© Paul Frankhuijzen
Peripteron takes place in the temple of Esklepios at about 1000 BC.

The company is lead by a priest (baritone) and the mother god EA (alto).
The priest makes the singers think and preaches purification and concentration.
But he is also keen on having his own temple and for that purpose he needs people.
The mother god EA predominantly sings about her son and tells what happened to
him. The ensemble of vocalists, which is in the here and now, reacts to the events.
Peripteron mirrors a depth structure of 'mythical' layers of emotion throughout the
ages. Therefore it is a story of our day and age too.

Part 1. Rite, is based on the Sumerian Hymn 'the creation of mankind', the original of
(v.c. 800) which was written down on a clay tablet. The hymn is about the land
between Euphrates and Tigris. The priest sings a magical ritual for purification and
concentration. The singers take this up and perform several rites.
The texts are in Hebrew and Sumerian.

Performers

Director
Marc Versteeg
Soloists
Mother God EA Margot Kalse
Priest Ken Gould
Vocal ensemble
Mirieille Hofmann, Ayumi Aoki, Desiree Verlaan, Bram Verheijen, Coert van de Berg, Marcel Moester.
Recorder quartet
Maurice van Lieshout, Dina Titan, Morton Séan Kierman, Maya Schulten.

Recording VPRO 10-11-2002 Novembermusic festival

Photo 
Elle Gielens (Margot Kalse , Ken Gould)
Design Peripteron picture 1 Harrie Heuvelmans
 
Part 2. The land of the blind singers, the calls and the longing of the first part are being examined.
Mesopotamia, the land of milk and honey, is praised. This part ends with the priest's following words:
I for my part, I will think both of you and of another hymn.
Part 3, Oracles. In several layers a number of oracles take place simultaneously. 
A priest wants his own temple. The mother god EA is singing about her son.
The singers sing their contemporary stories and sing about their experiences.
The part develops not into a big crescendo, but into a big (contemporary)
complexity of information. EA one last time sings her ode to Apollo.
Part 4. Epilogue, is the part to put things in perspective: the myth is being put in perspective. The singers
sing the words: We are walking around here in this wing. We are here Peripteron. Now the priest ends with
the parting words: So then, Lord! This hymn is my prayer.
Audio samples



© Paul Frankhuijzen
Peripteron (2002) 56’

chamber-opera
soloist: alto, soloist bass, vocal ensemble,
recorder quartet
lyrics: Musehymn of Mesemedes / Homeric Hymns compound through Paul Frankhuijzen
Oracle lyrics woman voice, from Turkish woman during a earthquake in 1999.
Oracle lyrics man voice, from Italian restorer during the restoration work of the church of Franciscus from Assisi, whichwas through a earthquake damage.
Epilogue lyrics Paul Frankhuijzen.
commissioned by the Fonds voor de Scheppende Toonkunst for November Music
Info         Publ. Donemus
 
 
Of course it was neither my church
nor the one of the clergy present here...
‘From follower to individual’, thus reads
the subtitle of this project of its
composer Paul Frankhuijzen.
In the large-scale song-cycle ‘Canto X’
Frankhuijzen gives voice to a universal
search by humankind: i.e. the one of
faithful follower of God into a more
unconventional and enlightened individual.
A rebirth of humanity placed in a historical
perspective. From the dark, gloomy Middle
Ages during which religion left a large
mark on life into the enlightened era of
the


‘Canto X’ by Paul Frankhuijzen: a consonance journey into purification
First signs of mental resistance emerge at the beginning of the composition.
Savonarola, the heretical monk, sings in ‘Non fu mai el piu bell sollazzo’ about
the insanity of Christ and Christianity. The same vital questions are also given a
chance in the edited sequentias from around 850 A.D.: ‘Fortis Atque amara’
[full of bitter force] and ‘Stans a longe’ [standing at a distance]. ‘In Voce’,
a short duet for baroque trombones, is followed by ‘I am black’ [Ik ben zwart].
In this part text fragments from Canticles no.1 by Solomon are mixed with
heretical texts by Tertullian (3rd century A.D.). 'I am black‘ [Ik ben zwart] deals
with Love and Respect for Higher Things, as well as with man’s weaknesses and
his prejudices.

The second part, called ‘Canto X’, takes up centre stage.Text fragments from
Dante Alighieri’s ‘Hell’ from ‘La Divina Commedia’ [The Divine Comedy] are  used in
this part. A hellish journey through no man’s land is undertaken in the part in
question. A Dantesque world in which lies, fraud, cheating and exorbitant profits
prevail, and one in which sinners don’t want to acknowledge their sins.



 
In the third part Love and Beauty are  at the forefront.
‘It is Love which will triumph in the end’, according to the
composer. ‘Love for a person, an object or love of work, but
especially the kind of love that  gives drive to life.’
The third part starts with ‘Due Voce’, a duet for baroque
trombones. Then the conclusion follows with ‘Thou art
beautiful’ [‘Gij zijt schoon’]. It consists of text fragments
originating from Canticles No. IV.  by Solomon. ‘It is one big
languorous declaration of  love to Beauty’, observes
Frankhuijzen.
Renaissance, in which much more meaning
was being to personal initiative, as well as
to Arts and Science.
The composer uses remarkably
contemporary texts originating from the
Song of Solomon and Dante's La Divina
Commedia [The Divine Comedy], but a
heretic argument of fifteenth-century
monk Savonarola has been included as
well. In addition Frankhuijzen incorporated
inciting and inspiring texts in Dutch, old
Italian, Latin and English.


The cycle has been divided up in three
chapters, which have been set up as one
long composition, joined tightly together.
A consonance journey with one end only:
‘ from follower to individual’.

Marc van der Voort


Performers

Quink Vocaal:
soprano Mariët Kaasschieter
soprano Mariette Oelderik
alto Elsbeth Gerritsen
trombones: Timothy Dowling / Joost Swinkels.

Recording: De Concertzender, live Canto X,
4.3.2007.

De Witte Dame Eindhoven (AXES)
The Netherlands.

Audio samples



© Paul Frankhuijzen