Mi quam een schoon geluit

Robert Zuidam - Mi quam een schoon geluit

Asko | Schönberg Ensemble
Katrien Baerts (soprano)
Directed by Reinbert de Leeuw

From the opera 'Suster Bertken'

Suster Bertken (Sister Bertha) was born in Utrecht, either in 1426 or '27 and died on June 25, 1514. When she was about thirty years old, she had herself locked up in a small brick cell next to the Buurkerk in Utrecht, to spend the rest of her days in meditation. Her outlook on the world was limited to two tiny windows; one gave view to the altar, enabling her to witness the masses that were performed there, and the other looked out on the street. Through this window, she received food and help with her basic needs, and in return she would give good advice to passers by and rendered her prose and poetry to those who were interested. She was always barefoot, never used any fire, dairy products or meat, and was dressed in all seasons in a coarse hair cloth and a simple, grey dress. That her work was popular amongst her contemporaries, can be measured by the fact that it was printed, and reprinted, until several generations after her death, not only in Utrecht, but elsewhere, in Leiden and Antwerp, as well.

The opera 'Suster Bertken' uses fragments from her writings and other historical documents about her life and was premiered in the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam on December 4, 2010.

Composer Robert Zuidam wrote: "What fascinates me in Suster Bertken's writings, is the curious discrepancy between the limited space in which they were conceived and the immeasurable distances covered in the visions described in them."

"The movement 'Mi quam een schoon geluit' ('A wonderful sound came to me') is an intermezzo with a markedly meditative character, in which I have tried, as much as possible, to melt instrumental music and singing together. It forms a bridge between the 'worldly noises' of the previous movements and the leap into the divine in the rest of the piece."

The recording of the opera is released on Attacca Records in 2011.
No copyright infringement intended.

The picture I used for this video is a photograph from a sculpture representing the walling in of Suster Bertken, which is on the St. Maarten's bridge, near the Buurkerk in Utrecht.

Thank you for watching & God bless!

Category:

Music

Tags:

• opera
• asko schönberg ensemble
• reinbert de leeuw
• suster bertken
• robert zuidam
• katrien baerts
• buurkerk
• utrecht

[maartendas]

@1finch2finch Glad you like it! :)

[1finch2finch]

This is stunning. So very peaceful. Thank you for uploading, Maarten.