In Transit - for solo percussionist and large orchestra.
Written by Thomas van Dun in 2021.

Visual recording: https://youtu.be/B84z2G1E33I

Performed by the Dutch Student Orchestra (NSO; Nederlands Studenten Orkest), and Dominique Vleeshouwers, conducted by Frans-Aert Burghgraef on the 10th of August 2021, at Topsportcentrum Almere. 'In Transit' is accompanied by light art by the hands of light composer Teus van der Stelt.

In Transit is a concerto for percussionist and orchestra that colors a question that has been asked since the dawn of humanity: what happens to us after death? Not with our body but with ourselves, the 'I'. Humans have been dealing with this question since the earliest civilizations and each religion or culture has its own answer to it. Some believe in reincarnation. Others believe that you ascend to heaven or fall into hell, and some send you to a whole other dimension that we would know nothing about. They don't have an answer, but the imagination is not lacking in providing an answer to this unsolvable question. A question so complex pushes the human imagination to its limits to encompass this issue. Each answer given is more otherworldly and beautiful than the next. Although every answer is different, there is a commonality that is reflected in many cultures; after death you are to be transported. As soon as someone dies, they have to go somewhere, heaven, hell, the underworld, the afterlife.

In Transit takes off with this age-old fascination with the inescapable question, and the eloquent imagination that goes into solving this issue. Just like humans, the percussionist asks questions and is taken on a journey by the propelling sounds of the orchestra. It doesn't give an answer, but In Transit attempts to transport you through imaginative ignorance.

Commissioned by the NSO for their 69th edition, to be played alongside Wagner's The Ring Cycle (arranged by Henk de Vlieger).
Copyright © 2021 by Thomas van Dun

If you want to perform this work or buy the score, please contact me through: https://www.thomasvandun.com/contact/

In Transit - percussion concerto (2021)

Performed at Radio Belgrade in November 2016 by Nenad Marković and Vladimir Blagojević of Ensemble Studio6 as part of the electroacoustic sextet "close-up"

pauk (2014) for trumpet and accordion

'Unfolding Chamber Piece' is an abstract work characterised by different repetitive sections. Throughout the work, these either move from one to the other or are juxtaposed.

Performed by Kluster 5
Recorded by Oscar Bouwmans

Unfolding Chamber Piece (2018)

It Measures Itself Against The Vertigo Caused By Its Own Abyss (2018) for unconducted ensemble
Commissioned by Dag in de Branding and written for the New European Ensemble.

Performed by the New European Ensemble (@new-european-ensemble)at Korzo Theatre, Den Haag, 06/10 2018, during the 49th edition of Festival Dag in de Branding (@festivaldagindebranding).

It Measures Itself Against The Vertigo Caused By Its Own Abyss (2018)

For five voices (SATBarB), piano and violin. Text by the Dutch Poet Herman Gorter. Commissioned by Festival De Muze van Zuid and performed by singers from het Nederlands Kamerkoor, Laurens de Man (piano) and Eva Stegeman (violin) in Orgelpark, Amsterdam, 2018.

~

De stille weg
de maannachtlichte weg -

de boomen
de zoo stil oudgeworden boomen - 
het water
het zachtbespannen tevreeë water.

En daar achter in 't ver de neergezonken hemel 
met 't sterrengefemel.

De stille weg

A thread; sometimes 
audible, sometimes hidden
completely disappeared

little drops are shaking
a house is built and
broken down

until again.. that first thread
floating in the air

-

Uitgevoerd door het Herz Ensemble
Muziekgebouw aan het IJ, 20 september 2018

Joe Puglia - viool, Jellantsje De Vries - altviool, Lidy Blijdorp - Cello, Vivian Choi - Piano, Geerten van de Wetering - Hammond Orgel, Sjors van der Mark - Elektrisch Gitaar, Mei-yi Lee - Slagwerk

With special thanks to Kate Moore

The very lightweight thread floats in the moving air

The text for the piece is taken from The Ruin, an Old English poem which depicts a fallen Roman city. The poem is part of the Exeter Book, a large collection of verses and riddles which dates from the 10th century. The only existing copy of the book was damaged in a fire, affecting what survives of The Ruin. In light of this, I only used extracts of the poem from which words have been lost. In a similar way, some of the musical material has been dismantled to reflect this.

A huge thanks to Orkest de Ereprijs, Wim Boerman, Ana Maria Lopes, Carolina Luís, Francisca Branco, Rob Vermeulen, Martijn Padding, Richard Ayres, Ed Bennett, Anna Korsun, Silvia Borzelli, Guus Janssen, Georgia Denham, Ryan Probert, Paul Zaba, Robert Crehan, Robin Morton, Celia Swart, Paolo Griffin, Dani Blanco Albert, Hugo Bell, Sam Milan, Joe Rhodes and Stephen Plummer.

Performed by Orkest de Ereprijs, Ana Maria Lopes, Carolina Luís, and Francisca Branco on the 1st of March 2019

Conducted by Rob Vermeulen

Ruin (2019)

Adriatique @ Signal 2108 for Cercle
Full HD video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQZYzGO8QlM

@adriatique
____

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Adriatique @ Signal 2108 for Cercle

COMPOSER

Based in Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Youtube channel (scores): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-EAnv3oI9OCK1sZcfuVkBQ

In Transit - percussion concerto (2021)

Thomas van Dun - Composer

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