These words by Keats inspired Bart Vanhecke to write his composition Close my willing eyes for 3 soprano’s and ensemble. This composition from 1999 has not yet been performed due to the large cast. Thanks to the collaboration between het Collectief and WALPURGIS, this will change.
It’s not the first time Bart Vanhecke is inspired by literature. Often, even his instrumental work originates from a poem. For example, at the origin of Dans l’eau du songe, a composition for bass clarinet, cello and piano, there is the poem Reflets by Maurice Maeterlinck.
Close my willing eyes, by Flemish composer Bart Vanhecke, is – both musically and with respect to the content – the backbone of this concert for which WALPURGIS, after several collaborations with members of het Collectief, will be on stage with the entire ensemble.
Close my willing eyes is a concert in which 4 singers (3 soprano’s and 1 mezzo soprano) and 11 musicians (3 flutes, 1 clarinet, 2 percussionists, 1 harp, 1 piano, 1 violin, 1 viola and 1 cello), in different combinations and in stage settings by Stef Depover, will explore the surface between light and darkness, between life and death, between poetry and music.
Besides the concert Close my willing eyes, which places Bart Vanhecke’s music in a broader perspective, het Collectief and WALPURGIS prepare a portrait CD with his music in collaboration with Fuga Libera. The project is being promoted by the Muziekcentrum.
