– Gluck and the death of Euridice

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C.W. von Gluck

Stories from ancient Greec mythology have inspired writers and composers through the ages. Amongst them Christopo Willibald von Gluck (1714-1787). He was originally from Bohemia and moved to Prague in 1731 to dedicate his life to music. Not something his father was proud of. Then in 1736 he oves to Milan, following composition lessons with Giovanni Battista Sammartini. In 1741 his first opera was performed, Artaserse. Because this was a great success, many Italian cities wanted him to write for them as well. Even London found him which led to him discovering Händel and his music. After 1746 he was bandmaster of a travelling music opera company. In 1752 he moves again, to Vienna this time, where he was appointed Composer at the Court of Mary Theresa. Here he died in 1787.

Orfeo ed Euridice

Gluck mainly composed operas and was known for creating so called “reform operas”. They were a reaction to the serious Italian operas from those days, the opera seria, in which the storyline was hardly important and the virtuosity of the voices was dominant.

During his time in Vienna, Gluck discovered additional possibilities. For him the ideal situation in art would be achieved when all art forms would be equally contributing to the realization of the dramatic line in the opera. “Orfeo ed Euridice” was an attempt to realise this idea.

In Vienna he was not successful with this kind of opera, but in Paris the appreciation was completely different. Here they already had learned to love the French “tragédie-lyrique”, which resembled the reform opera more or less.

“Che farò senza Euridice” from the opera “Orfeo ed Euridice” probably has become his most renowned and appreciated aria. Today I would like to highlight this piece as it was my mothers favorite. She passed away on the 22nd of August 2019. She got to know this aria through the interpretation by her sister Dora, who had a warm alto voice. Gérard Lambert and myself are very happy that our interpretation of this aria, with its recitative, has become our most viewed and appreciated clip on YouTube!

To honour my mother who would have reached the age of 92 on the 24th of August this year, I’d like to present that video, recorded during our Concert Quattuor on 27 september 2014 in the Sint-Nicolas church of La Roche-en-Ardenne.

I am convinced that this great music will touch your hearts as much as it does ours, both through its music and its words and – as I hope – our interpretation.

ORIGINAL VERSION
Che farò senza Euridice
Dove andrò senza il mio ben.
Euridice, o Dio, risponde
Io son pure il tuo fedele.
Euridice! Ah, non m´avvanza
più socorso, più Speranza
ne dal mondo, ne dal ciel.

VERSION IN ENGLISH
What will I do without Euridice
Where will I go without my beloved one.
Euridice, oh God, answer
I am entirely your loyal one.
Euridice! Ah, it doesn´t give me
any help, any hope
neither from this world, nor from heaven.

Enjoy the week

Marijke Persijn

– The Raven and the Fox at the BAM! festival

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Jean de la Fontaine (1621-1695) became world famous because of the stories, the fables he wrote. He was inspired by works from the old ages by, for example, Aesop and Horace. He was buried at “Père Lachaise” in Paris.

During our MaGMa Trio concerts on 5 and 6 October 2019 at the BAM! festival in La Roche-en-Ardenne, we will bring the fable “The Raven and the Fox” (“Le Corbeau et le Renard”) in hotel Floréal.

The Raven and the Fox will be brought in the French version and in Dutch. Marietje d’Hane-Scheltema made a beautiful translation from French into Dutch and Marco Kalkman, who will also accompany us at the “Four songs from the Ardennes”, composed music to it.

For a better understanding (and because it is a nice story), I will give you the translation into English of “Le Corbeau et le Renard”. In the Livre d’Or de la Chanson Française (tome 3) I found the music which we will use in the French version, composed by George Van Parys. He lived in Paris from 1902 till 1971. He is mainly known as composer for films, but also wrote operettas, chambre music and music for chansons. He was the one who composed the music for “Les Misérables”.

The Raven and the Fox

Mr. Raven was perched upon a limb,
And Reynard the Fox looked up at him;
For the Raven held in his great big beak
A morsel the Fox would go far to seek.
Said the Fox, in admiring tones:
“My word! Sir Raven, you are a handsome bird.
Such feathers! If you would only sing,
The birds of these woods would call you King.”
The Raven, who did not see the joke,
Forgot that his voice was just a croak.
He opened his beak, in his foolish pride—
And down fell the morsel the Fox had spied.
“Ha-ha!” said the Fox. “And now you see
You should not listen to flattery.
Vanity, Sir is a horrid vice—
I’m sure the lesson is worth the price.”

