BART DIJKMAN
Music • Images
TRACKs & DESCRIPtIONs
'CathArsis'
Track 1. In Catharsis, I pull out all the stops.
Not because I had to, but because I felt I should be allowed to. Emotionally, the piece moves in many directions, while musically I tried to keep it under control and give it a sense of coherence. And of course I couldn't resist. As the icing on the cake, the work ends with a grand, almost religious chord on church organ.
Track 2. Hamburg 1859. I had long been a great admirer of Brahms's symphonies. When I started writing Hamburg 1859, however, I had no idea where the piece would lead. At some point, I suddenly recognized so much Brahms in the melodies and orchestration. So I shamelessly returned to Romanticism. And then, as if that were not enough, a piano enters as though we have wandered into a piano concerto. To make matters worse, a soprano softly appears with a melody that seems to have escaped from Once Upon a Time in the West! OMG, looking back, I realize I was going through a tough time and unusual period.
During ánd after my burnout came a 'burst-out' of musical energy: I could do anything, was allowed to do anything, and I was determined to do it.
Track 3. Each Time I Will Cry. Some emotions do not disappear with time. They simply wait for the moment they are called upon again. This piece was written for a composition competition in 2024, a.o. organized by the Composer of the Netherlands in connection with the annual remembrance on the 4th of May.
Track 4. Szomorú Tánc ("Sad Dance") was written in response to the growing hostility towards LGBTQ+ people in Hungary in 2024. A dance usually celebrates something.
This one does not.