Openingsbeeld Vervolg
Openingslogo klein

Skeleton

— Lieder cycle on poems by M. Vasalis —


Cover Skeleton Ensemble: SATB Choir and piano
Published: January 1988 (Rev. 2020)
Text: M. Vasalis
Duration: ± 11:54 minutes

ISBN: 9789461330703
ISMN: 9790803557023

Libretto: Dutch





NEW!



In addition to Ditty before and after (see here ) and Once (see here ) is Skeleton one of my three earliest compositions which survived the trash bin. It was composed on the basis of a poem by M. Vasalis for a SATB choir that I conducted at that time. In 2020 I made some changes for the choir and added a - in my opinion, enriching - piano accompaniment.

This is the poem:

Death is so often depicted
like a skeleton with too big hands and grinning
with the hard iron teeth like a rake.

I had to be so old and so surprised
to understand that this is precisely the life
that stripped of temptation,
when one has gone through long and far enough
with every step deeply driven
in the quicksand of a true existence,
dares to stand for me like this.

I smile back, it looks like a woman,
who is so connected with her husband,
that she does not dress for him anymore
and triumphantly trusts,
that he loves her.

Now I also know why I always found something cheerful
in that shape and that shameless bald mouth,
The strumpet of the ribs, where the heart once hung and sang.

Bird of light caught in the warm countries.
Of everything, that has seduced to life,
nothing is spared than that transparency.

No song, no fear, no love, no fire, no light.

Only this anonymous, iron, smiling face
and this cage and these vast tough hands.

Afterthought sotto voce.

Maybe I have loved you to your bones,
inhuman, unabashed and grinning life.
But it did not come from those bones

For a moment I have to catch my breath.
Later I will sing for you,
how often, how softly your fingers caught me.
(© Translation: Aristos)


Below you can get an impression of this composition in its latest version.

I advise you not to listen to the music via a mobile phone, tablet or laptop. That could turn out to be a disappointment, unless you use very good headphones. For a reasonably acceptable experience, a computer with a good sound system is required!

Please note:
This music is an electronic representation and is therefore not comparable to a human version! For example, one does not hear the words of the sung text by the choir, but only "aah" and "ooh". The instruments, on the other hand, are quite realistic thanks to the latest electronics. It remains, however, that the whole of the interpretation of the conductors/musicians is missing and therefore may sound somewhat sterile
Flash
© The complete copyright of the music (also this electronic version) has been deposited. This means that you can only listen but not use it nor partially, nor completely for your own purposes. Let alone that you use it for your own performances or productions. For citation rights please contact the publisher and the Buma/Stemra organization in the Netherlands.

0:00

0:00

Niks gevonden!



We did our utmost to make this site as simple and fast as possible. We recommend that you use a computer or tablet, even though the site adaps itself as much as possible to the dimensions of your screen and can therefore also be viewed on a mobile. To listen to the compositions on this site, a computer and a good audio system are essential.
Site created by: © Galaxa Design - copying the site, or any part of the content, music or images is
prohibited without prior written permission of the publisher. To contact the publisher, please use Galaxa Media Publishing House. To contact the composer use Aristos Bouïus.


Here you can find the list of compositions on poems by M. Vasalis on YOUTUBE:

YouTube verwijzing