Sterren van de Hemel

For more than thirty years, the Ives Ensemble has distinguished itself with its adventurous and finely crafted programmes. In their latest programme, they explore how two notable Dutch composers, Richard Rijnvos and Piet-Jan van Rossum, drew inspiration from Maurice Ravel’s iconic song cycle Trois Poèmes de Mallarmé for soprano and ensemble. They are joined by soprano Keren Motseri, who previously made a profound impression at Classical NOW! in György Kurtág’s Kafka Fragments, earning a five-star review in NRC.

Ravel set Mallarmé’s surrealist poems for soprano, two flutes, two clarinets, string quartet and piano — a line-up that will fill the Paleiskerk with a rich variety of sounds. Ravel opted for this instrumentation after hearing Igor Stravinsky’s Three Japanese Lyrics, which were scored for a virtually identical ensemble. This masterpiece also features in the programme.

In Rijnvos’s Riflesso sull’aria, echoes of Ravel and Stravinsky shimmer without a single direct quotation. Rijnvos adopts Ravel’s instrumentation for a newly composed text on the seasons, creating a vibrant and contrasting work in which serenity and exuberance take turns in the spotlight. Van Rossum takes a different approach in Woord, omitting the soprano and instead using the full instrumental force of Ravel’s ensemble, with the piano acting as a quiet guiding presence. In a slowly unfolding chorale, traces of the French school — and of Ravel and Stravinsky — glimmer through a hushed, almost meditative chain of chords. This is music that breathes, seeks beauty and allows space for reflection.