Verzonken

alt sax solo, reed quintet, samples, video

duration: ± 10 minutes

composed and directed by Arnoud Noordegraaf

written for Raaf Hekkema & Calefax

part of the 'Moving Music' concert, with film and scenography by Arnoud Noordegraaf
film producer: Joggem Simons for Inexcelsisvideo
set design: Erik van Raalte

premiere: 25 May 2011, Muziekgebouw Amsterdam.

"staged in a remarkably tasteful, tightly directed way"
VPRO liveblog

Verzonken (Plunged) is a composition for alto saxophone solo and four reed players: oboe, clarinet, bass clarinet and bassoon. It is written as a part of Arnoud's composer-in-residence with the Calefax reed quintet in 2010/2011.

This work is part of the 'Moving Music' concert program with new films and directed for the stage by Arnoud, using five vertical video screens that move around on stage.

In Verzonken four of the screens form a group, and one is alone on the other side of the stage. The players are divided in a similar way.

"A central theme in this work is the prolongation of breath; musically I play with the technique of circular breathing, where a player can keep playing a single note or a melody, without ever stopping to take a breath. To complement this, on film we see sax soloist Raaf Hekkema in a dream-like world, trapped underwater, slowly becoming aware of the live world and the musicians on stage."

Crude concert video, gives a bit of an impression:

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other Moving Music setups