related works
Genre:
Multimedia
Subgenre:
Mixed ensemble (2-12 players) with multimedia
Scoring:
dulcian trb org hp 2vn viola da gamba tape
Victory : for wind orchestra / Chiel Meijering
Genre:
Orchestra
Subgenre:
Band
Scoring:
picc 2fl 3ob 2fg 4clar bcl sax-s sax-a sax-t sax-b 4hn 3tp 4tbn euph 2btuba db timp mar vib s-drum ccymb
Thuiskomst : for concert band / Willem Breuker
Genre:
Orchestra
Subgenre:
Band
Scoring:
pic 2fl 2ob 2fg 6cl 2asx tsx bsx 4hrn 3trp 3trb 2bar 2euph 2bs tmp 2perc
Racing Hearts : for harmony orchestra / Chiel Meijering
Genre:
Orchestra
Subgenre:
Band
Scoring:
picc 2fl 3ob 2bs 4cl cl-b sax-s sax-a sax-t sax-b 4fh 3tpt 4trb perc db
composition
(un)mensch : for symphonic wind orchestra / Rick van Veldhuizen
Other authors:
Veldhuizen, Rick van
(Composer)
Description:
(un)mensch is a piece about radicalisation, and the tendency of humans to seek extremes. In current times, as in times past, people have dismissed radical or extreme behaviours as ‘inhuman’ or ‘evil’ behaviour, in the process distancing our humanity from it. This refusal to accept extremes as naturally human leads us astray, ‘Othering’ people we perceive to be different, and losing our concept of a shared humanity.
This piece takes the biggest villain in history, Adolf Hitler, as its starting point. Often considered ‘inhuman’ so one doesn’t have to associate oneself with him, portrayals of this historical figure paradoxically also paint him as a madman, plagued by amphetamine addiction, tinnitus and mental disorder. In short, his evil is often portrayed as both inhuman and quintessentially human.
(un)mensch, in turn, seeks to radicalize existing musical styles and ideas. From Ligeti-like micropolyphonies to Glass’s arpeggios and the unofficial anthem of the Third Reich, everything gets turned into a blurred, topsy-turvy version of itself. At the centre of this is an extensive quote from Richard Wagners Das Rheingold: the emerging and explosion of an idyllic, nationalistic dream, the fair copy of which perished with Hitler in his bunker in 1945.
Rick van Veldhuizen
26 March 2015