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Dedicatio I (2005−2006) is a piano cycle by Kris Defoort, written for and at the request of Jan Michiels. Each time the composer had committed one of the pieces to paper, he would leave it in the letterbox of his fellow pianist, who would then phone him to say what he thought of it. This two-year process of trial and error resulted in a collection of a total of nine ‘musical letters’, which Kris Defoort dedicated to people who are particularly important to him.
Now that The Time of Our Singing is returning to La Monnaie, Jan Michiels is revisiting this key work in his career, which knits together jazz and classical, light song culture and lively impressionism. In three of his Préludes, he illustrates the strong affinity he senses between the cycle and the work of Claude Debussy. He also references passages from On an overgrown path by Leoš Janáček and a sublime page of Chopin.
Programme
CLAUDE DEBUSSY (1862−1918)
“Des pas sur la neige”, from Préludes (Premier livre)
“Feux d’artifice”, from Préludes (Deuxième livre)
“Minstrels”, from Préludes (Premier livre)
KRIS DEFOORT (°1959)
I. Undressed Conversation (to S.K.)
II. Opera Fever (to LOD)
III. Lonely men (to O.)
IV. Genius Time (to K.D.)
V. Sleeping Boys (to U. and K.)
VI. Treasure of Emotions (to Keith Jarret)
VII. Indispensable Beauty (to K.N.)
VIII. Deadline Dreams (to J.M.)
IX. Midnight Cantate (to my parents)
LEOŠ JANÁČEK (1854−1928)
Allegro-Adagio from On an Overgrown Path (volume II)
Good night!, from On an Overgrown Path (volume I)
FRÉDÉRIC CHOPIN (1810−1849)
Allegretto from Préludes, op. 28/17