related works
Affairs II : for recorder (piccolo) and harpsichord, 1963 / Will Eisma
Genre:
Chamber music
Subgenre:
Mixed ensemble (2-12 players); Flute and keyboard instrument; Recorder and keyboard instrument
Scoring:
rec-so cemb
Genre:
Vocal music
Subgenre:
Voice and instrument(s)
Scoring:
sopr-m 8vc
Genre:
Vocal music
Subgenre:
Voice and instrument(s)
Scoring:
sopr-m fl ob pf
On sensations of tone : for mixed choir and tape, 1995, revision 1997 / Roderik de Man
Genre:
Vocal music
Subgenre:
Mixed choir; Multimedia and singing voice(s) with or without instrument(s)
Scoring:
GK8 tape
composition
Le cheval mort : mezzo-soprano, bass clarinet, piano, percussion: marimba + tamtam, 2 synthesizers, 4 channel tape / text: Aloysius Bertrand, Will Eisma
Other authors:
Bertrand, Aloysius
(Text writer/Librettist)
Eisma, Will
(Composer)
Description:
Program note (English): The compositions Le Gibet and Le Cheval Mort were set to surrealistic poems by Aloysius Bertrand from his collection: Gaspard de la nuit, septième livre, Pièces détachées. The wonderful ambience derived from the poems inspired me to set some of these to music. The text of the poems expresses the dramatic environment of a battlefield and a graveyard. This lends itself easily to natural nocturnal sounds, bloodcurdling whistling and cracking noises. This is, however, something I wanted to avoid. I have tried to create an unreal atmosphere in my music. In Le Cheval Mort the electronics are prominent, especially in the second half of the work. It was written for the music festival in Witten, Germany and received its première there in 1976. - WILL EISMA