composer
Kees Arntzen was born on 5 September 1957 in Amsterdam.
After finishing his degree in music education and guitar at the Amsterdam Conservatorium, Kees Arntzen studied theory and composition at ...
related works
Genre:
Vocal music
Subgenre:
Voice and instrument(s)
Scoring:
7zang perc / GK
3 middeleeuwse liederen : voor middenstem en piano, 1939 / Johan Weegenhuise
Genre:
Vocal music
Subgenre:
Voice and piano
Scoring:
medium pf
EldoradoEldorado : Version for low voice and piano / Hanna Kulenty; text Edgar Allan Poe
Genre:
Vocal music
Subgenre:
Voice and piano
Scoring:
zang pf
Bruiloftszang : for voice and piano / Rosy Wertheim; words by A.C. Wertheim (sr)
Genre:
Vocal music
Subgenre:
Voice and piano
Scoring:
zang pf
composition
Five Insect Songs (Das Lied von der kleinen Erde) : for mezzo-soprano or baritone and piano / Kees Arntzen; on words by Walter de la Mare, William Oldys, William Blake and Emily Dickinson
Description:
For the exhibition 'Bestiary' in the Viennese 'Villa Wertheimstein' I composed the following 'Five Insect Songs’. I wrote them at the request of the artist couple Robert Crow and Verena Unger. Coincidentally, I just had finished some etches with insects as subject matter for the exhibition 'Dierkens' (little critters) at the 'Oosterkerk' in Amsterdam, so I could use them once again to accompany the songs in Vienna.
The texts are written by several English poets with varying perspectives: that of a fly, a drunkard, an ant, a dying person and 'eternity itself'. Soprano Ingrid Haselberger and pianist Barbara Rektenwald premiered the songs on September 26, 2019. They were recorded for the CD '...dejar abajo...’ . A video titled 'Bestiary' at the YouTube channel gives a taste of the formal exhibition opening. The subtitle 'Das Lied von der kleinen Erde' seemed quite appropriate, as the songs were first performed in the city of Mahler.
Kees Arntzen, June 2020