Vocal ensemble EVA and pianist Ruben Tekelenburg perform "An English Tune", a varied concert program with mainly English-oriented repertoire.
Michael Hurd composed the opening work this afternoon on the text of the poem Paradise: In a dream, by Christina Rossetti, in which the I-person tries to describe heaven as in a dream. However, the I-person gets stuck in this attempt because she can only state what she knows here on earth and because a dream is only a hazy thought, while she will one day be so clearly aware of heaven. The couplet songs of Elgar and Vaughan Williams tell, as usual in Romanticism, through references to nature, among other things, about personal emotions such as love and homesickness and back home. Paul Carr arranged Do I love you especially for EVA in the version for female voices and piano. He wrote the work as part of his Requiem for an angel for baritone solo, mixed choir and orchestra.
In his intermezzi, pianist Ruben Tekelenburg does not specifically adhere to the English tone of this program, but combines the various influences from the program and surprises you with your own work.
The well-known Clair de Lune from the Suite Bergamasque joins the romantic masters and more modern composers from the first block. Oblivion, a work of his own, is inspired by the work of Astor Piazolla and surprises after the jazzy influences from Lane's work. Lane, in turn, seeks to work with modern rhythms for the ancient texts of Shakespeare in order to give color to the playful meaning of the poems.
After Oblivion the final block starts with music from the time of Shakespeare, the Tudor period. Then the Pied Piper of Hamelin takes us in The Mothers ’Lament to two all-time favorites: Danny Boy and Somewhere over the rainbow. We will conclude the concert with an intimate work by Eric Whitacre, accompanied by Ruben Tekelenburg.