What are the possibilities of a poem?
For centuries, composers have been trying to put poetry to music. This began in the Middle Ages with roundels and virelais. During the Renaissance, the madrigal was extremely popular, while the Baroque period brought us opera and cantatas. From the Romantic period onwards, lyrical poetry was captured in art songs, short, expressive compositions that often had a folk flavour.
You can also be inspired by poetry without setting it to music. That is exactly what today’s composers have done. Daan Manneke (*1939) chose eight poems by Guide Gezelle for for his chronicle De zonne rijst (The Sun Rises).He accompanies the West Flemish nature poetry by this romantic clergyman with organ compositions. In this case, the poems are recited before the music is played.
Martijn Padding (*1956) has also taken an interest in poetry. For Een kooi van klank (A Cage of Sound), he collaborated with Anna Enquist, a poet and writer who studied at the conservatory herself and is particularly interested in music in her work. In Een kooi van klank he composed music for the bass flute, as a counterpoint to Enquist’s clear recitations.
The two also collaborated for One flute. It was a different story here: Padding composed a series of musical pieces (this time for regular flute), for which Enquist wrote poems. To conclude this programme, you will hear a few of the pieces from this work. We did not have time for Enquist’s accompanying poetry; we would like to refer you to the bookshop for that.
Playlist
Daan Manneke (Guido Gezelle) – De zonne rijst
1. De zonne rijst
2. Bonte abeelen
3. Hemellawerke, heet gij
4. Confiteor
5. Ego flos, ik ben een blomme
6. Het hazegrauwt
7. De grote zon, de koning is gekommen
8. Aleer het licht ten avond raakt
Martijn Padding (Anna Enquist) – Een kooi van klank
9. Een kooi van klank
10. Begin
11. Stem
12. Dragen
13. Foto
14. Liedje
15. Schubert
16. Pavane
17. Koor
18. Goede raad
19. Tamboer
Martijn Padding – One flute
20. Fanfare
21. Homage to Erik Satie
22. Canon 5:11
23. Mysterious flute
24. Homage to Ferdinand Cheval
