COMPOSITIONS / ORCHESTRAL / EVENT-HORIZON (2021)
Event-Horizon (2021)
For mixed choir and large orchestra
- 28 min
- Donemus Publishing
- September, 2021
EVENT-HORIZON is a symphonic suite, (one could even say a ‘symphony’) in 4 movements. The piece describes the transformation of particles near the gravity of a black hole.
The first movement focuses on the behaviour of particles from a fixed point, far away from the black hole. After a strong introduction where three ‘spiral pillars’ are introduced, the piece focuses on ‘dust particles’ that travel to the Event-Horizon of a Black hole at nearly the speed of light, until they cross the Event-Horizon and disappear. The chorus sings a scattered and fragmented text in vowels and consonants that seem to appear from the black hole.
The second movement focuses on the same journey, but now from the perspective from a single particle that gains more energy and weight as soon as it gets closer to the black hole, drawing in the entire orchestra.
In the third movement, we see ‘beyond’ the Event-Horizon, where all matter is being transformed into different elements. Time is stretched and bent, the orchestra continuously re-groups in different ensembles of multiple instruments playing independently.
In the fourth movement, the listener enters a new world, where one finally can see beyond matter, speed and texture. All the noises and particles from before are re-assembled in a single choral, that was shining through the piece the entire time.
First performance
Conductor | James Gaffigan |
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Ensemble | Radio Philharmonic Orchestra |
Choir | Radio Broadcasting Choir |
General information
Instrumentation | Large orchestra (4444bsx. 6331. perc. timp. acc. hp. pf. str) and symphonic chorus (SATB) |
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Commissioned by | AVROTROS Vrijdagconcert |
"He composed sound imitations of whirling particles and whizzing galactic force fields, with an astonishing ear for detail and original combinations, like a frenzied teeming melody for unison violin and xylophone at the start of the second movement. In the finale the work culminated into the musical setting of a love poem by e.e. cummings. Compared to the exuberant orchestra, the chorus sounded a bit monochromous, but the lyrical simplicity also had a purifying effect: the overwhelming vastness of the universe rivited in the size and beat of the human heart."
Interviews
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JENNY CAMILLERI, DE VOLKSKRANT
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