Sofie Vanden Eynde - Vanishing Point (2022) [Hi-Res]

In 2016, lutenist Sofie Vanden Eynde put her instrument aside for nine months to recover from a severe burnout. Five years later, she felt the need to look back. Would it be possible to articulate the inner reality of a burnout musically: to make a burnout audible, tangible, understandable and - who knows - avoidable?

The result is Vanishing Point / Verdwijntijd, an autobiographical concert, a musical narrative, a journey: somewhere between fragile consolation and cautious happiness. Based on her interviews with Sofie, writer Annemarie Peeters has written a text that reflects the three phases of a burnout

Sofie set out to find pieces from the solo lute repertoire that she intuitively associated with the different phases of the text. The result is a concert with a surprising palette of colors, styles and atmospheres. At times she chose the rich, powerful sound of the theorbo. At other times, she chose the fragile, muted sound of the Renaissance lute
The Prélude by French Baroque composer Robert de Visée combines phrases full of grandeur with pauses for breath full of intimate doubt. The music of John Dowland draws on the typically English predilection for melancholy. Francesco da Milano's fantasies and ricercars echo not only the bright colors of the Italian Renaissance, but also the constant search for a new beginning. Luis de Narvaez's Cancion del emperador is an arrangement for lute of Josquin Desprez's famous chanson Mille Regretz, a song that exudes serene regret for all that is not. And in the Chaconne by Robert de Visée, the same chord progression spins on its own axis. At Sofie's request, Vladimir Gorlinsky created a new composition that reflects the state of mind in the midst of a burnout

Vanishing Point / Verdwijntijd can be heard in different ways: not only as a lute recital, but also as a radio play with voice, lute and soundscapes. Annemarie Peeters' text was recorded by actress Katelijne Damen (NL) and narrator Caroline Daish (EN). Vladimir Gorlinsky created soundscapes based on the sounds of the lute, magnified as if under a microscope. The soundscapes interweave between the text and the lute music. Jo Thielemans created the sound design and provided the live electronics.