Tristan Keuris - Laudi

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• published: 11 Apr 2012
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Tristan Keuris (1946-1996) Laudi, a symphony for mezzo-soprano, baritone, two mixed choirs and orchestra (1992-1993) text by G. D' Annunzio Jard van Nes, mezzo-soprano David Pittman-Jennings, baritone John-Edward Kelly, saxophone obligato Netherlands Radio Choir (Martin Wright, chorus master) Orchestra: Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra Conductor: David Porcelijn Tristan Keuris was one of the leading figures in Dutch contemporary music, he studied at the Utrecht Conservatory with Ton de Leeuw (1962-1969) and taught music theory and composition at the conservatories in Groningen (1974-1977), Hilversum (1977-1984), Utrecht (1984-1996) and Amsterdam (1989-1996). He also gave masterclasses at the Conservatorium of Khristiansand (1984), the Rice University in Houston (1987) and the RNCM in Manchester (1988). Keuris came to prominence with the Sinfonia for orchestra (1974), when the work won the Matthijs Vermeulen Prize in 1976. The unexpectedly euphonous chords at the close signalled the composer's early adoption of a language and technique which rejected in the main the hallmarks of the postwar avant garde. These are the first traces of those hedonistic and Dionysian qualities that Keuris permitted himself from time to time and which were also to appear later in the virtually breathtaking virtuosity and brilliant orchestration of the Concerto for saxophone quartet and orchestra (1986). Nevertheless, a number of subsequent works, for example the Cappriccio (1977-1978), the Piano Concerto (1980) and Movements (1981), revealed Keuris's prediliction for structures built from the juxtaposition of highly differentiated materials, which still owes something to modernist example. The Cappriccio, written for the Netherlands Wind Ensemble, marked Keuris's arrival at a mature fusion of the complex of elements that typically form his music: an alternation of dramatic activity and moments of stillness or harmonic inertia; polychrome instrumentation; straightforward, though never overly transparent, lyricism; tightly knit chordal voicings; and an overriding sense of organic narrative rooted in a constant development of motifs. Harmonically speaking the piece is perceptibly shaped by fluid, cadentially orientated points of tension and relaxation, such thinking about consonance and dissonance best considered in conjunction with Keuris's notions of static and active rather than with tonality or atonality. The finale of Movements furnishes a powerful example of how a frozen chord (as Keuris describes it) is followed by an unleashing of harmonic direction, coupled with an instrumental brilliance reminiscent of the brass band. The Lento movement of this work, with its tranquil bass clarinet solos and subtlety of harmonic-melodic progression, also points to Keuris's command of the compact and concise. Such refinement and economy, aligned with a more overt tonal focus, came increasingly to the fore during the 1980s in such works as the Violin Concerto no.1, the Piano Trio (1984), the Second String Quartet (1985) and the Concerto for saxophone quartet and orchestra (1986). Towards the end of the 1980s and into the 90s, Keuris turned his attention towards vocal music (To Brooklyn Bridge, 1988; Three Michelangelo Songs; 1990; L'infinito, 1990; Laudi, 1993), which proved fruitful for the development of a richer harmonic language with broader melodic lines. His style, once a complex of Romantic gesture and Stravinsky-like objectivity, thus became more overt and total in its display of Romantic expression. This expressivity continued into his final orchestral works (Three Preludes, Symphony in D, Second Violin Concerto, Arcade), though still embedded in masterly, never superficial, orchestration.