Paolo Gorini about December 14

What can you expect from Festival Dag in de Branding on Saturday 14 December? We asked this question to Paolo Gorini, composer of It’s Like… and initiator of the program Sister, your song bears a burden… that he put together with soprano Elisabeth Hetherington.

Why an ode to these women (Emily Dickinson, Sylvia Plath en Anna Politkovskaja)?

In 1919 women obtained the right to vote in the Netherlands. A hundred years later, we celebrate this significant achievement. Writers and poets are remarkable artists; they can shape their imagination into a meaningful chain of words. In this project, we present female protagonists who have been shining throughout history thanks to their astonishing thinking and powerful words. The sensitivity of Emily Dickinson towards the little miracles of nature, the shattering and dark world of Sylvia Plath, the brave and relentless actions of Anna Politkovskaja (as well as her murderer still unpunished), really inspired composers to write music about them.

What is it in Emily Dickinson’s poem It’s like the light that moves you?

I’m quite an introversive person; perhaps I’m not the only one who struggled in describing feelings. It’s a floating sea out there; emotions continuously change, and they fly around implacably. The only way to catch them is to use another image: “It’s like…” I felt the same quite often and the text of Emily Dickinson was the perfect companion.

What can we expect from Sister, your song bears a burden…?

The musical content is quite diverse, but the common thread is an intimate atmosphere. These words narrate a tale where everyone can be the protagonist; they tell us something about our selves throughout an intense and personal journey.

The program Sister, your song bears a burden… will take place on Saturday, December 14 at 3 p.m. in the Nieuwe Kerk as part of Festival Dag in de Branding. You can purchase individual tickets via the Zuiderstrandtheater website. You can buy an affordable passe-partout for the festival here.