On 15 June we will once again celebrate the Day of the Composer. This time, six City Composers are involved. Today, we will hear music by one of them.
In 2022 the first edition of the Day of the Composer was celebrated. With the goal of shedding more light on contemporary music, which is often overlooked by the general public. At many music venues in the Netherlands, new music by living composers is performed, and NPO Klassiek broadcasts their works throughout the day.
One initiative to bring music to the people was the appointing of city composers. The small city of Goes had the honor of being the first, with Anne-Maartje Lemereis, on the first edition of the Day of the Composer in 2022. Since then, more cities have followed suit, and on the upcoming Day of the Composer, six will be highlighted: Renske Vrolijk (Almere), Yannis Kyriakides (Amsterdam), Lucas Wiegertink (Arnhem), Bert van Dongen (Den Bosch), Annabel Schouten (Utrecht), and Toon Hagen (Zwolle)
Because we simply cannot wait until then, we will feature Renske Vrolijk’s music today. Would you believe we were there when she took her final exams at the conservatory in Amsterdam? Later on, we recorded her work multiple times.
During this program we will feature five of her compositions: three she performed for her final exam concert, and two she composed around 2010. Nomen est omen, her music is indeed Vrolijk (Cheerful). Her early compositions are rooted in the minimalist tradition and also embrace jazz influences. At times, she writes a mass for her parents, other times she composes a piano piece based on the 15th-century song “L’homme armé.” From her later work, we hear “Whirly Girls”: two beautiful songs about strong women, performed by the strong women’s ensemble ELECTRA.
Playlist
1. Missa pro parentibus meis (Heraklion choir)
2. Hai koe (Heraklion ensemble conducted by Marko Kassenaar)
3. Kokon (pianist unknown)
4. Whirly girls 1: Fearless glider girl (Ensemble ELECTRA)
5. Whirly girls 2: Glamorous navigatrix (Ensemble ELECTRA)
