composer
Hans Henkemans, one of the leading Dutch pianists and composers of the 20th century, wrote orchestral, vocal and chamber music, and an opera. For twenty-five years he performed as a ...
related works
Four Pieces : for piano 4-hands / Hans Henkemans
Genre:
Chamber music
Subgenre:
Piano 4 hands
Scoring:
pf4h
Bries : voor orkest, 1986 / Henk Keizer
Genre:
Orchestra
Subgenre:
Orchestra
Scoring:
4323 4330 3perc str
Music of Joy : for orchestra / Olga Victorova
Genre:
Orchestra
Subgenre:
Orchestra
Scoring:
picc 2fl 2ob 2cl 2fg 4h 2tpt 2trb trb-b tb 4perc hp str
Dutch dub : for chamber orchestra, 1997 / Guus Janssen
Genre:
Orchestra
Subgenre:
Orchestra
Scoring:
2222 2sax 2110 drumset str
composition
Partita : per orchestra, 1960 / Hans Henkemans
Contains:
Alla marcia
Movimento brioso
Fantasia
Tarantella
Description:
Program note (English): The work consists of four movements, independent in spite of unmistakable thematic relationships but, as constituent parts of a totality, not to be separated.
The composition begins with an "alla marcia" which, in the framework of a free overall form, presents two contrasting motifs (as well as a number of subsidiary themes) in various guises: as thematic material of a more or less typical military march, as structural elements of a fugue, as melodic fragments in a cadenza-like episode for the whole orchestra, and finally as musical pillars of a funeral march.
The second movement -Movimento brioso- is, viewed as a whole, a very lively, here and there boisterous, piece. Structurally it may be said to have a free ternary form (A-B-A), in which the middle section is roughly twice as slow and moves above an ostinato bass derived directly from the main theme of A.
The third movement -Fantasia- proceeds for the most part at a very slow tempo. After an introduction -in which, among other elements, a triplet motif may be remarked wich turns out to be of great importance in the development of the movement- the violas embark on a long melody. Through the frequent use of unusual time-signatures and metrical units, this melody sounds very free in rhythm; the technique might properly be described as written-out rubato. The rather free structure of the movement is governed by the development of this principal theme, combined with elements from the introduction and interrupted only by a short, violent and somewhat quicker episode.
The final Tarantella conforms strictly in matters of tempo and rhythm to the requirements of this very fast Italian dance. After a short, vehement introduction, the first violins, accompanied by violas, cellos and basses, embark on the first theme. In the further course of the piece appear a songlike second theme, first introduced by the clarinet, and a third, light in character and capricious in contour. The interplay of these three motifs gives the movement a rondo-like structure. However, the Tarantella is by no means as simple in feeling as such a formal scheme might suggest: the shifting course of the musical argument endows this finale with clearly dramatic overtones. - HANS HENKEMANS