Enjoy this week!

Marijke Persijn

– Daisy Hoste, painter from Enneille/Durbuy

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Next concert of the MaGMa Trio, will be an exceptional event. Marijke Persijn, mezzosoprano, Marijke Verbeeck, flute and Gérard Lambert, harpsicord, assisted by Marco Kalkman on harpsicord, will bring a worldpremiere of poems by Jacques Perk, set to music by Peter Visser.

This concert will take place on Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 October 2019 during the BAM! festival in La Roche-en-Ardenne. “Passion” is the theme of this years festival and it is the red thread returning in all different artforms present. And that’s exactely the reason why the misicians have sought assistance from Daisy Hoste, painter from Enneille/Durbuy. Luckily she accepted the invitation to participate. Her works will definitely contribute to a welcoming atmosphere in the room of hotel Floréal, where the concert will be.

“It is not the beauty of a work of art that provokes our admiration, it is our admiration that makes it beautiful.”, an expression from Pabl Picasso, quoted on Daisys site. She sees her atelier as a laboratory, a place of quest. The painter has a very specific view on reality and expresses this through her/his creative and very personal work, being a process of reflexion and observation at the same time.

Daisys works expresses her evolution in art, her versatility and her ability to involve different forms of art. During a number of concerts of the MaGMa Trio, Daisy exposed her works in order to contribute to an experience beyond music.

Although Daisy no longer provides expositions, she agreed to contribute to this project “between alienation and creation” in combination with the poems that were set to music.

For more information about Daisy Hoste and her work, please visit https://daisyhoste.weebly.com/ or http://www.daisyhoste.net/

Don’t forget to order your tickets through this site!

Enjoy the week, Marijke Persijn

– Worldpremiere and Buster Keaton!

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Saturday 5 Octobre 2019 at 15h.30 hrs

In Hotel Floréal, Avenue de Villez 6, La Roche-en-Ardenne, the MaGMa Trio assisted by Marco Kalkman on harpsicord, will bring a concert including the worldpremiere of poems of Jacques Perk put to music by Peter Visser. All this will take place in an inspiring environment because of the paintings of Daisy Hoste. Entrance fee 10 Euro.

(We’d like to inform you that the next day, Sunday 6 October, same time same place, the concert will be brought once more).

Saturday 5 October 2019, 20.00 hrs

In the Saint Nicolas church (Grand rue), the mythical silent movie “The General” from 1926 will be shown, featuring Buster Keaton who also directed it. The film will be musically supported by the French organist Michel Richlinsky, who will play the impressive church organ. Entrance fee 8 Euro.

In you’d like to be part of both events that take place on Saturday 5 October (MaGMa Trio ànd Buster Keaton), combination tickets are available at 14 Euro only. You can make your reservation by mail at info@festivalbam.be or text message to +32 (0)495 18 37 38.

If you prefer visiting one of the two “MaGMa et Amices” concerts, you can also order your tickets through the MaGMa Trio website.

Have a nice week,

Marijke Persijn

– Clavichord for MaGMa Trio

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The clavichord

Our newborn music-baby: a CLAVICHORD.

Gérard used to play such an instrument and looks forward to playing it again.

It probably needs recovery and some repair. And by that I mean not just polishing it …

The interior

A new subject to learn more about. And that means ordering books, reading books I already have once again and trying to find information through Google!

Have a nice, musical week,

Marijke Persijn

– Inspiring holidays

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Holidays do well! We had the experience once more. Just letting go of everything. Almost no screens, because WiFi was mostly not available. But beautiful flowers, lakes, mountains and forests and lovely little towns with half-timbered houses all around!

Salzburg

Gérard visited Salzburg for the Gala-concert with his other singer. They still are “in heaven”. They have been able to hear and see the worlds greatest singers!

Eric and me arrived in Bad Schussenried, after crossing the Black Forest. Here we were had a guided tour in the impressive Convent and its Library. This really filled our baroque loving hearts.

Bad Schussenried

Then, after visiting the Bodensee and the magnificent flower island Mainau and passing Salzburg, we arrived at Sankt Gilgen, on the shores of the Wolfgangsee. Here you can visit, amongst others, the Mozart Haus.

