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The title of the poem according to me refers to 'the autumn of life'. Perhaps after a long and full life. Yet it has already appeared in Vasalis' first collection - long before she passed away in 1998. Besides, she was in her twenties or even a teenager when she wrote it. Given the content of the poem (see below), I feel that this can only show great empathy.

The composition of this song was a fight: even more than usual a fight against the current morality in modern 'classical' music of many notes, averse to any tonality and as chaotic as possible. Those are all ingredients I hate as a mainstream trend. Of course I modulate a lot too, I use non-classical chords, but always well considered: if the text (or the idea) asks for it, the transition can be sharp, otherwise the modulation must be inaudible to the listener. Grating harmonies (dissonances) can be very beautiful. Still, the main thing is that the music must be agreeable to listen to, preferably in an lazy chair - I have never met an lazy chair by the way - with a glass of red wine next to it. Or the superior counterpart of this image - during a live performance in a theater chair.
This composition is daring: the music is more of a leisurely walk than a running competition. From the beginning to the end. If you are somewhat skilled in music, you may be able to discover the a-b-c-d-e-f as the dominant structure throughout the score.

The strings, wind instruments and, to a lesser extent, the choir members are presented with many long notes. There are no technical highlights, although the piece - precisely because of this tempo and the long notes - is difficult to perform. Every note counts and if you make the slightest mistake, as a musician you make a poor showing, because melody line, counterpoint, harmony, tempo and silence are always interrelated.
So be it.

Vasalis's poem speaks for itself. The poet now and then makes use of word contractions and words that many people no longer know because they have fallen into serious oblivion in the eighty years after their appearance. As a language purist I accept that of course - just like the mores of music, language changes - but sometimes I also find it a shame when a word disappears.
So be it.

For people who do not know her yet: M. Vasalis is the pseudonym of Margaretha Droogleever Fortuyn-Leenmans. She was a Dutch poet and a psychiatrist by profession. She lived from 1909 to 1998.

In 1982 she was awarded the P.C. Hooftprijs - a renowned literary price in the Netherlands - and in the same year her last poetry bundle was published, as well as a number of novellas which went along.

As early as 1988 I wrote my first composition on her poem Skeleton - a title that may not be very accessible - but that is only an illusion. It's a nice story. You can here listen to that composition and read the poem. I later added a piano accompaniment to it and recently made minor tempo adjustments. The poetess gave me personal permission for the use of that poem at the time and she liked the result very much.

In this cycle of songs have appeared so far:

1. My spring and my love are gone
2. Skeleton
3. Time
4. The Idiot in the bath
5. Autumn
In the menu at the top of this page, click on Compositions to go to the different lieder.

On Wikipedia there is more valuable information on Vasalis, might you be curious.

Aristos

The poem

Autumn

Never again am I grand in my mind,
rarer and rarer I think my real being,
will show itself and dares to heal
of the ever approaching more obvious death.
Today I saw heaven through the bristling leafage
fade away into a deadly pure clarity.
I have not yet freed myself from anything
and there is almost no time left for me.
There is a high, wide wind
through the straight towering trees;
to the black water a deer has come,
and the sun shines low through the bank grass...
This is the only answer I find,
that would set me free, if I could translate it.

You can get an impression of the songs below.

© 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.

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