Love songs – pop singers abound in them. But contemporary composers can also surprise you – sometimes.
Indeed, of course, as an artist with a big A, you don’t want to fall into clichés. That’s why many composers stay away from love as a theme. But, of course, composers are not made of stone. Many modern and contemporary music expresses love – unapologetically, but always in unexpected ways. So if you are open to heartwarming music that gets around all the clichés, you have come to the right place.
Brabant-based musician Arnold Marinissen put together an entire program in which human feelings are expressed on cymbals, on musical saws and with vocal acrobatics. From American composer-guru John Cage to Brabant meditation musician Anthony Fiumara, Marinissen passionately indulges himself. Along the way, we also hear several of his compositions.
A lot more sweetness goes into Chiel Meijering. Although. His miniatures for the string quartet called Girls may sound accessible, but the inspiration is less lofty. Meijering gives voice to various women, and for the most part, they are sex symbols. They’re all in there, from Madonna and Angelina Jolie to models and porn actresses. And Huba de Graaff, his fellow composer, we find her too! Do you want to be among them? De Graaff can probably laugh about it. She is never shy of a joke in her music, either.
The Mondrian Quartet had the honour of putting this music on CD in 2002 and then kept the pieces in its repertoire for many years. So today, we hear parts from several concerts recorded by this string quartet. There were always one or two ‘Girls’ on the program.
Arnold Marinissen
1. John Cage – Story (from Living room music)
2. Richard Rijnvos – Stalker
3. Ross Harris – Silence of the dawn
4. Anthony Fiumara – Fall #3
5. Arnold Marinissen – Blink B
6. Rozalie Hirs – In LA
7. Nikolaus Huber – Clash Music
8. Piet Jan van Rossum – Anders terug
9. Arnold Marinissen – Miniatuur II
10. Koyasan – Kai Hu
11. Dugal McKinnon – Sang love songs
12. Arnold Marinissen – encore (Miniatuur IV?)
Mondriaan Kwartet / Chiel Meijering
13. Madonna
14. Brigitte Bardot
15. Dolly Parton
16. Gwyneth Paltrow
17. Annette Bergman
18. Kiss of Fire
19. Bats from hell (not from the Girls cycle; performed by Matangi Quartet)
20. Huba
21. Kiss
