Today's piece from my CD Imaginary Day suits the aspiration which is necessary to be nominated for the Schnitger Dream prize very well. Skylark refers to a bird with a particularly exalted song hovering high in the sky. The first four phrases of the melody are in octaves. Then the melody is varied in the soprano, with the lower voice providing an ostinato derived from the melody. This section is mainly improvised. Towards the end, a slowly ascending melody represents the bird flying ever higher. With the underlying chord, this gives an impression of how sense of time and place can evaporate when listening to the skylark's song.
25/06/2015
Schnitger Dream Prize and CD Imaginary Day, track 5: Skylark, organ Westerkerk Amsterdam
This evening the Schnitger Dream Prize (in Dutch: Schnitger Droomprijs) will be awarded to me in the Der Aa-kerk in Groningen. This is a great honour and joy. Unfortunately, due to an illness, I am not able to attend to the ceremony myself, but my colleagues and friends Jan Veldkamp and Hans Fidom will receive the award and say a few words of thanks to the audience and comment on my musicianship. After the ceremony, organist Klaas Hoek,who won the prize last year, and others will give a performance with contemporary music.
Today's piece from my CD Imaginary Day suits the aspiration which is necessary to be nominated for the Schnitger Dream prize very well. Skylark refers to a bird with a particularly exalted song hovering high in the sky. The first four phrases of the melody are in octaves. Then the melody is varied in the soprano, with the lower voice providing an ostinato derived from the melody. This section is mainly improvised. Towards the end, a slowly ascending melody represents the bird flying ever higher. With the underlying chord, this gives an impression of how sense of time and place can evaporate when listening to the skylark's song.
Today's piece from my CD Imaginary Day suits the aspiration which is necessary to be nominated for the Schnitger Dream prize very well. Skylark refers to a bird with a particularly exalted song hovering high in the sky. The first four phrases of the melody are in octaves. Then the melody is varied in the soprano, with the lower voice providing an ostinato derived from the melody. This section is mainly improvised. Towards the end, a slowly ascending melody represents the bird flying ever higher. With the underlying chord, this gives an impression of how sense of time and place can evaporate when listening to the skylark's song.
