van Gogh in Me, the Nederlands Kamerkoor commissioned one of the first a cappella arrangements for choir of this iconic work for piano by Erik Satie. The arrangement, made by composer William Knight after an idea by Tido Visser, is the first arrangement to use the text of Les Antiques, a poem by J.P. Contamine de Latour. Contamine de Latour was not only a close friend of Satie’s, but his poem probably also inspired Satie’s Gymnopédie: the work ends with the word “gymnopédie” and was published in a magazine in 1888 at the same time as Satie’s first Gymnopédie.

Contamine de Latour’s poem speaks of “fiery atoms of amber” and “whirlwinds of gold” — elements featured in the single’s video. The artwork in the video is based on Van Gogh’s iconic Sunflowers and created by the Italian studio fuse* for the Van Gogh in Me performances. The live performances, which kick off on November 11 in the Netherlands, show how the visuals not only react to the music, but also interact live with the emotional experiences of the musicians and the audience via biometric data.