Wouter Lenaerts

Night In Venice

This work was commissioned by the Koninklijk Vlaams Conservatorium (Royal Flemish Conservatoire) of Antwerp and is dedicated to the flautist Aldo Baerten. Its first performance took place on 15 March 2006 in the Blue Hall (Blauwe Zaal) of the deSingel International Arts Centre, featuring Aldo Baerten and the orchestra of the Antwerp Conservatoire. --Silver glow-- It is night. 'The Queen of the Adriatic' is bathing in a silver glow from the full moon. The old city seems to be under a magical spell. In the distance, the bells of the Campanile di San Marco can be heard. Echoes of the murmuring water from scores of narrow canals resound through the narrow streets... Venice seems to be lost in a deep sleep. Or is it? --Secrets of the Doge's Palace---- St. Mark's Square is shrouded in a gloomy silence. The grim architecture of the Procuraties and the Doge's Palace dominates the deserted square. What secrets are hidden behind these facades? How many prisoners were really tortured here after they had seen daylight for the last time on the 'Bridge of Sighs'? How many stories have been waiting to be told for centuries? Will the Doges ever divulge this mystery? --The Four Horses-- A few metres further along, four imposing horses guard the gate of St. Mark's Basilica. Their bronze coats gleam in the moonlight and it looks as if they are about to jump down. They were created in the fourth century to adorn the Constantinople Hippodrome, but during the fourth crusade in 1204 they were stolen and brought to Venice, where they became the symbol for the four Biblical Evangelists. As the mysterious origin of the most famous horses of Venice always seems to symbolise the figure '4', 'The Four Horses' is entirely based on the quart as musical interval. Behind the horses, the heavenly interior of the basilica is revealed, where thousands of glittering mosaics strive to reflect the moonlight that shines through the windows. A new world opens in an ethereal silence... --Epilogue - Silver glow-- Outside, the moon is still high in the sky. The magic of the world's most romantic city seems to have become even more powerful...