Contrasts | 11:00 – 12:00 a.m.

Vokalprojekt 31 opens MicroFest Amsterdam 2019, a one-day festival for microtonal music, with a rich programme in which 31-tone music for voices from 1946 to the present takes centre stage. The remarkable capability of the human voice to sing microtones is demonstrated in various compositions by Vokalprojekt 31. The concert’s title, Contrasten, refers to a work from 1952 for four-part a cappella choir in Henk Badings’ 31-tone tuning, which is included in the programme. The concert also features works by Frans van Doorn, who was assistant to Professor Adriaan Fokker when the 31-tone organ was still housed at the Teylers Museum. In addition, several movements from Vierstemminge Intonatie-Oefeningen by Dutch composer Jan van Dijk will be performed; van Dijk composed multiple works in the 31-tone tuning and co-authored an article with Fokker on musical experiences with the tuning systems of Leonhard Euler, in particular the seventh harmonic overtone. Alongside Reflections by the Australian tone poet Bill Coates, the concert also features a work by the Berlin-based Brazilian conductor and composer Fabio Costa, namely his equally harmonious and ingenious Aphoristic Madrigal, a piece that illustrates the use of overtones in music particularly well. Interspersed with these mainly historical vocal works are two notable compositions for 31-tone organ by Adriaan Fokker and the former Fokker organist Anton de Beer.

Vokalprojekt 31: Valeria Mignaco, soprano | Alfrun Schmid, mezzo soprano/alto | Daan Verlaan, tenor | Erks Jan Dekker, baritone | Ere Lievonen, Fokker organ

Programme

Henk Badings – parts from ‘Contrasten’ (1952)
– Serenade
– Elegie
– Geestelijk lied

Adriaan Fokker – Kabbelende diëzegolven (1971)

Jan van Dijk – parts from ‘Vierstemmige intonatie-oefeningen’ (1946)

Anton de Beer – Onderbroken koraal (1960s?)

Frans van Doorn – Pater Noster, opus 70 (1987)

Bill Coates – Reflections (Septimal Melody no. 1)

Fabio Costa – Aphoristic Madrigal (2015)

The Evening of the Microtone Clarinets in Space | 01:30 – 02:15 p.m. (free entrance)

In the Clarinets in Space concert, microtonal music for clarinet takes centre stage. The eponymous clarinet quartet performs the long-awaited premiere of Spacewalk by Sander Germanus, a piece which sonically depicts weightlessness and the disorienting effect of a spacewalk. The Roadrunner Trio (clarinet, cello, and accordion) will perform Life on Mars by Cecilia Arditto, written specifically for the trio, where minimal intervals create a serene, suspended atmosphere. The short but intense concert opens with Article 7, an exciting work for solo bass clarinet and soundtrack by Rozalie Hirs, composed in 2012 especially for clarinettist Fie Schouten.

Programme

Rozalie Hirs – Article 7 [seven ways to climb a mountain] (2012)
Fie Schouten, bass clarinet

Cecilia Arditto – Life on Mars (2016)
Roadrunner Trio:
Michel Marang, clarinet
Antonis Pratsinakis, cello
Erica Roozendaal, accordion

Sander Germanus – Spacewalk (2016-2017)
Clarinets in Space:
Denise van Leeuwen, Bb clarinet
Michel Marang, A clarinet
Fie Schouten, basset horn
Bram Boesschen Hospers, bass clarinet

Harry Partch – Lecture 1942 | 03:00 – 04:00 p.m.

The Scordatura Ensemble returns with a remarkable concert. Recently, an original acetate recording from 1942 was discovered, containing unique material. It features the American composer Harry Partch (1901–1974) presenting at the Eastman School of Music in New York, introducing his music to an enthusiastic audience of music students using his self-designed 43-tone system. He discusses Speech Music, Yeats, Ancient Greece, and his life as a homeless musician, drawing analogies between microtones and colours. Using this recording as a starting point, Scordatura Ensemble curated a concert combining live Partch music with audio fragments from the original, as well as several musical examples played on the Chromelodeon. As part of The Amsterdam Partch Project, Scordatura recreated early instruments. In this concert, Kithara I, Adapted Viola, and Adapted Guitar I are heard, alongside the brand-new Chromelodeon, a converted harmonium that plays a central role in Lecture 1942.

