Out now: the newest single from the Netherlands Chamber Choir, with music and visuals from the innovative production Van Gogh in Me. Watch and listen to this new choral arrangement of Erik Satie’s famous Gymnopédie no. 1.
For Van Gogh in Me, the Netherlands Chamber Choir commissioned one of the first choral arrangements of this iconic work for piano by Erik Satie. The arrangement, made by composer William Knight after an idea by Tido Visser, is the first to use the text of Les Antiques, a poem by J.P. Contamine de Latour. Contamine de Latour was not only a good friend of Satie, but his poem is also likely to have been the inspiration for Satie’s Gymnopédie: the work ends with the word “gymnopédie” and was published simultaneously with Satie’s first Gymnopédie in a magazine in 1888.The poem by Contamine de Latour speaks of “fiery atoms of amber” and “whirlwinds of gold” – elements that you can see in the video of the single.
The artwork in the video is based on Van Gogh’s iconic Sunflowers and created by the Italian studio fuse* for the Van Gogh in Me performances. In the live performances, starting November 11 in the Netherlands, you can see how the visuals not only respond to the music, but also interact live with the emotional experiences of musicians and the audience through biometric data. In October 2022 the full album with the music from the Van Gogh in Me production will be released under the Alpha Classics label. Leave your email address at the bottom of this page and get an email as soon as the album is available to order. You can also listen to the single on various streaming platforms!
Listen to the single via your favorite music streaming service
Van Gogh in Me will have its world premiere in Vienna on the 28th of June as part of the state visit of the Dutch King and Queen to Austria. The Netherlands Chamber Choir will be touring with Van Gogh in Me through the Netherlands from November 11 – December 3 2022 – see this page for more information and tickets!
More information about the Van Gogh in Me tour
Erik Satie – Gymnopédie no. 1 (arr. William Knight after an idea by Tido Visser)
Netherlands Chamber Choir (Nederlands Kamerkoor)
Peter Dijkstra chief conductor
fuse* visuals | Arjan van Asselt audio engineering, editing and mastering | Sebastian Stein tonmeister
© 2022 Alpha Classics / Outhere Music France ℗ 2022 Nederlands Kamerkoor
With thanks to Van Gogh Museum Amsterdam
