Leys/ Krachtlijnen for flute solo
The phenomenon of Leys or Ley Lines was the inspiration for this piece, in which all sorts of techniques are used, as it were corresponding to the manifold patterns of Ley Lines in the landscape full of ancient (cross)roads, sites and earthworks from a historical perspective; but also from prehistoric point of view, for example Stonehenge in England, as well as the related megalithic “Hunebedden” in Borger in the Netherlands. Visit www.google.nl/.webloc The short hymn-like melody, which is interwoven throughout LEYS, also appears in BRENNE for violin and piano and LEYS III for flute, violin & guitar (CD PINNACLE).
– Hans Bakker
Easy Piece – Petite Pièce for violoncello and piano
Here I had the intention to write a beautiful duo. The music is representing peace, solitude and hope, and has been simply and idiomatically written for both instruments. Perhaps it even could serve as the theme tune of a somewhat romantic movie?
– Hans Bakker
Sonata for flute and piano
The Sonata for flute and piano was written in 2005 after sketches dating back to the 1950s. The work combines contemporary with classical elements: thus, the first movement is written in a conventional sonata form where the main theme is a dodecaphonic series over a ground D, but the second theme a simple modal melody in G-sharp placed in a bitonal context. In the second movement, in song form, the first and last sections are again essentially tonal, but the middle, Presto section, - to be played on a flauto piccolo - , uses an atonal idiom. The third movement, modal again, is based on elements of Turkish folk music which I picked up during a journey through the country in 1954. “Aksak” (literally: “limping”) is a Turkish umbrella term for different asymmetric measure types, as often occurring in Turkish and Balkan folk music. In this movement, a 10/8 measure (3+3+2+2) irregularly alternates with a 13/8 (3+3+3+2+2) one. The flute imitates both the contemporary Turkish recorder flute and the antique Panpipe. The piano takes the role of a percussion instrument (“Turkish drum” = bass drum), as well as that of a “kemence", an agile, three-corded fiddle tuned in fourths which is commonly used in Turkish folk music.
– Peter Greve
Trio for flute, oboe and clarinet
The first movement has a light-hearted touch. Melodies and motifs move relative to each other in a freely counterpoint, so that the texture of the whole is transparent. The Adagio of the second movement is a comprehensive, somewhat whimsical song form. But the alternation of slow and mobile adds a dramatic and lyrical character. The third movement is a virtuosic and expressive fugue full of joie de vivre.
– Hans Bakker
“Dialogues” for narrator, flute, cello and piano
The central theme of the work is human communication, more specifically between the partners in a love relation. The two persons are represented by the two solo-instruments flute and cello; the piano fulfils the role of friends, family or other persons near to the couple, who are involved, - sometimes closely, sometimes at a distance - , in the relationship between the partners.
The dialogues are characterised by the titles of the four movements: Discussion, Dispute, Reflection and Celebration.
In the first movement, "Discussion", the dialogue starts animated-friendly, but gradually the tone becomes sharper, the partners interrupt each other, and the phrases become shorter and lose their coherence. Eventually, the communication ends in a grumpy silence which even well-meaning friends can not break.
In the second movement, "Dispute", the conflict escalates further: the partners shout reproaches at one another, friends become involved in the dispute and thus become part of the problem. The dispute ends with a door slammed shut.
The third movement, "Reflection", represents the core of the work: the partners have quieted down and reflect over their relation: what do the partners expect from themselves and from each other? This situation is effectively expressed in the poem "Quiero" from the collection "Cuentos para pensar" (1999) by the Argentine poet Jorge Bucay (1949, Buenos Aires). The text* is said by a narrator between short musical interjections, meant to give the listener time to ponder over the words just heard.
The last movement, "Celebration", elaborates on the last line of the poem: "I want you to know that you can count on me, unconditionally". This conclusion is celebrated in an extravert feast, leading to a solumn confirmation of the relation.
Unconditionally
I want you to listen to me without judgment,
to give me your opinion without counsel,
to trust me without provisions.
I want you to help me without deciding for me,
to take care of me without oppressing me,
to see me without seeing yourself in me.
I want you to embrace me without choking me,
to give me courage without stifling me,
to hold me without hanging on to me.
I want you to protect me without shielding me,
to get close without forcing yourself upon me.
I want you to know what you don't like about me,
and accept, not try to change.
I want you to know that you can count on me,
unconditionally.
English version by Frans Hempen, De Zoele Haven, Amsterdam (Netherlands) At first reading, the text of the poem seems rather lapidary, spoken by an unlikeable, commanding, egocentric person. Still, it is likely that the first-person narrator realises that the person he (or she) addresses would justifiably make equally high demands. In essence, therefore, the speaker is making these demands on himself. While they may be noble and worthy of pursuit, they seem hardly easy to fulfil in everyday life. As such, they might evoke sympathy after all. Thus, every demand or wish put forward by the speaker evokes a virtual reflection, confronting him with his own self and measuring his worth. This results in a dialogue between the flesh-and-blood narrator and his idealised, dreamed counterpart about their mutual relationship: by its abstract form an interesting basis for a musical piece, providing the listener food for thinking about his/her own relationship to others in general and his/her partner in particular. The mirror is used here as a metaphor for the process of mental reflection and confrontation.
– Peter Greve
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