Timpani Concerto · Wim Henderickx
For percussion solo, orchestra, choir and electronics
When Wim passed away unexpectedly in December 2022, he left several nearly completed compositions on his desk. We decided to complete some of these scores and prepare them for performance. Thus, in 2023, the orchestral work Rejoice! (Hymn for New Times) premiered with the Belgian National Orchestra, followed in September 2024 by the world premiere of the music theater piece Inner Life under the direction of Diederik at DeSingel in Antwerp.
For the Brussels Philharmonic and Gert François, Wim had been developing a concept for a timpani concerto. Just as with the two previous percussion concertos he composed for the orchestra and his close friend Gert (Raga I and Groove!), he wanted to create something entirely new. This concerto was to express both tribal energy and inner poetry.
In close collaboration with Gert, we decided to complete the concerto, true to Wim's spirit. Starting from his original sketches, we crafted a score that gives the soloist ample freedom for improvisation, allowing Gert to shape his personal interpretation and pay his own tribute to Wim. Electronics, a central feature of the work, were developed by Jorrit Tamminga, also a friend, colleague, and collaborator of Wim. Additionally, a women’s choir—performed here by the Flemish Radio Choir—plays an integral role.
The structure of the work partially follows the format of a mass, with each section inspired by the natural elements—water, earth, fire, air, and ether—which hold a central place in many of Wim’s compositions. We inserted meditative interludes inspired by an earlier piece, Revelations, and based on the Gregorian mass Lux et Origo (Light and Origin). This creates a musical link to Disappearing in Light, a central work in Wim’s oeuvre, while reflecting his philosophy. The daf and the tombak play key roles in these interludes; as a percussionist, Wim had a deep connection to these two Middle Eastern percussion instruments, which he often played in his own work.
The Timpani Concerto is programmed alongside Beethoven’s Third Symphony, a work for which Wim had enormous admiration and from which he drew lasting inspiration. He was captivated by its dramatic power, structure, and architecture, elements he frequently discussed with passion in his analysis classes.
Diederik Glorieux and Bea Steylaerts
