Orchestra/Large Ensemble

“Expulsie is a four-movement composition of approximately 22 minutes for a large instrumental ensemble. The piece forms a triptych, together with Inversie (for 10 instruments, 1987) and Contractie (for alto flute, bass clarinet and piano, 1988). In addition, Expulsie is a direct continuation of my longest piece to date: Aura (1982-1985). The starting point for the composition of this piece is the way the rhythm is structured, a specific kind of rhythm that makes the tempo, or speed audible. I constructed this rhythm based on simple numerical ratios, in this case: 7: 4: 6: 5. Based on that rhythm, the starting point for the piece is the contrast between two chords with a ‘contaminated’ past. The two chords are what’s known as the “Tristan Chord,” and the “Hollywood Chord.” Both chords contain 6 notes and are chromatically complementary i.e., together, the chords make up the 12 tones within the octave. Because the entire piece consists exclusively of these two chords in succession, it gives the piece a very specific character. Each separate movement has its own characteristic instrumentation. In the first movement, the strings predominate and the most recognizable figure is a sustained chord followed by a short, strongly accented chord. The second movement is built around the piano and harp solos; the long-short figure is turned into an appoggiatura with a long note. The third movement is made up of a succession of various solos in the woodwinds, and in the fourth movement, the brass is the most important instrumental group. The 3rd and 4th movements are played with no break in between. The piece has a somewhat curious origin. I composed the 3rd and 4th movements in 1988, after which I created the 1st and 2nd movement in 1990. The world premiere took place on November 24, 1990 in the Concertgebouw Amsterdam during a concert in the Saturday Matinee Series. The piece was subsequently performed by the Norwegian Radio Orchestra in Oslo in 1996, and by the Absolute Ensemble in New York in 1999.”

– Theo Verbey

“Conciso (1995/1996) for large ensemble is a direct follow-up to such pieces as Notturno (1995) for solo oboe and 11 instruments, and Passamezzo (1994) for saxophone quartet. In these pieces, written since Triade (1991), I have continued my pursuit of a more consonant, simple musical language. I found many of my own general artistic principles beautifully expressed by Italo Calvino in his “Six Memos for the Next Millennium.” Calvino wrote his 1985 collection of five lectures for Harvard University (the sixth was never written), shortly before his death. The memos sum up his vision of universal values in literature. His “memos” are: 1. Lightness 2. Quickness 3. Exactitude 4. Visibility 5. Mulitplicity 6. Consistency. At a time when sound imposes itself more and more on us purely through quantity, I am looking for a music that tries to banish any association with the industrial noise of, in particular, transport vehicles. Detailed, vulnerable music that moves within clear boundaries, without too many pretensions. Above all, music that not only holds the attention because of the sound, but also because of “the story,” and which avoids any form of long-windedness. In short, music with characteristics that are more likely to be found in the French / Italian tradition of composition rather than in the German / Dutch. Conciso in its current form is a two-part piece in a slow-fast sequence with the length ratios of 4:5. Much of the structural idea behind the piece is taken from Beethoven’s Piano Sonata op.101, in which the 4 movements relate in time as 4:5:3:6. I used these proportions as a starting point for the temporal division when composing the work. For the harmony, I used the opening chord of Sonata No. 8 op. 66 by Scriabin as a point of departure. That chord is a 6-tone chord which I have placed opposite a second 6-tone chord, so that together, these two chords form a chromatic total. I previously used a similar technique in Expulsie (1988-1990) for large ensemble. In Conciso, I have for the first time made use of a semi-spatial arrangement of the ensemble. The ensemble is placed in its entirety at the front of the stage, but not in its usual set up. It is split into two groups of winds and strings, made up of eight and seven members respectively, positioned to the left and right. Harp, piano and percussion form a buffer between these two groups and sometimes function as a game changer.”

– Theo Verbey

The first sketches of ‘Alliage’ (Fr. for ‘alloy’) dates from 1992 immediately after I accepted the commission to write a piece for a large orchestra on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of Hoogovens.
In 1993 I became seriously ill and the work came to a halt. The anniversary concert, in which the work was to be premiered, was cancelled because Hoogovens was in serious financial difficulty at that time and did not think it wise to celebrate the 75th anniversary exuberantly.
In 1994, after my recovery, I started on the revisions of ‘Triade’ (1991) for chamber orchestra and also rewrote ‘Passamezzo’ (1991) for saxophone quartet. In the years that followed, I wrote such works as ‘Notturno’ for oboe solo and 11 instruments, and Conciso for large ensemble (commissioned by the Holland Festival 1996). I only resumed work on ‘Alliage’ in December 1996. Of the first version, I only kept the first 26 bars; the other 663 measures are new. I completed the score in November 1997.
Various ideas underlie the piece. The idea of the five-part structure came to mind first, suggested by the Hoogovens logo. Like all my previous works, this work also has a fractal form, ie. a particular series of proportions determines both the largest and the smallest length ratio over time. The number sequence in ‘Alliage’ is 5:6:4:7:3. This adds up to a total time for the piece of 25 minutes; the movements follow one another without interruption.

A second idea was prompted by Hoogovens’ wish to integrate aspects of their company into the piece. The title therefore refers to an alloy of melodic material from different musical cultures. For example, a number of motifs are derived from Russian avant-garde music from the beginning of the twentieth century (Scriabin, Stravinsky), some are from South African folk music, and still others are from English / American popular music, ranging from Ellington to Lennon / McCartney. Of course I did my best to forge these very different components into one personal unity.

Part I opens with the six-tone chord found at the beginning of Scriabin’s Sonata No. 8, Op.66; it’s immediately followed by the six-tone chord containing the other six notes of the chromatic total of 12 within the octave. These two six-tone chords are important ingredients of the entire work’s harmony. I had already approached the harmony this way in my work, ‘Expulsie’ (1988-1990). In a moderately fast tempo (Moderato), two motifs are introduced one after the other, first in the horn solo, and then in canon form by 3 clarinets. Eventually, the first movement develops in an arc form: ABCBA.

In Part II, two very different themes are played one after the other at a fast tempo (Allegro). In the development that follows, motifs from the first movement are brought back and employed as accompanying voices. What follows is a renewed version of the two themes, which have now been brought into tonal balance.
In part III (Andante, moderately slow) another motif from part I is developed, after which a quiet, even movement in the harp begins; after a middle section that leads to a climax, the beginning of this movement is repeated. In terms of structure, this movement is very similar to Part I: ABCBA.

Part IV (Allegro molto, very fast) is a cross between a Gigue (an 18th century dance form), and a regular feature of the 19th century classical symphony, or the Scherzo. An accelerated form of the motif from section C of the previous movement is used as material for a first theme, after which a variation of a motif from part II appears as a second theme. This is also followed by a development and a reprise. In its sonata form, this movement is very similar to the second movement.
Finally, Part V concludes the entire work in a slow temp.

– Theo Verbey