Compositions

This piece was inspired by a painting by a young Belgian artist, Virginie Vandeputte. I first saw the painting in 2014 and was immediately inspired to write music. The painting has no title, but there is a clear reference to the myth of Daphne, a nymph who is desperate to run away from the god Apollo. She begs her father Peneus to transform her. There is a great amount of verticality in the painting, rising towards heaven, rising from the darkness, the desperate search for freedom. All the same, there is fear for darkness as well as, perhaps, freedom. Thus I gave my work the title ‘Eleftheria’, the Greek word for freedom. In this word one also finds the origin of the French élever or the English ‘to lift’, which reinforces the vertical aspect of the painting (and the music). I tried to translate the movement suggested by the painting unto a horizontal axes, determining the structure of the composition. The rhythmical values evolve from very large to rather small, until they resolve in the broad sound of the opening. The vertical aspect is also clearly present in my piece: the basic motif of the composition is a simple ascending line (micro), but also the ambitus of the orchestra slowly rises throughout the work.

Eleftheria (excerpt)

A work for two piccolo's and piano, and a hommage to the Belgian artist Stromae. The title is 'verlan' (a French dialect) for the word 'Hommage'. Performed by Peter Verhoyen, Anke Lauwers and Stefan De Schepper.

Magehom (excerpt)

The show must go on

My concerto for piccolo and large orchestra is constructed as one big musical form, based upon the principles of a Western sonata form. The basic rhythmic material is an Indian tala-pattern, presented by the claves during the opening of the work. This eight-part structure is the foundation for all the motives and metric modulation in the piece. The soloist has a vivid dialogue with the different orchestral colors, mainly motivic in construction. The concerto has a mix of virtuoso and lyrical moments, and the never-absent tala drives the work to its huge climax. Performed by Peter Verhoyen and Ataneres Ensemble (cond. Erik Desimpelaere)

Concerto for piccolo and orchestra (finale)

This suite for string orchestra is based on three different Norwegian folk melodies.  The first, most prominently present in the composition, is called ‘Dan fagraste viso pao Joræ’, which means basically ‘the most beautiful song on earth’.  It is an irregularly constructed phrase, with very expressive intervals and a double modality.  These two parameters became the basic inspiration for the musical structure of the piece.  The other two melodies used are ‘Sæterjentens Søndag’ (A sunday at the mountain pastures) and ‘Aa lensmand’ (The farmer). Performed by Arco Baleno

Suite on Norwegian Folk Melodies (excerpt)

The Rhapsody for oboe, clarinet and strings has three movements, played attacca. In the first movement the oboe takes the lead, after a orchestral introduction. The clarinet is soloist in a slow middle movement. Both soloists join in a sparkling cadenza and finale to conclude the piece. Performed by Eddy Vanoosthuyze, Maarten Wijnen and Ataneres Ensemble (cond. Erik Desimpelaere)

Rhapsody (excerpt)

This piece is attempting to use the principles of stereoscopy in music.  Stereoscopy is a technique for creating or enhancing the illusion of depth in an image by means of stereopsis for binocular vision.  Today this technique is used to create 3D cinema, but in this piece I refer to a much older commercial stereoscopic product: the View-Master. The structure of my composition is based on the so-called View-Master reel, which contains 7 stereo-photographs (14 images).  The 14 parts of this composition are not linked in pairs (as with the View-Master reel).  They are connected by a more layered exchange of musical motives and metric modulations.  The composition of each of the 14 parts is also based on the principles of stereoscopy.  The constant interaction of the three instruments is trying to create a musical 3D illusion. Performed by Triotique

Album onbekend (6/08/2020 20:36:20)

View-Master (excerpt)

‘A Requiem for Narcissus’ is based on the antique myth of Narcissus and Echo.  Cursed by Hera, Echo is only able to repeat the last words of the person talking to her.  Narcissus is annoyed by her ghastly appearance and rejects her, after which he himself is cursed by the Gods.  He notices his own beauty by looking in a pool of water and falls hopelessly in love with himself.  Unable to reach his beloved, he weeps bitterly and transforms slowly into a beautiful flower. Musical echo’s and mirrors play an important role in this composition, both in the interaction between the soloists and the band, and in the microstructural elements of the motives and harmonies.  The solo-horns are positioned at different places in the hall, creating a spatial element. All musical material is derived from the chorale ‘O Welt, Ich muss dich lassen’ by J.S. Bach.  This chorale symbolizes the tears of Narcissus during his tragic transformation.  The composition is devided into four mouvements, each entitled with a fragment from the Latin Requiem Mass.  Additionaly, each movement is based on one particular motive or melody.

A Requiem For Narcissus (Excerpt 2)

A Requiem for Narcissus (Excerpt 1)

A cover of the song 'Once You' by Jacob Collier. I made an arrangement for double bass and piano in the style of Rachmaninov or Chopin chamber music. Performed by Erik & David Desimpelaere

Once You (cover)

This piece was commissioned by David Heyes. Sirba is inspired by East-European folk music and is a kind of mirror of Tzigane by Ravel, but than in a version for double bass and piano. Thus the piece opens with a long solo cadenza for the double bass. Performed by David & Erik Desimpelaere

Sirba

Erik Desimpelaere is a Belgian composer, pianist and conductor.

Eleftheria (excerpt)

Erik Desimpelaere

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