Only Darkness and Shadows

This composition was written in 2003 on commission from the Concertgebouw Brugge. In 2004, it was reworked for soprano and orchestra and in 2010 for soprano and piano. The work contains five songs based on Estonian poems by Triin Soomets. The five songs evoke different atmospheres. The entire song cycle is based on contrasting elements. The first song, “Only darkness and shadows...”, starts with a dark, mysterious low sound and evolves into a colouristic, almost spectral sound. The song ends with a rhythmic ostinato. The second song, “I remain glittering in your eye...”, has a playful and dancing character. The third song, “For centuries...”, is an ironic, almost cabaret-like song with a repetitive musical structure. The fourth song, “Come to my grave...”, is a sarcastic, dark and gloomy musical evocation. In the second part of this song, the atmosphere becomes more introspective, ending with a chorale in the horn and bassoon. This song ends with a descending lament bass. The fifth song, “And I am there...”, is an ethereal musical evocation in which time and space fade away. The entire composition is based on very strict serial techniques that organise the musical material, taking into account the inspiration that the poems provided the composer.