brueghel's winter (2023)
for SATB choir, and a solo soprano from a distance
ca. 6' minutes
Brueghel's Winter (2023)
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poetry
Jagg'd mountain peaks and skies ice-green
Wall in the wild, cold scene below.
Churches, farms, bare copse, the sea
In freezing quiet of winter show;
Where ink-black shapes on fields in flood
Curling, skating, and sliding go.
To left, a gabled tavern; a blaze;
Peasants; a watching child; and lo,
Muffled, mute--beneath naked trees
In sharp perspective set a-row--
Trudge huntsmen, sinister spears aslant,
Dogs snuffling behind them in the snow;
And arrowlike, lean, athwart the air
Swoops into space a crow.
But flame, nor ice, nor piercing rock,
Nor silence, as of a frozen sea,
Nor that slant inward infinite line
Of signboard, bird, and hill, and tree,
Give more than subtle hint of him
Who squandered here life's mystery.
— Walter De La Mare
program notes
Written over the course of 5 days in the summer of 2023, Brueghel's Winter tells the story — and was directly inspired by — Pieter Brueghel's 1565 masterpiece Hunter's in Snow, and Walter De La Mare's eponymous poem about the same subject.
Brueghel's painting finds us looking at brief moment; of hunters being caught in action. The music stretches this single painted frame out with a dramatic narrative arc over the course of 6 minutes by telling the audience what might've occurred, before and after that single captured image.
We start at night, while the hunters are still sound asleep, we follow them going about their day, while at some point in the middle Brueghel's actual painting is finally expressed through music.
Much gratitude also needs to be owed to Diederik Glorieux and Hannes Vanlancker for their expert compositional guidance throughout the writing process.
Media
Listen to the original premiere recording of the complete version performed by De 2e Adem, Ars Vocalis Kortrijk and Huniyagar conducted by Maarten van Ingelgem on March 17th, 2024 in Harelbeke (Sint-Salvator Church), Belgium
Previous performance:
By the Flemish Radio Choir and conducted by Diederik Glorieux, on July 7th, 2023, in Alden Biezen, Belgium.
reviews
A true masterpiece. I got goosebumps. The line and harmony at VII. is phenomenal.
— alex christodoulou
A great piece! I love the close harmonies at II. and the chromaticism that follows. I also really like the transition into the Piu Meno Mosso section near the end.
— andrew mckenzie
Beautiful music to match a beautiful painting. What an impressive atmosphere.
— jacques tournier
what customers say
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About
Milo Paulus (b. August 14th, 1999) is an award-winning Dutch composer, conductor, orchestrator and score producer specializing in original music for concerts, screen and stage productions. His catalog spans a diverse range of styles and influences for both instrumental and vocal works, as well as countless original soundtracks for films and video-games. His works have been commissioned by various performing groups, festivals and institutions.