Timpani Concerto (for timpani solo)

When composer Wim Henderickx suddenly passed away in December 2022, there were a number of almost finished compositions on his desk. His long-time musical assistant, Diederik Glorieux, in consultation with Wim's family, prepared some of these scores for performance. In 2023, the orchestral work Rejoice! (Hymn for New Times) premiered with the Belgian National Orchestra, and in September 2024, Glorieux conducted the world premiere of the music theatre work Inner Life at DE SINGEL in Antwerp and later at November Music in 's-Hertogenbosch, among other venues. Wim had been working on a concept for a timpani concerto for the Brussels Philharmonic and Gert François for some time. After the two previous percussion concertos, Raga I and Groove!, which Wim composed for his good friend Gert François and the Brussels Philharmonic, he wanted to do something completely different again. The new concerto would express both tribal power and internalised poetry. Discussions quickly continued in 2023 with Wim's widow Bea Steylaerts and Diederik Glorieux. The latter worked closely with Gert François to complete the concerto, entirely in the spirit of Wim. Diederik chose to compile a score from the sketches that offers the soloist maximum improvisational freedom. This allows Gert François, in turn, to give a personal interpretation to the work, based on his long-standing friendship and collaboration with Wim Henderickx, and thus pay his own tribute to Wim. It was decided to give a central place to electronics – developed by Jorrit Tamminga, also a friend, colleague and collaborator of Wim – and also to a women's choir, performed here by the Flemish Radio Choir. The structure of the work partly follows the structure of a mass, with each part inspired by one of the natural elements of water, earth, fire, air and ether, which occupy a central place in many of Wim Henderickx's compositions. Between these sections, Diederik Glorieux inserted meditative interludes, inspired by Wim's work Revelations and based on the Gregorian mass “Lux et Origo” or “Light and Origin”. This not only forms a musical link with Disappearing in Light, a central work in Wim's oeuvre, but also reflects his philosophy. The daf and tombak play a leading role in these interludes. As a percussionist, Wim had a close connection with and great affinity for these two Middle Eastern percussion instruments, which he often played in his own work. Glorieux later also made a version of this for timpani solo, percussion and electronics.