for 1 singer, instrumental ensemble and live electronics
Especially for the Music Biennale in Venice Wim Henderickx made a new version of MEDEA (music theatre), which was premiered in May 2011 at deSingel in Antwerp, followed by a tour in Belgium and the Netherlands (2011-2012).
In LAMENTO DI MEDEA the soprano Selva Erdener was singing four lamentos. The Turkish singer was not given a real semantic text, but sings wordless sounds. The music evokes an inner world of suffering, love and sorrow.
The singer is accompanied by a duduk, an Armenian instrument with a sound remarkably close to human vocals.
The musical material consists of one broad melody, frequently featuring quartertones, and mostly elaborated in a heterophonous manner (different variations of the melody being performed simultaneously).
The electronics create a constant drone, the musical background.
Singer and instruments are amplified to enrich the colors of their sound, thus giving the whole an extra dimension.
The typical Western flute, viola and clarinet are accompanied by two percussionists and an electric guitar, at one time surprisingly close to the introspective and melodic character of the music, at other times interrupting it.Stephan Moens in Newspaper 'de Morgen' about LAMENTO DI MEDEA (October 3rd, 2011):
'(...) Anyone with the courage to allow themselves to be carried away by the music, will not only become intoxicated by the 'divine lengths', but will gradually come to a better understanding of the meaning of the infanticide. It is the consequent departure from a love too large and therefore also a kind of emotional suicide (...) In any case Henderickx has managed to present himself on the international stage as an unmistakable voice. That is no small achievement and an equally big opportunity.'
MEDEA was written in commission of HERMESensemble and Music Theatre Transparant and is also supported by the Flemish Government and the City of Antwerp.
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