Symphony nr 5
49 horns, 35 trumpets, 42 tenor trombones, 14 bass trombones, 28 euphoniums, 21 tubas and 7 valve-less brass instruments. No mutes are required. This symphony is specifically conceived to be performed outdoors and in an echoic acoustic environment. The seven groups of brass instruments should be positioned as far as possible from each other. This symphony includes seven interpolations (pages 2, 15, 28, 40, 58 and 62). Videos and cosmic sounds are incorporated during these interpolations. Their duration and content are left to the discretion of the performers.
Programme notes
(Dixit Casteels) The composition Venus Transit is born from an intense personal introspection into the intersection of science and art. The composer is fascinated by the fact that the human brain—the source of beauty and feeling—remains subject to the laws of physics and chemistry. While Science connects us on a conscious, factual level (a fact remains true until disproven), the composer believes Art’s raison d’être is to forge deep connections at the subconscious level, likening the true self to the large, submerged part of an iceberg. This inquiry extends beyond the human realm. The composer contemplates the non-human world and the beautiful designs found in nature, seeking to understand the concept of infinity without anthropomorphizing. Observing light from distant stars -which may no longer exist- is a contemplation of the past. As a musician obsessed with sound, the composer questions if it is possible to "listen into the past," asking if the eardrum can sense the universe's electromagnetic field. Both the super-nano (inward) and super-macro (outward) realms suggest an "infinite succession of infinities," leading to an attempt to grasp eternity, a reality where time is absent. The inclusion of an accompanying personal text by playwright Huzir Sulaiman serves to magnify this extraspection into the universe through introspection into the human mind. The composer views life as the interval between two silences—a temporary span for recycling information and memory—just as a musical tone is the momentary interruption of silence. The weight of a musical tone is thus linked to the weight of its surrounding silence.
The work is an outdoor music piece featuring spatialized instruments surrounding the audience.
The musical discourse of Venus Transit is modelled after the universe's continuous recycling of matter and energy. A single pitch develops through a continuous process that recycles rhythms and intervals, creating an impression that hovers between randomness and structure.
Handwritten sketches and drafts
to be found on page 61 under the title Starphony and page 296 under the title Venus Symphony of the red cover, A4 size, 385 pages, sketchbook. Also page 75 of the yellow cover logbook #4
Completion of the composition
26-I-2012
Recordings
audio in link #1 and video in link #2
Analysis and related topic
see under Articles (2012)
- Harmonic Growth in Astronomy
- Music, Planets and Stars: special project
- Sounds from Outer Space
Eastern Veil Nebula (NGC 6992), original picture by astro-photographer Remus Chua [2012] (reproduced with the permission of the photographer)
Duration:
49'
Composed In:
2012
Dedicated to:
Parts:
For score and parts, please email <rc@robertcasteels.com>
First performance:
05.06.12 Town Green @ University Town, National University of Singapore, SIngapore
First performed by:
A large orchestra of brass instruments from nineteen Singaporean bands, wind or symphonic orchestras, conducted by R Casteels
Commissioned by:
979-0-9016513-1-9 (parts) and 979-0-9016513-2-6 (parts)
Download Link: