Louis Andriessen's Annex

[Herman]

The whole work, De Materie, is amazing  -  though the neighbours may feel different.

Ostensibly the grand metaphor is ship building, but I can't help thinking it's always about the Creation of the World or Universe in Andriessen's music. This why Hadewych's love song to the Creator is in the right place.

[Karl Henning]

The whole work, De Materie, is amazing  -  though the neighbours may feel different.

Ostensibly the grand metaphor is ship building, but I can't help thinking it's always about the Creation of the World or Universe in Andriessen's music. This why Hadewych's love song to the Creator is in the right place.

I must revisit De Materie soon.

[Herman]

I couldn't help but notice that the Guardian critic linked above, translated 'De Materie' as 'Material'. However, 'Matter' would be better.

[Mandryka]

The whole work, De Materie, is amazing  -  though the neighbours may feel different.

Ostensibly the grand metaphor is ship building, but I can't help thinking it's always about the Creation of the World or Universe in Andriessen's music. This why Hadewych's love song to the Creator is in the right place.

I didn't realise it was one piece with two parts. De Materie has a wonderful opening!

I must revisit De Materie soon.

Nice and loud and make sure the neighbours are out.

[Mandryka]

The whole work, De Materie, is amazing  -  though the neighbours may feel different.

Ostensibly the grand metaphor is ship building, but I can't help thinking it's always about the Creation of the World or Universe in Andriessen's music. This why Hadewych's love song to the Creator is in the right place.

Why do you think the third part is De Stijl?

[Herman]

Why do you think the third part is De Stijl?

Unfortunately I find the De Stijl movement rather hard to take, with those eruptions of rock / pop music with the drummer doing a backbeat etc

[Mandryka]

@Herman Have you come across Steve Martland? Louis Andriessen's pupil. Here's the first part of his string quartet Patrol, I think it's all on youtube. It shows Andriessen's influence I think, and I like it.

If you've heard of Hacienda in Manchester, know that Steve Martland curated classical music at Factory Records for Tony Wilson. This is a bit of British music history from the 1980s.

https://factoryrecords.org/cerysmatic/classical.php

[Mandryka]

Text of Hadewsjch (De Materie)

Then He came from the altar, showing Himself in the shape of a child, such as He looked in the first three years of His life. He turned to me and out of the ciborium He took His body with His right hand, and with His left hand he took a goblet that seemed to come from the altar, but I do not know that for certain. Then He came to me, now in the clothes and in the form of the man He was the day when He first gave us His body, enchanting and beautiful, with a ravishing face, and with the humble attitude of someone who already belongs to another. Then He gave Himself to me in the form of the Sacrament, and afterwards He gave me to drink from the goblet: it seemed and tasted as usual. Then He came very close to me, took me in His arms, and pressed me to His chest. All my limbs felt His, to their total satisfaction, as my heart and my humaness longed. I felt truly satisfied and saturated. Also, I had just the power to bear this for a while, but soon, I lost sight of this handsome man, and I saw Him fading and melting away, until I could no longer feel Him next to me, or perceive Him within myself. At that very moment I felt that we were one together, without any difference. All this was real, tastable and tangible — like one really sees and feels the Sacrament, or the way lovers, taking pleasure in seeing and hearing each other, can get lost. After this I stayed one with my Love, melting with Him, until nothing was left of me. I was beside myself, in exaltation, and in my mind I was raised up to a place where many different Hours were shown to me.