Sacred Places I

Sacred Places I (Angel) for percussion and electronics was commissioned by the Concertgebouw Brugge in 2017 for “The Angel Series”. The work is inspired by Luc Tuymans' mural “Angel” on a wall of the “Angel Room” in the Concertgebouw Brugge, where it was also premiered in November 2017 with percussionist Dominique Vleeshouwers and Wim Henderickx on electronics. Wim Henderickx was inspired by three elements from the mural: the black-shaded head, the angel's wings and the harp. For the musical material, he took his cue from the Gregorian Missa de Angelis, namely the first part, the Kyrie. The work has three parts: Kyrie, Christe and Kyrie, which flow into each other without interruption. In the first Kyrie, he uses metal instruments such as crotales, triangles, Tibetan cymbals, etc. They create a mysterious and theatrical atmosphere. In the Christe, intense rhythms at different speeds are performed on a set-up consisting of various percussion instruments. In the last part, the second Kyrie, the basic melody becomes recognisable in the crotales. The percussionist also uses his voice to complement and support the percussion part; whispering, chanting, singing, etc. The electronics produce a constant metallic sound, very static. This is to represent the background of the painting, a concrete wall. According to the painter himself, Tuymans' painting has both an attractive and a repulsive quality. Wim Henderickx made use of this in his musical evocation; rough passages are interspersed with graceful melodic fragments. The overall atmosphere of the work has something of a shamanistic ritual about it. The title Sacred Places therefore refers to a form of spirituality.