for ensemble Black Pencil
‘Thinking of Love and Fire, my thoughts went immediately to a snippet of Carlo Gesualdo’s harmonic language… This all went into the blender of Deconstructivism.’
– Renske Vrolijk
for performers and concert programmers
The Blueprint
In Shard, Renske Vrolijk translates the sharp angles of Deconstructivist architecture into acoustic reality. Commissioned by Ensemble Black Pencil, the work reflects Daniel Libeskind’s landscape artwork, The Garden of Love and Fire. Vrolijk takes the structural rigidity of Libeskind’s design and collides it with the chromatic tension of Carlo Gesualdo’s harmonic language.
Geometry vs. Passion
The work juxtaposes curated geometry against the instability of human passion. Vrolijk interprets the title Love and Fire by extracting the ‘burning’ chromaticism of Gesualdo’s music and forcing it into the cold, jagged rhythmic grid of modern Deconstructivism.
A Study in Erosion
The piece explores disintegration. Vrolijk builds the work around an old Dutch folk song, Liefste gy zijt ongestadig (Dearest, you are fickle). The title serves as the plot: just as a fickle lover changes their mind, the music refuses to hold one shape.
It begins with a clear memory of the original tune—a simple, tender melody. The ‘Deconstructivist blender’ then stretches the song until it breaks, interrupting the line with sharp, mechanical noises. The folksong shatters, leaving behind ‘shards’ of sound scattered like debris—ending in a theatrical, mimed silence.
For performers
Year:
2026
Duration:
4′
Instruments:
S.rec.Panfl;
vla; perc.acc;
Premiere:
TBA
Commission:
Back Pencil
Category:
2-5 musicians
Language:
—
Lyricist:
—
Are you interested in performing this work? Please contact my publisher.
Renske’s sheet music
is published by Deuss Music.