composer
Joey Roukens (b. 1982) is an Amsterdam-based composer of contemporary classical music. He studied classical composition at Codarts University of the Arts and psychology at Leiden University. Since graduating in ...
related works
Zwei Heine Lieder : for alto or mezzo-soprano and piano / Gustav Mahler; realised by Joey Roukens
Genre:
Vocal music
Subgenre:
Voice and piano
Scoring:
zang pf
Genre:
Vocal music
Subgenre:
Voice and instrument(s)
Scoring:
sopr 2pf
Genre:
Vocal music
Subgenre:
Voice and instrument(s); Voice and orchestra
Scoring:
bar pf 2vl vla vc / bar pf str(vl vla vc)
Coming home : for mezzo-soprano and ensemble, 1994 / on a poem by Richard Lann, Vanessa Lann
Genre:
Vocal music
Subgenre:
Voice and instrument(s)
Scoring:
sopr-m rec cl(cl-b) trb perc el.g pf vl cb
composition
Angeli : for 5 female voices and 8 celli / Joey Roukens
Description:
Angeli is a piece written for eight cellos and five female voices (2 sopranos, mezzo-soprano and 2 altos), based on two texts (In Paradisum and Absolve Domine) taken from the Latin liturgy. I have always loved classical music of the sacred tradition, whether by Machaut, Josquin, Bach, Cherubini, Bruckner or Stravinsky, and in this piece I’ve tried to write my own kind of ‘sacred music’. Despite the texts coming from the Requiem Mass, it’s not a sad or dark piece. Rather, the character of the music is mostly serene, introverted and hopeful, since I wanted to emphasize the consoling nature of those texts. There is a middle section, though, where the music becomes highly energetic, even euphoric. In this piece I wanted to create a kind of imaginary or dreamed ‘early music’. Thus, the piece is full of echoes of old polyphonic styles and contrapuntal techniques, but at the same time one can clearly hear it's contemporary music, because of the strange, unpredictable harmonic twists and turns one won't find in any early music.