DROMENBOEK // ensemble, super 8 projectors, narrator, electronics (2015-2016)
Dromenboek (Book of Dreams) is a composition for ensemble, voice-over and Super 8 film projections. It is structured around a selection of the dreams that Dutch writer Frederik van Eeden recorded in his dream journals between 1889 and 1927. The Dutch East Indies – a place Van Eeden dreamed about regularly, but never visited during his lifetime – can be traced as an implicit theme that runs through the selected fragments. Even in dreams that do not reference this concept directly, it can be found smoldering below the surface, presenting itself to the spectator as an ambiguous yet inescapable historical reality.
A number of musicians in the ensemble are assigned Super 8 projectors, which they control using foot switches. The projectors are scattered around the stage and project on canvasses of various sizes that are placed amongst the ensemble. Most of the film material used for the projections consists of archive footage originating from the Dutch Indies.
The work was created for Ensemble Modelo62, conducted by Ezequiel Menalled, with narration by Daan Hofman and technical assistance by Dario Giustarini. Performed at the Korzo Theater and Theater De Nieuwe Regentes in The Hague in 2015/2016, with new performances planned for the autumn of 2016. The performance has English surtitles.
AUDIO EXCERPTS
