The Doors Closed [1984]

The Doors Closed, part II

The second part of the cycle “The Broken Ear”, The Doors Closed, [De Deuren Gesloten] I wrote in memory of my first great love, Marlies, who suddenly passed away in 1984.

I wrote this work as part of the project ‘Kaalslag’, a collaboration between the ensemble Hoketus and Orkest de Volharding. In the 1990s, the Nederlands Blazers Ensemble added the work to its repertoire. The last performance was in London, at the Proms in 2009.

In this work, I wanted to apply an older idea: the gradual acceleration of a march, causing it to slowly transform into a waltz. This waltz would have to be projected on top of the march in extremely long note values, and through the gradual acceleration, the waltz would eventually emerge. Ultimately, the march would develop into the fast accompanying figures of that waltz. I immediately knew which waltz the piece should be based on: Ravel’s La Valse, the “last waltz”, the “waltz of waltzes”. I couldn’t find the “march of marches”, so I chose one from Beethoven, the Marcia funebre from the Third Symphony. I set to work with the material, once again using the software I had developed and had since further expanded. With each new piece, I first worked on my programs. It was a matter of balance. On one hand, the new parts of the program led to new ideas for the software, but on the other hand, there were deadlines that had to be met. After some time, it turned out I had made a mistake; Ravel’s waltz was already meta-music, a waltz with the waltz as its subject; a “meta-meta-waltz” turned out to be nonsensical. In this (early) phase of writing, my girlfriend passed away. That’s when I made the decision and decided to use the aria When I am laid… from the opera Dido and Aeneas by Purcell. That piece was also in a triple meter.

Cornelis de Bondt, Den Haag, November 11, 2022.