At Sea - KF Kempenbloei Achel, Ivan Meylemans, Anneke Luyten - WMC 2022

At Sea (John Mckey)
Koninklijke Fanfare Kempenbloei Achel
Conductor: Ivan Meylemans
Soprano: Anneke Luyten
Recorded live at World Music Contest Kerkrade (NL), July 24th, 2022

"Echoes of Eternity"

Is an echo just a repetition of what once was? A reverb that fades? Or a purely acoustic phenomenon that teaches us nothing new? Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius saw things differently: 'What we do now, echoes in eternity'. Everything we do, sound, create… has a meaning, a reverberation, an impact on what is to come.
This program invites the listener to discover many echoes: sometimes concrete, sometimes symbolic, as sound, as an experience, as a memory, or as a tribute. Echoes of tradition reverberate in new sounds. The orchestra takes you to old masters such as Homer, Gabrieli and Bach, but at the same time introduces new work that will continu to resonate...

Part 3: At Sea (John Mckey)

"In de leegte van mijn tranen
en de echo van gemis,
laat jouw afwezigheid me horen,
hoe oorverdovend stilte is."
(Martin Gijzemijter)

Based on stories from the ‘Odyssey’, written by Homer (8th century BC).

In the reverberation of the last notes of 'Elegy: Echoes of Lives Past', soprano Anneke Luyten introduces the first notes of this lyrical and melancholic work.

In the song, she portrays Kalypso, an immortal nymph who lives on an unimaginably beautiful but deserted and inaccessible remote island. For years it seemed that her immortality would bring her only eternal loneliness. One day, Odysseus washes ashore as a drowning man, after which he blurs Kalypso's loneliness for seven beautiful years. After the seventh year however, he abandons her again. Reminiscing, Kalypso watches Odysseus sail away. The wind and the waves carry him to the horizon and the loneliness comes washing back to her. Never was the echo of loss so big...

In 2017, Anneke Luyten also performed with Kempenbloei at the WMC, in Jan Van der Roost's 'I Shall Love But Thee'. Thanks to her amazing performance, the piece became an instant classic in the HaFaBra world.

Full WMC 2022 program:

Part 1: Not Before Time (Philip Sparke):    • Not Before Time (Philip Sparke) - KF Kempe...  
Part 2: Elegy:- Echoes of Lives Past (Philip Sparke):    • Elegy: Echoes of Lives Past (Philip Sparke...  
Part 3: At Sea (John Mackey):    • At Sea - KF Kempenbloei Achel, Ivan Meylem...  
Part 4: Asphalt Cocktail (John Mackey):    • Asphalt Cocktail (John Mackey) - KF Kempen...  
Part 5: Immortal Back (Knut Nystedt):    • Immortal Bach (Knut Nystedt) - KF Kempenbl...  
Part 6: A Gabrieli Fantasy (Bert Appermont):    • A Gabrieli Fantasy (Bert Appermont) - KF K...