Louis Andriessen (b. 1939)

Bells for Haarlem (2002)
Passeggiata in tram in America e ritorno (1998)
Letter from Cathy (2003)
La Passione (2002)

Cristina Zavalloni, mezzo-soprano
Monica Germino, violin
Boston Modern Orchestra Project
Gil Rose

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I composed Passeggiata in tram in America e ritorno for Cristina Zavalloni, who introduced me to the impressive Canti Orfici by poet Dino Campana. The text solo consists of two long fragments of Campana's poem in prose with the same name. The images are fantastic, sometimes gruesome, unpredictable collages of perhaps futuristic dreams. I found the combination of Cristina's voice and the violin sound so rich that I decided to compose La Passione, also based on the text of Canti Orfici, as a double concerto for her and Monica Germino.

Bells for Haarlem was commissioned for the restoration of the concert building of Haarlem in the Netherlands. The melodic motive of the piece is based on two famous bells in Haarlem. Letter from Cathy came about when I studied composition with Luciano Berio in the early sixties. I also performed with Cathy Berberian, who was at that time married to Berio. One day, Cristina Zavalloni asked me to compose a song for her for the Berberian project of I Teatri. I read through my approximately 30 letters and postcards I kept from Cathy Berberian to find a good text. Although some parts of the letter are somewhat personal, I decided to use the letter in its unabridged form.

- Louis Andriessen