Festivals for Compassion
Thin Air & Echo de Clèves F
The musical relay Festivals for Compassion started on 21 June. With Festivals for Compassion, European festivals show their hearts full of solidarity with a solo composition by the Greek-Dutch composer Calliope Tsoupaki, written especially for these Corona times.
Commissioned by Flanders Festival Mechelen / Kempen, trombonist Thomas Moore immediately played two premieres in the churches of Mechelen: 'Thin Air' by Calliope Tsoupaki and 'Echo de Clèves F' by Frederik Neyrinck. Relive it here thanks to the video recordings!
'Thin Air' by Calliope Tsoupaki, by Thomas Moore on euphonium, in the Church of Our Lady across the Dyle:
'Echo de Clèves F' by Frederik Neyrinck, by Thomas Moore on trombone in the Saint Rumbold's Cathedral:
Flanders Festival as launched a composition commission for Frederik Neyrinck as part of Festivals for Compassion
For more than six decades, the Festival van Vlaanderen has been committed to a society where classical and contemporary music lives and bustles. Every year, eight festivals with an international reputation (in Antwerp, Bruges, Brussels, Ghent, Kortrijk, Limburg, Mechelen / Kempen and Flemish Brabant) develop their own activities in a completely unique way. We share the passion of young and renowned artists, the resolute choice for quality, the urge to experience culture with everyone and the love for the arts and musical heritage tout court. Our drive is to bring music in all its forms and guises to a growing and diverse audience. Our eight Festivals annually stand for no less than 400 concerts, 150,000 visitors and 4,000 Flemish and international artists.
The Flanders Festival contributed to Festivals for Compassion, a project initiated by Wonderfeel. With Festivals for Compassion, European festivals show their hearts full of solidarity with a solo composition by the Greek-Dutch composer Calliope Tsoupaki, written especially for these Corona times. Each festival chooses its own artist and instrument. So far, 49 festivals have already taken part, spread from June to November 2020. The piece had its premiere on the Dutch radio station NPO Radio 4 on 20 June, Klara took over the baton a day later. Until November, the work will travel criss-cross through Europe as if in a compassion relay race from festival to festival and will be shared digitally.
The Flanders Festival was inspired by this and took the initiative to also realize Festivals for Compassion in its own country with work by a Flemish composer. Frederik Neyrinck (° 1985) reworked the Danse de Clèves, from the manuscript with dances by Margaret of Austria, performed by 8 different soloists: Jurgen De bruyn (lute), Lieselot De Wilde (soprano), Alice Van Leuven (violin) , Gwen Cresens (accordion), Benjamin Glorieux (cello), Nele Delafonteyne (clarinet), Thomas Moore (trombone) and Ine Vanoeveren (bass flute).
During Klara on tour on June 21 2020, four musicians already performed the world premiere of Echo de Clèves on Klara: Jurgen De bruyn in Antwerp, Alice Van Leuven in Brussels, Lieselot De Wilde in Bruges and Gwen Cresens in Ghent. After that, all eight works were recorded in the Klara studio. Filmmaker Peter De Bruyne then set to work on the audio recordings of Klara. High-resolution images of the original manuscript "Basses danses" by Margaret of Austria, preserved in the Royal Library of Belgium, were added to these eight videos. These videos can be admired and heard from today on www.festivalsforcompassion.com.
Thanks to Klara, Royal Library of Belgium and Alamire Digital Lab.