Matthijs Vermeulen - String Quartet (3/3)

Matthijs Vermeulen (born Matheas Christianus Franciscus van der Meulen) (February 8, 1888 - July 26, 1967 ), was a Dutch composer and music journalist.

String Quartet (1960-61)

3. Molto animato

Schoenberg Quartet

Vermeulen's compositions share a unique combination of energy, power, lyricism, and tenderness. The vitality of his works is the result of the aim he had in mind: to compose as an ode to the beauty of the earth and in astonishment about life, creating music which appeals to the spirituality of man, bestowing feelings of happiness on him and making him acquainted with the source of life, the Creative Spirit. These ambitions, put into words in the book titled Princiepen der Europese muziek (Principles of European music) and numerous articles, were at right angles to the mainstream movements. Consequently, Vermeulen did not have followers or disciples.
Apart from the aesthetic-ethical 'message', which is also the subject of most of his songs, Vermeulen's symphonies and chamber music offer an ingenious interplay of melodies, a colorful (orchestral) sound with many felicitous instrumental ideas, fascinating sound fields, innovating parallel harmony and a captivating canon technique.
Vermeulen's work has been quoted as seminal by influential Dutch composers such as Louis Andriessen, but his direct influence is much more difficult to trace - his style, after all, is eclectic and highly personal. Moreover, his actual collaboration with other composers remained very limited. Almost all of his recognition took place well after his death.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• vermeulen
• string
• quartet