Five works for five players
De Strandbeest for reed quintet, 10 min.
oboe
clarinet in Bb
alto saxophone
bass clarinet
bassoon
De Strandbeest op PVC, 7 min.
for five players:
four cylisaxes
2 PVC bass clarinets
Balkan Kuku, 4 min.
for pvc kuku
& 4 pvc schuivers
(one doubling kaval)
Slurf, 4 min.
for
two (connected) PVC membrane flutes
Snake Charmer, 4 min.
for
two PVC snake charmers
two bass PVC drones
percussion
Strandbeest is a series of compositions written for the production Strandbeest Zingt with Calefax and Theo Jansen, exploring the historical development, philosophies, and work of Theo Jansen.
The aim of the project was for Calefax to bring Jansen’s PVC Strandbeests to life—so that they would sing—and I was commissioned to compose the music, consisting of five new works, totaling 30 minutes of music. One work was written for the modern reed instruments, and the other four were for the PVC instruments designed by saxophonist Raaf Hekkema.
- The piece Strandbeest is written for the modern reed instruments, as typically played by Calefax. The work consists of three movements and opens with a 12-beat Morse-code rhythmic pattern representing the DNA of the Strandbeests. The middle movement contains the Strandbeest refrain, sung throughout the production.
- Slurf, a slow ritualistic work in 5/8 for a PVC instrument consisting of one long pipe, created by Raaf Hekkema.
- Balkan Kuku is a humorous dance featuring PVC slide flutes (schuivers), including a Bulgarian PVC-kaval section, for Bart de Kater.
- Snake Charmer was written for a buzzing double-reed instrument designed by Alban Wesly.
- Finally, De Strandbeest music returns, adapted for the PVC instruments.
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