Sankt Gilgen

And there was the Zwölferhorn, a mountain with WiFi and a rocking chair, on which I could medidate, looking out over the mountain landscape. How spoilt can you get?

Marijke and her family recharged briefly in France, where they celebrated “14 juillet“.

Just another road side in Freudenstadt.

We have started our repititions again. In the company of a young audience sometimes, because of the summer holidays. And they raise interesting questions …

Have a nice week,

Marijke Persijn

– Reservations

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Please don’t forget to make your reservations for the world premiere of “Chants d’Ardenne” in time! You can be part of this event in which poems by Jacques Perk will be performed, put to music by Peter Visser.

On Saterday 5 and Sunday 6 October 2019 at 15.30 hrs, the concert will take place in Hotel Floréal in La Roche en Ardenne.

Reservations can be made through this link.

– A poem to inspire

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Quote by Portia Nelson

“I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I fall in.
I am lost… I am helpless.
It isn’t my fault.
It takes forever to find a way out.

I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend I don’t see it.
I fall in again.
I can’t believe I am in the same place.
But, it isn’t my fault.
It still takes me a long time to get out.

I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it is there.
I still fall in. It’s a habit.
My eyes are open.
I know where I am.
It is my fault. I get out immediately.

I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.

I walk down another street.”

This might be a text of “The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying”.

Next week there will be no blog. We will enjoy our holidays!

Have a good time! Marijke Persijn

– Virgam Virtutis: comments

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On a regular basis we share videos of pieces we performed on YouTube. By now they’re quite a lot and they can be seen on the channel that Eric made (ericjvanderhorst). It also is a good moment to realise how vast our repertoire has become by now, especially knowing that not all we bring is published for viewing.

Virgam Virtutis, G.F. Haendel

We thought it might be interesting to share comments we receive from fellow viewers of a specific video, in this case the one of Virgam Virtutis by Haendel, which we performed during our Easter concert 2019 in La Roche-en-Ardenne.

Marie Elaine Henderson- Cleland: Another movingly beautiful example of the Trio Magma – and your spinning long phrases with immaculate breathing technique plus flexibility – a source of delight! What a lovely end to Sunday! Thank you for sharing this. Marie Miller

Astrid Kompier: Really sung very beautifully! And that last one, such a beautiful aria. (Eternal Source of Light Divine, MP) Thanks for posting it. You are an amazing trio. ( I tell her that the aria “Virgam Virtutis” always makes me happy, MP) Astrid: And you sing it in a beautiful way, that’s why it is so moving.

Louisa Heine and Gyde Knebusch: Beautifuuuuuuuul!

Easter concert 2019

Puck Puck: Great! And your voice is so well under control!!! It really was worth listening ot! To be honest, I rarely listen to this kind of music, but this really brought tears of emotion to my eyes!

Monique van der Hoeven: This is so beautiful, Marijke – the three of you are so well balanced and you really honour this aria with you wonderful warm voice! It made me happy!

Monique van Driel: You have a wonderful voice, Marijke. It all sounds really well together.

Trees Groothuis- Ter Huurne: Beautifully sung, Marijke. Such great music and song, gave me goose bumps.

Marie Elain Henderson- Cleland: Dearest  Marijke. Have already heard and commented on the beauty of this video on U-Tube. Just had another listen to it. Superb. Look forward to hearing more of that concert and to enjoying the Trio Magma. Sheer delight! Much love Mariexxxx Viva Trio Magmazzz

Caroline Destoop: Very very beautiful, Marijke

Easter concert 2019

Edwin Hinfelaar: A short reaction to your Virgam Virtutis. I definitely like the performance. You present this aria in a simple and fragile manner. I still have the feeling I am missing the essential atmosphere. As far as that is concerned, a recorded video/CD or YouTube film usually is a poor representation of the real thing. Listening to it a couple of times, the feeling remains “I should have been present”! It is great to also hear you refind each other if by accident you miss each other a bit on the way. Performing in a big space like this you need not only be technically well aligned musicians, but also your mental channels must be in full communication mode. Really well done.

The MaGMa Trio

Dear colleague singers, colleague musicians, friends in music, we, the members of the MaGMa Trio (Marijke Persijn mezzosoprano, Marijke Verbeeck flute and Gérard Lambert organ) thank you all for your kind comments! They really do well and give us inspiration!

If you would like to comment on any of our videos, we really would appreciate it!

Heartwarming musical greetings, Marijke Persijn.