Torment of Hearts

Torment of Hearts 2025

Femke Gyselinck & GRIP & B’Rock Orchestra

A few years ago, Femke Gyselinck was introduced to Bach’s ‘dialogue cantatas’. Johann Sebastian Bach is as baroque as it gets. In his oeuvre, the dialogue cantatas occupy a special place, a rare opportunity to hear heaven and earth in conversation.
Femke and B’Rock Orchestra decided to think outside the box: What other music could they add? From which period? Contemporary as well? What dance language could they use? What, if any, is the overarching theme?

The result is Torment of Hearts, in which three dancers, two singers and an ensemble of seven musicians give shape to different manifestations of loneliness triggered by four pieces of music from three different centuries.

The theme of the searching soul from Bach’s dialogue cantata Liebster Jesu, mein Verlangen (1726) is also found in the song An die Einsamkeit (1717) by his contemporary Johann Philipp Krieger.
We leave the world of early music with the song Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen (1901) from Gustav Mahler’s Rückert-Lieder.
Finally, we land in the twenty-first century with new music written specially for this production by composer/keyboard player Hendrik Lasure.
All this music will be performed by B’Rock Orchestra with Cecilia Bernardini on violin and singers Jonathon Adams & Deborah Cachet.

credits

MUSIC CONCEPT Femke Gyselinck, Marcel Ponseele, Jan Van den Borre
CHOREOGRAPHY Femke Gyselinck
DANCE Amanda Barrio Charmelo, Femke Gyselinck, Thomas Vantuycom
MUSIC Johann Sebastian Bach, Johann Philipp Krieger, Gustav Mahler, Hendrik Lasure
ENSEMBLE B’ROCK ORCHESTRA Cecilia Bernardini: violin and artistic direction, Nele Vertommen: oboe, Deborah Cachet: soprano, Jonathon Adams: bass, Sara DeCorso: violin, Raquel Massadas: viola, Julien Barre: cello, Tom Devaere: double bass, Guy Penson: harpsichord & organ
COSTUMES Nel Maertens
SCENOGRAPHY Aslı Çiçek
LIGHTS Elke Verachtert
SOUND Milan Van Doren
DANCE DRAMATURGY Steven Michel
PRODUCTION GRIP & B’Rock Orchestra (Sharon Buffel, Claire Desmedt, Albert Edelman, Anneleen Hermans, Laurent Langlois, Rudi Meulemans, Lize Meynaerts, Klaartje Oerlemans, Jennifer Piasecki, Sylvie Svanberg, Aglaja Thiesen, Davina Van Belle, Toon Vannieuwenhuyse, Nele Verreyken)
INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION A Propic - Line Rousseau, Marion Gauvent
CO-PRODUCTION Concertgebouw Brugge / Dans in Brugge, Perpodium
RECIDENCIES KLAP maison de la danse Marseille, Cultuurcentrum / Dans in Brugge, P.A.R.T.S, KWP Kunstenwerkplaats, Kunstencentrum Nona, Rosas Performance Space, GC De Kriekelaar, Kunstencentrum Buda
THANKS TO Monty
WITH THE FINANCIAL SUPPORT OF the Flemish Government, Tax Shelter of the Belgian Federal Government via Cronos Invest, European Festivals Fund for Emerging Artists - EFFEA

Torment of Hearts (2025)