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------ch--g ---ch--g

Composer:

Fabian Svensson

Text:

Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer

Instrumentation:

Low male voice, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, trombone, percussion, electric guitar, piano

Year of composition:

2009

Duration:

3'

Program note:

In 2009, I was invited by Ensemble Klang to participate in a project exploring how non-Dutch people hear the Dutch language. 10 composers of different nationalities were commissioned to write a short piece each, all based on the same text, a poem by Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer. I decided to focus on what in my ears is the most prominent feature of the Dutch language, the velar fricative sounds (as in the words dag or nacht). I extracted all occurrences of such sounds from the text and discarded the rest of it.
Since the number 88 (achtentachtig) is featured very prominently in the text, I saw a connection to the 88 keys of the piano, that seemed worth exploiting. The piano, therefore, plays a sequence of 88 notes during the piece, every piano key being used once.

Performances:

1st Oct 2009
Institut Néerlandais (Paris, France)
Ensemble Klang [Sneak Preview]
11th Oct 2009
Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ (Amsterdam, the Netherlands)
Peter Scheele and Ensemble Klang
6th Feb 2010
Provadja Theater (Alkmaar, the Netherlands)
Peter Scheele and Ensemble Klang
25th Nov 2011
Koninklijk Conservatorium (The Hague, the Netherlands)
Peter Scheele and Ensemble Klang

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