The burden
for oboe, clarinet, trumpet, french horn, trombone, tuba, viola and cello
Duration 9'30''
Dedicated to Jan Kortie
Commissioned by the ASKO ensemble
Premièred on april 11th 2008 at Muziekgebouw aan het IJ in Amsterdam by the ASKO ensemble conducted by Bas Wiegers
Every once in a while we wonder why on earth we are putting so much effort in things that weigh so heavy upon us
One day I was listening to Schubert’s Schwanengesang and this one song called Der Atlas somehow struck me. It’s a beautiful song and it immediatly reminded me of a novel I’d read by Jeanette Winterson called ‘Weight’ that is re-telling the story of Atlas.
Like Atlas holding up the globe we all carry a burden somehow and there’s always this question of ‘why not putting it down’ or ‘why am I imposing myself to do this’ or ‘what would happen if I didn’t do it’. And often we would say: ‘it wouldn’t make any difference in the end’. Or would it?
