KonContinue -Online Submissions
As we know, the Corona crisis has made a hard time for all musicians in many ways and that’s why we created KonContinue. This open platform is made for KonCon community to motivate, inspire, and keep our society active by sharing intriguing content.
Recently, we have received submissions from the call for projects and we are so excited to present it to all of you.
The first submission is from Zijing. She made a wonderful rendition of Icelandic folk song, Móðir Guðs og meyjan skær with vocal and Chinese traditional instrument, guzheng. The timbre of guzheng is beautifully compatible with the Icelandic melody. Thank you so much for sharing this with us!!
It’s time to present the second submission received for KonContinue!
30 students from the Royal Conservatory of The Hague present to us a wonderful rendition to Jesus Bleibet Meine Freude from J. S. Bach. This music has served for hundreds of years to people in search of light, joy and togetherness and now, it serves us well again.
As stated by the members of the virtual ensemble
“ music helps us to connect and maintain hope and joy through these harsh times, making us feel stronger.”
Enjoy!
We are happy to share the next online submission received by KonContinue!
Sean Bell, countertenor and performance artist, presents a beautiful song in his own, extraordinary arrangment: ‘The Lowest Trees Have Tops’ from the Third and Last Book of Songs by Dowland (1603).
In the song Sean’s voice is accompanied by a baroque guitar combined with… the drums programming, synth bass and synth pad. Everything is created and performed by the same artist!
The video below can be an inspiration for all of us musicians to stay positive and look for new, innovative ways of creating music in these crazy Corona times!
‘The John Download project explores the music of the great British songwriter and lutenist John Dowland (1563–1626) through a contemporary art pop expression. The musical journey started with the question: What would a different stylistic wrapping and exploration do to the communication of the songs and lyrics of Dowland?
As I started the creative experimenting, several possible outcomes and versions presented themselves: Would the music “survive”, in the way it is traditionally performed and what it normally communicates within classical performance practice? Would it die, in the meaning of being degraded or reduced into something where it loses its original meaning and aesthetics, and only serves as a fragile frame for some wacky synth-pop arrangements? Or could it be reborn, through discovering new layers of meaning and different ways of communicating through alternative performance practices? The project seeks to explore and discover all of these outcomes.’
Sean Bell
In the 17th century, baroque dances were most well known to accompany pieces of the Baroque period. Fast forward to the 21st century, we see that tap dance could also be used to accompany a piece from the Baroque period!
In our fourth submission, we have a really interesting and fun rendition of Alessandro Scarlatti’s Quartettino in F major (Allegro) with tap dancing.
Recorder player Jasperina Verheij played three recorder parts, with Daniël Brüggen playing the bass part forming the quartet, while in collaboration with tap dancer Juliëtte van Tongeren.
What a meaningful exchange of different art forms in a performance! We hope that this performance will inspire us musicians to explore music making beyond just music. Enjoy!