Since its founding in 2006 by musicologist Bob Gilmore (1961–2015), Scordatura Ensemble has performed adventurous music by a range of contemporary composers, focusing on new tunings and microtonality to enrich the harmonic resources of music. The core ensemble of voice, viola, and keyboards is often expanded with other instruments depending on the musical context. Scordatura performs both “classics” of the microtonal repertoire and newly commissioned works, frequently incorporating theatrical elements, video, dance, or multimedia art. This afternoon, with the performance of several works by Harry Partch, the ensemble will demonstrate its particular expertise. A not-to-be-missed occasion!

Scordatura Ensemble : Reinier van Houdt, Chromelodeon | Chris Rainier, voice, Adapted Guitar I & Kithara I | Elisabeth Smalt, Adapted Viola & Kithara I | Alfrun Schmid, voice & Kithara I

Programme

Letter from Hobo Pablo (1943)

Progressions Within One Octave (1942)

Dark Brother (1942)

San Francisco: A Setting of the Cries of Two Newsboys on a Street Corner (1943)

Psalms: The Lord is my shepherd, By the Rivers of Babylon (1932-1943)

From the Seventeen Lyrics by Li Po: A Dream, I am a Peach Tree (1932-1933)

a selection from: Barstow—Eight Hitchhikers’ Inscriptions (Version C 1943)

The music of Georg Vogel | 04:30 – 05:15 p.m. (free entrance)

The microtonal improviser Georg Vogel (Salzburg, 1988) is a young keyboardist, composer, and instrument maker from Vienna. He performs in the trio Dsilton, which plays microtonal jazz and has gained recognition within the Austrian jazz scene. This afternoon, Vogel presents a lecture-recital on his own 31-tone music, performed on the M-Claviton, an enharmonic 31+5-tone keyboard built by Vogel himself. The presentation includes performances from his recent solo album, new works, and improvisations, all composed in the 31-tone system. In addition, he will demonstrate the unique capabilities of the instrument and explain the layout of its distinctive keyboard. Georg Vogel will perform the following works by himself: Utes Reges Mides, Feddy Föhl, Ferry Fahrsept, and -zug & Lill.

The Evening of the Microtone | 08:15 – 09:45 p.m.

As the grand finale, Ensemble SCALA closes the festival with the concert The Evening of the Microtone, showcasing the many facets of microtonality. Microtonal music in diverse styles, from modern classical to pop-oriented, will be presented. The term “microtonal” does not indicate a style, form, or mode of expression of a composition; it merely refers to one element used in creating a musical work. The artistic effect depends on how microtones are employed and whether the result will captivate the audience. The composers featured in this evening have entirely different approaches to microtonal music. The programme includes a new work by the American composer Julia Werntz of the Boston Microtonal Society, a new composition by Dutch composer Piet-Jan van Rossum (featuring the Carrillo piano), and several microtonal works from Ensemble SCALA’s repertoire developed over the past nine years. In other words, a colourful evening full of microtones!

Ensemble SCALA is a Dutch ensemble for microtonal music, founded in 2010 by the Huygens-Fokker Foundation (a centre for microtonal music). Uniquely, the famous Fokker organ is part of this ensemble. The musicians are all specialists in contemporary music, collectively exploring the colourful boundaries of microtonality. Over the past nine years, the ensemble has built an extensive repertoire of works by composers from the Netherlands and abroad, all employing highly diverse stylistic approaches. With unconventional tunings as its focus, Ensemble SCALA addresses the growing global interest of composers in microtonality as a novel expressive medium.

Ensemble SCALA: Raymond Honing, flute | Michel Marang, clarinet | Manuel Visser, viola | Stefan Gerritsen, microtonal guitars | Ivan Pavlov, Carrillo piano/keyboards | Ere Lievonen, Fokker organ | Mervyn Groot, percussion

Programme

Juhani Nuorvala – Marche funèbre tricésimoprimale (2017)

Piet-Jan van Rossum – Adelwarths Schmetterlingsfänger (2019) premiere

Joachim F.W. Schneider – Drei Gassenhauer (2019)

Sebastian Dumitrescu – Ancient Wisdom (2019)

Cecilia Arditto – Musica invisible para flauta (2003)

Julia Werntz – Scala Obscura (2019) premiere

Matthias Kadar – Hangszon (2018)

Melle Weijters – Improspectrum (2019)