Het Collectief

When Paul van Ostaijen wrote his 'Feesten van angst en pijn' (Feasts of Fear and Pain, 1918-1921), he was looking for a new language detached from narrative meaning. Through the use of handwriting, colours and experimental arrangements on the page, he suggests that his poetry does not necessarily have to signify anything concrete. The young Antwerp composer Bram Van Camp (b. 1980) has been fascinated for ten years by this collection of poems. Because the text does not suggest any inherent meaning, he determined to flesh out the interpretation musically. He began to set an initial poem to music, 'Verse 4' appearing in 2001 and the first three verses following in 2010. He has now set three other poems to music: 'Barbaarse dans', 'Angst een dans' and the long, abstract poem 'De mars van de hete zomer'. In order to reinforce the visual aspect of Van Ostaijen's poetry, video artist Klaas Verpoest has prepared a distilled and synchronized performance of the handwritten poems. Works by Mauricio Kagel and Karel Goeyvaerts complete the programme. Before the concert, there is a chance to get to know Mauricio Kagel better as a film-maker, with a screening of two of his surrealist films: 'Match' and 'Antithèse'.