Compositions

The starting point for his trio was the transformation of a noble hymn towards its burlesque parody. This musical tragedy is accomplished through a slow evolution throughout the piece.  I used the form of an Antique Greek Tragedy, with the three members of the Oboe-family as the three main characters (Protagonist, deuteragonist and tritagonist).   Rhythmically I used the antique Greek meter as an inspiration.  Also the idea of catharsis as stated by Aristotle is important in this musical work.

Harelbeekse Componisten

An unexpected musical Tragedy

Ballade (excerpt)

‘Les cinq Motets d’Mirages’ is a composition for woodwind quintet, based on a so called ‘Motet d’Image’ from the Harelbeke-born composer Andreas Pevernage (1542/34 – 1591).  ‘Osculetur me osculo oris sui…’ ; these are the first words of the shortest book in the Old Testament: the Song of Songs from King Salomon.  They are also the opening lyrics of Pevernage’s Motet ‘Osculetur me’.  The text of the Song of Songs consists out of a number of poems depicting the love of a (wedding) couple.  From a religious point of view the love of the bride for her future husband is compared to the relationship between a christian and God.  A secular view on these texts would consider them just as a collection of love poems.  This composition consists out of five ‘Motets’ for woodwind quintet, each of them based on a specific fragment of the Song of Songs.  I called them ‘Motets d’Mirages’.  They are an impressionistic mirage of the feelings depicted in these ancient words.

Album onbekend (13/11/2017 20:34:56)

Les cinq Motets d'Mirages - Sive de caprea

This piece is a tribute to J.S. Bach.  All musical material is derived from the Choral Fantasy ‘Komm, heiliger Geist’, BWV 651, originally written for organ.  This piece contains the choral melody in the pedal of the organ as a cantus firmus, with on top a polyphonic, monothematic texture.  ‘He’s coming, Mr. B!’ was commissioned by ‘The Royal Navy Band of Belgium’, conducted by Bjorn Verschoore.

He's Coming Mr. B!

This composition pays tribute to Miles Davis.  All musical material is based on a quote from his song ‘Milestones’.  The piece was commissioned by the Marnixring Kortrijk. Recording by Roeland Henkens (trumpet), David Desimpelaere (double bass) and Erik Desimpelaere (piano).

Kind Of Miles

Norway, July 22nd 2011: Anders Behring Breivik shoots 69 youngsters during a political camp on the Island of Utøya. A few hours earlier, a bombing took place in the center of Oslo, making 8 deadly victims. Only later, both of these crimes will be confessed by the same person...  

It is almost impossible to understand that such horrible deeds can happen in the pacific society that characterises Norway, the country where every year the Nobel Prize for peace is awarded. I put in this music emotions of incomprehension, anger, but also hope. 

The piece starts and ends with a total of 8 three-volley salutes for the approximately 80 human lifes that were lost that day. The music tells the story of a person who lost all love for his fellow people. I expressed this by starting from a simple theme, that develops into an almost terrifying musical declamation. I would like to end the piece with the message of hope which Norway projets on the rest of the world after the attacks. In commemoration of the love...

Performed by Kugoni Trio

Album onbekend (13/11/2017 20:50:11)

Til Minne om Kjaerlighet (excerpt)

‘Wonders are many, and none is more wonderful than man’.  This is the beginning of the first stasimon from the Ancient Greek Tragedy ‘Antigone’ by Sophocles (5th century B.C.).  A famous and beautiful sentence which makes one reflect.  What exactly separates human beings from all other life on our planet; How has man reached the high standard of life as we know it today?  I searched for an answer trough seven different excerpts from world literature, each of them dealing with another aspect of mankind.  I provided these texts with a musical impression of the underlying content.  The result is a composition in seven parts, starting and ending with a praeludium and postludium, and in between five larger movements.  ‘Secreta’ is meant to be a philosophical as well as a musical search for the secrets behind human society.

Secreta (excerpt 2)

‘Wonders are many, and none is more wonderful than man’.  This is the beginning of the first stasimon from the Ancient Greek Tragedy ‘Antigone’ by Sophocles (5th century B.C.).  A famous and beautiful sentence which makes one reflect.  What exactly separates human beings from all other life on our planet; How has man reached the high standard of life as we know it today?  I searched for an answer trough seven different excerpts from world literature, each of them dealing with another aspect of mankind.  I provided these texts with a musical impression of the underlying content.  The result is a composition in seven parts, starting and ending with a praeludium and postludium, and in between five larger movements.  ‘Secreta’ is meant to be a philosophical as well as a musical search for the secrets behind human society. Live performance by Royal Symphonic Wind Band Vooruit (cond. Geert Verschaeve)

Secreta (excerpt 1)

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)

This piece is written in a traditional A-B-A structure. The A part is very rhythmical and virtuoso, the slow middle part offers a nice contrast. The title refers to 'The Rite of Spring' as well as the jazz-standard 'I remeber April', due to the use of the combination of Stravinskian and jazz rhythm. Performed by O'Brass.

My Spirit Is Not Broken

Souvenirs d'Avril (excerpt)

This piece was written for Eburon Quintet. It has five movements, of which the outer parts are mirrored around the central middle part. For these outer parts I used influences of jazz and Indian music. The slow middle movement is dedicated to pianist Lisa Wastiau, a fellow student at the Conservatory of Brussels, who unexpectedly passed away in 2011. Performed by Eburon Quintet

Reflections (excerpt)

A short and intimite piece for string quartet, based on the eponymous poem by Emily Dickinson. Performed by Amici della Musica.

I'll tell you how the sun rose (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)

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)

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.