gerelateerde werken

De Profundis : for mixed choir and organ / Bart Michiels; texts Psalm 130 and Oscar Wilde

Genre: Vocaal
Subgenre: Gemengd koor en orgel
Bezetting: GK org

O whispering suns : a doina in 6 scenes : for large choir, medium choir, violin and cymbalom / Vanessa Lann ; text: Walt Whitman

Genre: Vocaal
Subgenre: Gemengd koor en instrumenten
Bezetting: 2GK4 vl cymb

Ballade : voor gemengd koor, strijkorkest, piano quatre-mains en slagwerk, op. 71a / (tekst van J. Slauerhoff), Geza Frid

Genre: Vocaal
Subgenre: Gemengd koor en orkest
Bezetting: GK4 perc pf4h str

Op het puin : for speaker, 3 choirs and wind orchestra / Robert de Roos; text by Meia Kaas-Albarda

Genre: Vocaal
Subgenre: Gemengd koor en orkest
Bezetting: spreekstem VK MK KK 2picc 2fl 2ob 2cl 2fg 4h 4tpt 3trb tb timp 2perc db

Remember Babi Jar : for choir, soloists and orchestra / Benjamin Ashkenazy

Genre: Vocaal
Subgenre: Gemengd koor en orkest
Bezetting: GK picc 3fl 3ob 3cl 3fg cfg 4h 3trb perc 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