Oppressive picking and pop sounds and humor at the Alba Rosa Viva festival!

Chilling verses of crippling grief in the face of a monologue about conflicting ideas and social bubbles; minimal but expressive means versus rich instrumentation: thematically and musically, the winning pieces of the composition competition are on the Alba Rosa Viva! Festival miles apart, but, according to the jury, they are of an equally high level.

Germán José Mercado (32) from Argentina and the Dutch Primo Ish-Hurwitz (21) thus share the prize, for, respectively, …Then the Bird Said, ‘Nevermore’… and listen† They also share the audience award, although there was no voting audience in the Muziekgebouw in Amsterdam last Friday due to the heavy storm. However, this fourth edition of the festival was recorded for a broadcast on Radio 4.

Whoever listens to the recording will hear how Mercado wrote the poem The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe is oppressively sounded, with picks and plosses from cello and clarinet and sudden silences. Mezzo-soprano Barbara Kozelj sings, claps and booms along with cellist Ella van Poucke. ‘Finally a piece with humor’, the jury responded to the theatrically strong scene by Ish-Hurwitz, played sparkling by soprano Laetitia Gerards.

The Italian Alba Rosa Viëtor (1889-1979) was a highly regarded composer in the United States. In addition to encouraging young composers, the biennial festival, named after her, focuses on her oeuvre and that of other female composers.

The competition part is followed by an excellently performed program, starting with three perfect songs by Viëtor by Gerards. Poetic sounds dominate, from a nocturne by Lili Boulanger to a dreamy piano solo with refined modulations by Calliope Tsoupaki.