Last Tuesday, June 24, Ghent's Shapovalov initiative pulled out a double recital of impressive caliber. Two artists at the piano, Bert Lasseel and Brecht Valckenaers, each with their beloved repertoire. Bert Lasseel is currently studying at the conservatory in Gent, while Valckenaers continues his studies in Basel with Claudio Martínez Mehner and at the Scuola di Musica di Fiesole with the renowned Eliso Virsaladze. In Antwerpen he studied for eight years with Nikolaas Kende. Both Lasseel and Valckenaers have a great fondness for eccentric and interesting 20th century piano repertoire.
Lasseel started his recital with a Prélude by O. Messiaen. This Prélude, from 1964, was oddly never published by Messiaen himself and was later released posthumously by his wife Yvonne Loriod. Fortunately so, as it is an enormously interesting miniature with an expressive character. It begins with the opening statement, a majestic motif alternated with striking colorful chords. This is followed by some characteristic Messiaen traits, interesting rhythms, quartal harmonies and outbursts in the high register. Later in the work the main theme returns, but Messiaen colors everything even more with dissonant chord alternations in the high register. The piece develops steadily toward a climax in which all the thematic material flows together beautifully. The final chords are the most important, the pedal opens completely and Messiaen stacks wrenching chords on top of each other creating an interesting colorful palette.
Whoever says Messiaen, also says birdsong. Lasseel brought as a second work Le Traquet Stapazin (the Western Blonde Wheatear). In this phenomenal work from the Catalogue d'oiseaux, the music revolves not only around the impressions evoked by birdsong, but also the landscape in which the scene unfolds, even the sunrise and sunset. Each element receives a separate musical character. Not only does the wheatear receive a prominent role, but also the ortolan bunting, spectacled warbler, herring gull, raven and goldfinch appear on stage. Lasseel performed this work with utmost care and refined taste. It is not only a true pleasure to listen to here, but also a treat for the eye to see how deeply Lasseel digs into the music, sacrificing himself to let the music come into its full right.
One of Messiaen's talented students in the subject of analysis was the young Flemish composer Karel Goeyvaerts. Messiaen made a great impression on Goeyvaerts, who quickly translated his assimilated knowledge into some groundbreaking works. Lasseel brought as the finale of his recital the Litanie 1 (from 1979) a work from Goeyvaerts' late period that is based on the repetitive ideas of the then emerging minimalism. In the litany (a type of prayer) for piano, but also in the subsequent litanies that follow, the music develops from repeated cells that are, however, continuously reworked and transformed. Goeyvaerts builds the work step by step by adding notes and then 'erasing' them one by one. Thus the litany forms a closed musical circle. Anything but minimalistic is this work and moreover extremely difficult, but Lasseel managed to find his way through this musical maze, a demonic performance that once again pushed the pianist to the limit.
In October last year, pianist-composer Brecht Valckenaers made an enormous impression with his Ex Nihilo program at Festival 20·21. Soon this cycle, which centers on Ligeti's Musica Ricercata, will be recorded and released on CD, and in that context he gave another complete performance in Gent. Ex Nihilo is one continuous whole consisting of three layers. The first and most important layer is György Ligeti's Musica Ricercata, a series of eleven short compositions in which the composer literally experiments note by note with different compositional techniques and styles. Between these pieces, Valckenaers interweaves two other complementary lines: one with compositions by 20th-century composers that resonate with pieces from Musica Ricercata, such as works by Lachenmann, Kurtag, Crumb, Cowell and Bartók; and one with five rhythmic studies that pianist-composer Valckenaers himself composed.
Ex Nihilo, meaning 'from nothing', forms the central theme that connects everything in this cycle. The works of Lachenmann, Cowell, Bartók, Kurtág and Crumb approach the piano as an instrument 'Ex Nihilo', as if they are using the piano for the first time and exploring what is possible with this instrument. This results in unconventional textures and playing techniques. The pieces by Valckenaers, on the other hand, are a form of exploration in the rhythmic domain, in which he pushes and challenges his own rhythmic boundaries.
An exceptionally beautiful, interesting and impressive recital in which everything seems to fit, the structure, the musical connections and moreover Valckenaers' own work. With full dedication and utmost musical sensitivity, Valckenaers captivates his audience. Incredible that all these masterpieces were moreover performed entirely without score and for a good hour at that!
From his own hand resounded rhythmic studies that are briefly explained here: I. Distorting Time, II. A Bit Drunk, III. Distorting Mirror, IV. Mixed Feelings, V. Chaconne des Cloches. Each of these studies departs from a central and original rhythmic given that unfolds into one organic musical narrative. In Distorting Time, quintuplets and polyrhythms are explored in a transforming ABA structure. In A Bit Drunk, the music seemingly falters, but nothing could be further from the truth; the rhythm is in fact very strictly prescribed and is slightly shifted, causing the pianist's playing to seem slightly intoxicated. In Distorting Mirror, there is once again experimentation with exotic time signatures and subdivisions, as well as polyrhythms. The structure of the piece is like a mirror, the mirror axis appears in the middle. From that moment on, the preceding sections return in reverse order, moreover those sections are somewhat distorted: the time signatures are also mirrored. A distorted mirror image, as it were. One of the subthemes in the recital is bell sounds; they can be heard in different layers of the concert: in Ligeti's homage to Bartók, in Glockenturm from Ein Kinderspiel by Helmut Lachenmann, and in the homage of György Kurtág (Ligeti's bosom friend) to their mutual composition teacher Sándor Veress. Valckenaers makes his own addition here and not just any one; the fifth rhythmic study is the very majestic and impressive Chaconne des Cloches.
Soon you can see Bert Lasseel at work together with Quirijn De Bosscher (violin) at the Gentse Feesten, where they perform as Duo Obscura.
If you missed Ex Nihilo, you can listen to the complete live version from Festival 20·21 here:
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