I performed the following poems in my last piano recital continents of sound in Stanford last month in the Western Cape. It is a series of poems that I have been using in some of my other recitals in collaboration with other musicians - clarinetist Morné van Heerden, cellist Francois le Roux and flutist Thomas de Bruin. These poems have given the recitals a strong sense of cohesion and drama. Personally I think the words have a wonderful way to balance the intensity of the musical moments. I have received very inspiring feedback on the poems. They have been coming a long way with me - each one has its own story and inspiration. They have been flashes of lightning as well as globes of grapes in my mouth. They have given me strength with each performance. It has been very fulfilling to realise just how closely woven my poetry and music can be at times. I thought it is now a good time to publish them here.
I indicate the piano pieces to give an idea of the music that I played in continents of sound.
>>> Improvisation <<<
1.
Nuwe
Aarde
dit is daar waar ek wil wees
daar waar kontinente van klank
uit my keel en vingers vloei
en ek aan 'n hele
nuwe aarde geboorte gee
New Earth
that is where I want to be
there where continents of sound
flow from my throat and fingers
and i give birth
to a whole new earth
>>> Beethoven Sonata <<<
2.
boorling van hierdie klank-aarde
my
vingers omvou elke vou en hoek
van
die klank se lyf
voel
sonder om te sien
die
glans
die
deining
die
gly kontoere
van
toon-organika
wat
in die hemelvuur
tot
boorling
van hierdie klank-aarde
gelouter
word
inhabitant of this sound-earth
my fingers fold
over every fold and corner
of the body of
sound
feel without
seeing
the shining
the undulation
the smooth
contours
of
tone-organica
that is fired
in heaven's flame
into inhabitant
of this sound-earth
>>> Schubert
Impromptu <<<
3.
o, Musiek
dit
is waar klanke gebore word met aardse lywe
en
ons die herinnering van premordiale frekwensies
in
ons honger ore kan hoor sing
en
die hart kan net juig oor musiek
wat
so diep tref
oh, Music
this is where
sounds are born with earthly bodies
and we can hear
the memory of primordial frequencies
sing in our
hungry ears
and the heart
can only rejoice over music
that strikes so
deeply
>>> Debussy Clair de Lune <<<
4.
ryp druiwe
die
musiek-klanke val
soos
ryp druiwe
uit
die lug
vol trosse kom
lê soet-soelig diep binne my oor
draai om en om
in
'n hemelse taai
mallemeul
in die
ingewandes
van
my siel
die rillings
breek uit oor my kopvel
en die toppe
van my skouers
ek is bang as
die stilte
gaan kom
ah, om verewig
in die hand van klank te lê
daar waar dit
resonerend warm is
vat my nie weg
van hierdie klank!
kom musiek,
kom val
soos ryp druiwe
in my oor
bederf my
met
'n oomblikse
versadiging
van
hierdie
nimmereindigende
honger
ripe grapes
the sounds of
music fall
like
ripe grapes
from
the sky
full bunches
come lie sweet-sultrily deep inside my ear
turn round and
round in
a heavenly
merry-go-round
in the guts
of
my soul
the thrills
break out over my head
and on the tops
of my shoulders
i am scared
when
the silence
will descend
ah, to lie
forever in the hand of sound
there where it
is so resonantly warm
take me not
away from this sound!
come music,
come fall
like ripe
grapes
in my ear
spoil me
with
a momentary
satiation
of
this
neverending
hunger
>>> Granados Playera <<<
5.
uit
die resonante holtes van lyf
uit
die resonante holtes van lyf
breek
die stem oop
en
sing oor die ganse aarde
die
lied wat
in
drome klink
deur
skeure breek
en
in
murg gaan sit
en
nie laat los
totdat
dit lyf vervorm tot
transendentale
beswyming
from the resonant cavities of body
from the
resonant cavities of body
breaks open the
voice
and sings over
the whole earth
the song that
sounds in
dreams
breaks through
the cracks
and
clings onto the
marrow
and does not
let go
until it
reforms body into
one
transcendental swoon
>>> Improvisation <<<
>>> Chopin Polonaise <<<
6.
verrukking van klank
vlugtig
vlieg die ritmes uit my vingers
en
draai ek in 'n kolk van ekstatiese malkoppigheid
totdat
swart en wit,
spier
en hout,
ek
en jy
een
word
die
musiek ons vasboei
die
melodie ons in hegtenis neem
en
die wispelturigheid van die sikloniese ritmika
ons
verewig gevangene hou
in
die verrukking van klank
exuberance of sound
flightily the
rhythms fly from my fingers
and i turn in
a whirl of ecstatic madness
till black and
white,
muscle and
wood,
you and i
become one
till the music
shackles us
the melody
takes us captive
and the
moodiness of the cyclonic rhythm
ensnares us
forever
in the
exuberance of sound
>>> Gershwin
Two Preludes <<<
7.
ontmaskerende
koorstigtelikheid
van klank
my vingers
skud die
sweet van
die klankekoors
oor die
gate van
ore wat
die toevoer
is na
die ondergrond
van julle
siele
die kwiksilwer
in die
buis van
julle monde
breek oop
met die
druk hitte
van die
ontmaskerende koorstigtelikheid
van
klank
unmasking feverability of sound
my fingers
shake the
sweat of
sweat of
the sound-fever
over the
holes of
ears that
are the
subway
to the
underground
of your souls
the mercury
in the
tube of
your mouths
breaks open
with the
pressured heat
of the
unmasking
feverability
of sound
>>> Takacs Toccata <<<
Beautiful Lara, always.
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