gerelateerde werken

I Sit And Look Out : for mixed choir and orchestra / Bart Michiels; poetry by Walt Whitman

Genre: Vocaal
Subgenre: Gemengd koor en orkest
Bezetting: GK 2fl(picc) 2ob eh 2cl 2fg 4h 3tpt 3trb timp 2perc str

Voices in the dark : for soprano, winds, bassguitar and piano, 1979 / Charles van der Leeuw

Genre: Vocaal
Subgenre: Zangstem en groot ensemble
Bezetting: sopr 1010 3sax 2220 g-b pf

Jiskor : Version for mixed choir and orchestra / Jaakov Rabin, orchestration by Hans Lachman

Genre: Vocaal
Subgenre: Gemengd koor en orkest
Bezetting: bar GK 2fl 2ob 2bn 2tr hp str perc

Phrases : for solo soprano, mixed choir, six instrumental soloists and orchestra, (1986) / texts by Arthur Rimbaud, Klaas de Vries

Genre: Vocaal
Subgenre: Gemengd koor en orkest
Bezetting: sopr GK4 pic fl(pic) fl 2ob eh 2cl cl-b 2fg cfg 4h 3trp 3trb tb timp xyl(vibr) mar 3perc 2hp 2pf str fl(fl-a pic)-ob(eh)-cl-2h-trp-p-solo

Im Gestein : a cycle of six choral songs on poems by Paul Celan, for mixed choir, percussion and string quintet, 1992 / Robert Heppener

Genre: Vocaal
Subgenre: Gemengd koor en instrumenten; Gemengd koor en orkest
Bezetting: GK4 2perc 2vl vla vc cb / GK4 2perc str

compositie

I Sit And Look Out : for mixed choir and orchestra / Bart Michiels; poetry by Walt Whitman

Overige auteurs:
Michiels, Bart (Componist)
Whitman, Walt (Tekstdichter/librettist)
Toelichting:
One gloomy day, while browsing some poetry, a poem by the great American writer Walt Whitman caught my eye: I Sit and Look Out.
The poem constitutes a critical reflection on various forms of social oppression throughout modern history. In the poem, Whitman depicts human nature as one of cruelty, injustice and indifference, suggesting the human tendency to ignore other people's suffering and not to intervene if it is not directly related to oneself.
Indeed, throughout history, individuals and societies have always succeeded in causing suffering and agony to each other, be it because of differences in belief systems, religion, skin color, gender, sexual preference or wealth.
Even today in COVID times, Whitman's analysis about human behavior remains accurate as the world is more polarized than ever before.
Inspired by the universality and topicality of Whitman's poem, I decided to use his text to write a piece for choir and orchestra, also lending his title for the work.
I wanted the music to reflect Whitman's dark depiction of humanity, thereby using the full force and colors of the orchestra. The mixed choir functions as the central observer in Whitman's poem, indifferently noting all the suffering and injustices around the world.
Despite the dark athmosphere throughout the piece, there are also shimmers of hope in moments where the orchestra & choir come together in a single unisono chant.
Bart Michiels, January 2022