As a opening concert Festival 20·21 brought on 25 September in Leuven a combination that can be described as musically enchanting. The selection of Ferruccio Busoni, Alexander von Zemlinsky and Arnold Schönberg had its nature in twentieth-century music, but with a resonant romantic aftertaste. The end result was a successful performance by Het Collectief and soprano Katrien Baerts, under the direction of Ivo Venkov.
A romantic angle off
The most striking aspect was the composition of the evening. The three compositions – the Berceuse élégiaque Op. 42 (Busoni, 1909), the Sechs Gesänge nach Gedichten von Maeterlinck (von Zemlinsky, 1910-1913), and Pelleas und Melisande (Schönberg, 1902-1903) – had a clear fairy-tale theme. But, in contrast to their romantic predecessors, such as Gustav Mahler, and even the Russian romantics (who were certainly not averse to grand musical suggestions in harmony and melody), these composers spoke with a kind of musical imbalance. This in a positive way: the musical noise was exchanged for a tonally ambiguous and harmonically sometimes cutting language. Later generations, such as film composer Dario Marianelli, certainly drew their mustard from the school of the last romantic gestures. Here symbolism became the source. This is clearly evident in the application of texts by the Belgian Symbolist poet Maurice Maeterlinck.
Symbolism works as a unification of the romantic Sehnsucht from the nineteenth century – the flight from reality to nature – with the reality of the presence of early urbanism. A good example of this is von Zemlinsky's song Die drei Schwestern from the sung song cycle. Three sisters seeking finality who as a finale end up in the urban world: Und die Stadt tat auf die Tore/Und mit heißen Liebesküssen/Ließ die Gegenwart sie wissen – the city brings them into the present. And this is characteristic of Symbolism. The early twentieth century was ultimately also that somewhat threatening period in which man accelerated in terms of modernity. The comforts that have become commonplace today were for the Symbolists a playground of discoveries.
With this selection, Ne Me Touchez Pas seems to open a kind of window onto the past, but with a sense of tension and recognition – the past is not as far away as it seems.
Fatalistic encounters
De Berceuse élégiaque Op. 42 by Busoni was an interesting choice to start with. A berceuse is a lullaby in its purest form. Het Collectief brought this composition with a soft integrity. Busoni's Berceuse may certainly be placed next to that of Stravinsky's oiseau du feu (1909-1910) – a personal favourite. The hairline intensity of such a quiet mystery gave the audience the musical theme of the evening right away.
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© Helena Gaudeus[/caption]
It was a good preview of the rest of the evening: the songs by von Zemlinsky. Baerts' voice had the fascinating power to be as loud in the heights as in the depths. This is, however, not obvious even if it sometimes seems so. Every singer seems to have to make vocal sacrifices somewhere, and in the soprano this is usually the depths. Something that was also noted by the great master singers, such as American mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne. In the case of Katrien Baerts this is absolutely not the case. In one of the songs there was a large pitch distance that went from bright height to a very sudden depth. To my surprise, I could pick out the famous bottom there perfectly resonating, with a beautiful dark tone: bravo!
The final piece, Pelleas und Melisande, was sublime. Combined with the visual arts of Lise Bruyneel, the collective brought the story to life. It is difficult to explain how this composition, which felt like a tightly packed symphony, touches you to the soul as a listener. For the short duration you are swept from one emotion to another – supported by the necessary melodic references. Schönberg gives overwhelming musical suggestions, and Het Collectief brought these forward with strong intensity. My recommendation is especially: experience it yourself.
The evening certainly brought intense, musical feelings to the fore. It was the experience of one myth after another. With this, the starting shot has been given for what seems to be a fascinating concert series!
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© Helena Gaudeus[/caption]
WHAT: Ne Me Touchez Pas, with compositions by Ferruccio Busoni, Alexander von Zemlinsky and Arnold Schönberg
WHO: Ivo Venkov (conductor), Het Collectief (ensemble), Katrien Baerts (soprano), Lise Bruyneel (video art).
WHERE: Festival 20·21, Leuven.
WHEN: Monday 25 September 2023.