Mathilde Wantenaar – Dear professor Einstein
Nederlands Kamerkoor & NKK NXT
Boudewijn Jansen – dirigent
Merel Vercammen – viool
Ensemble ntb (altviool, cello, basgitaar, percussie)
Willem Bruls – dramaturgie
Kenza Koutchoukali – regie
“I have so much in me, and the feeling of her absorbs it all.”
So says Werther about the object of his infatuation, Charlotte, whose romantic rejection of him leads him to commit suicide. Goethe’s epoch-making novel revolves around Werther’s ‘massive crush’ on Charlotte, which is spiritualized and expanded into eloquent poetic musings by the writer. But the woman herself is mostly absent; Werther worships an idol of her, yet seems to barely know her. Charlotte, Kaleidoskop breathes life into her through song and stage, shedding light on her reality. More than but a prop in a young man’s story of self-discovery (or self-indulgence?), Charlotte is presented as a real person and the audience is invited to bear witness to her life-experience; her heart’s desires, fears, vulnerabilities, needs… A young woman, buried by the demands family and society have placed upon her, is trying to find herself.
Since before written history, humans have told each other scary stories and framing these stories with creepy sounds and music is a well-loved practice.
Halloween, Samhain, All Soul’s day: Chilly autumn is the best time to sit around the piano in a cosy room and listen to ghost stories.
Composer and pianist Christian Chamoun and singer Elea Bekkers take you to an eerie netherworld, full of restless spirits and beautiful, ominous music. They perform brand new songs and songs of composers long dead – or are they?
It is possible to visit one of the house concerts or host one yourself! Please contact us for more information.
From the website:
Das Performance-Projekt „AnDeres“ ist eine experimentelle Improvisation, die die Beziehungen zwischen Performern, Umgebung, Klängen, Gemeinschaft, Raum und Publikum auslotet. Die klassische Dichotomie von Performer:in und Publikum, die durch strenge Hierarchie gekennzeichnet ist, wird aufgebrochen und als Dialog neu aufgebaut – mittels Bewegung, Körpersprache und Klang. Innerhalb eines physischen Raums entsteht eine Gemeinschaft, verbunden durch gemeinsame Erfahrungen aus präcoronaren Zeiten und fokussiert auf die zwischenmenschliche Kommunikation. Das Publikum ist eingeladen, sich der sich wiederholenden Bewegung und dem Klang anzuschließen und Energie mit den Performer:innen auszutauschen. Diese fungieren als persönlicher Spiegel, projizieren außerhalb des Körpers, verlieren das Konzept des Selbst und verwandeln alle Beteiligten in einen größeren Organismus. Das kraftvolle Gefühl der Einheit und des Kontakts, das in diesen isolierten Zeiten verloren ging, entsteht in einer einzigartigen Form wieder.
There comes a time for every child when they become aware of the world they live in. ‘Dochter’ musically tells a story f growing up and finding your own voice against the overwhelming backdrop of the ever-changing world. Saxophonist Kika Sprangers, in this performance, leads you through her own life and life questions and brings you to who she has become now: a powerful, brave and ambitious musician who has never chosen the easy way to make her dreams come true.
Kika: “My inspiration for this performance comes from Ronja de Roversdochter, a book character who touches me because of her growth, her independence, her daring open-mindedness, as well as her love and appreciation for nature.” In Dochter, Kika Sprangers lets her voice be heard together with nine female singers: Elea Bekkers, Veronika Akhmetchina, Viktoria Nikolova, Sylvia Boone, Channe Malkin, Liiva Dumpa, Nina Rompa, Marit van der Lei and Anna Serierse. In raw, unadorned locations, the voices of these women come together to share daughter stories in image, music and text.
From the website:
BREATH OF FREEDOM
Five premieres in time of corona
What is important in life? What is actually of value when all of life is uncertain and everything is disrupted by a pandemic? Two of our musicians, Frank Wakelkamp (1968) and Channe Visscher (1996) are also composers. Wakelkamp has previously written a number of pieces that have been performed by the Margaretha Consort. Visscher is a young, up-and-coming talent with whom we have already had discussions about possible compositions for the Margaretha Consort.
Both composers wrote compositions about important values in life at our request. Music for our ensemble that can be performed in a corona setting, based on a maximum of 9 musicians on stage at the same time. And how surprised we were! Firstly, the pieces turned out to fit together very nicely and in terms of theme fit wonderfully with what we had in mind. The pieces deal with the themes of Freedom, Beauty, Finiteness, Love and Connectedness, all values that we have come to appreciate more in corona time or at least should receive extra attention… Second, it has become incredibly interesting and beautiful music! And then third but last: without specific instructions or mutual consultation, we have a nice and balanced program of about an hour of music, just wonderful for the short corona concerts we have in mind.
PROGRAM
Breath of Freedom – Channe Visscher
SSAA a capella
Lieder aus dem Hohelied – Frank Wakelkamp
für Alt, Baß und Streichensemble
Ubi Caritas – Frank Wakelkamp
für SATB und 4 Gamben
Ubi sensus Harmoniae – Channe Visscher
Sopraan en Tenor solo en 4 viola da gamba’s
Andromedae – Channe Visscher, text– Elea Bekkers
SSAATTBB for voices and viols
Starting Ash Wednesday, the website of the Janskerk community will post one of Steigleders fourty variations on the Lord’s Prayer every day until easter. These variations will be performed by Laurens de Man on different organs throughout the Netherlands, accompanied by an array of musicians including Elea Bekkers.
As the current lockdown has taken from us the feeling of strolling between market stands in a city, collar up, and to hear a choir caroling between the christmas lights, Laurens de Man and Elea Bekkers bring the live christmas music to the people at home.
In this concert series on christmas eve, the duo visits several private back gardens to give the people a live christmas concert in an intimate outdoor setting that they can enjoy from the window.
How often do you look in the mirror? Do you want to stand out, or do you prefer to blend in with the crowd? And why do so many women strive for the same beauty ideal? STAAN&OPVALLEN is the new performance of NKK NXT, the talent development program of the Nederlands Kamerkoor. A performance about strength and the female voice, about blending in and standing out. About a modern age in which everyone seems to work in overload by default, but where we look for silence. Nine young singers take up the challenge to create a new performance that focuses on the future of ensemble music. In a society in which everyone carries a pocket-sized digital mirror, NKK NXT holds up a different mirror to both the public and society. STAAN&OPVALLEN is recognizable, funny, at times painful and above all moving.