Memlings Penseel

Date of composition: May 2022
Instrumentation: women’s chorus (SSAA)
Duration: ca. 2’40”
Text: Production house De chinezen

This piece was commissioned by Amaranthe Oudenaarde, the Belgian women’s choir that won 1st place during the World Choir Games 2021 in the category equal voices (with the highest score the competition has seen to date).

This piece was created to serve as a music video, connected to a triptych (Christ Surrounded by Singing and Music-making Angels) by the Flemish painter Hans Memling (1430-1494), which is now part of the permanent exhibition in Antwerp’s Royal Museum for the Fine Arts (KMSKA). It is inspired by the musical traditions of the Renaissance, without being necessarily derivative, still keeping its own modern character, which is aided by the somewhat tongue-in-cheek text, written by De chinezen.

Visit the KMSKA website for more background about Memling and this painting.