Canto Ostinato

 ( 1976 Compositions ) 

Canto Ostinato ("Obstinate Song" (as ostinato)) is a musical composition written by the Netherlands composer Simeon ten Holt.

The piece was completed in 1976 and performed for the first time in 1979 and is by far his most popular and most performed work.

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Performance The most remarkable aspect about this work is the amount of freedom that is given to the performer(s). The piece can be performed with different instruments and a different number of performers. Most commonly, it is played with either two or four , but during the first performance in Bergen, North Holland in the Netherlands, the performers used three pianos and an electric organ. Other aspects that illustrate this freedom can be found in how this piece has been built up. The composer created a hundred and six small cells called 'sections' of a few bars, which can be played ad libitum and be repeated either one or many more times (some bridges excepted). Because of this build-up, performance may take from some two hours to more than a day.

The whole piece is at a steady tempo of ♩ = 60, marked so several times along the score. It starts with that, given the fact that quintuplets are thoroughly used in this composition, is actually . The following is a complete representation of the structure of the work:

Structure of Canto Ostinato by Simeon ten Holt
This section is not repeated (Bridge)
This section is not repeated (Bridge)
This section is not repeated (Bridge)
This section is not repeated (Bridge)
This section is not repeated (Bridge)
This section is not repeated (Bridge)
This section is not repeated (Bridge)
This section is not repeated (Bridge)
In this segment, each section is repeated four times, then all nine sections are repeated again ad libitum four times each
	—
	—
	—
	—
	—
	—
	—
	—
This section is not repeated
This section is not repeated
This section is not repeated
This section is not repeated
This section is a non-repeated encore of section 74
(Bridge)
Transition (Crescendo)
Transition (Diminuendo)
In section 88, the fourth piano plays different cells ad libitum
This section is not repeated
This section is not repeated (Bridge)
This section is not repeated
This section is not repeated
This section is not repeated (Bridge)
This section is not repeated
This section is not repeated
This section is not repeated (Bridge)
Transition (Crescendo)
Transition (Diminuendo)
In section 91, the fourth piano plays different cells ad libitum
This section is not repeated
This section is not repeated
This section is not repeated (Bridge)
This section is not repeated
This section is not repeated
This section is not repeated
This section is not repeated
This section is not repeated
This section is a non-repeated encore of section 95

The piece is regularly performed live in the Netherlands with changing players and instruments, ranging from those with four pianos or one or more different instruments, to those played by a solo musician. A performance took place in Utrecht Centraal station during the evening rush hour in the autumn of 2007, and a couple of performances have taken place with the carillon of the Dom Tower of Utrecht, in August 2009 and August 2010. It has also been performed in several public spaces all around the Netherlands, such as the Groningen railway station.

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Style This piece is considered to be minimal music in origin, because of the repetitive nature of the piece, but there is some discussion on this subject. Ton van Asseldonk about Ten Holt at www.simeontenholt.com Ten Holt usually uses the term 'genetic code' The biography of Ten Holt at www.simeontenholt.com to describe his work, probably because of the typical build-up of the piece. As opposed to a high percentage of modern classical music that is not Tonality and/or consonant, Canto Ostinato contains tonal Harmony and does not become (very) dissonant. Another typical aspect is the fact that one can hear the same or similar bass figures and harmonies throughout the piece, which explains the title. If one word would have to catch the essence of Canto Ostinato, one could use "meditative", as the different sections are similar, but generate different emotional reactions.

Examples of pieces written by Ten Holt in roughly the same way are Lemniscaat (1983), Horizon (1985), Incantatie IV, and Méandres (1997), none of which have become as popular as Canto Ostinato.

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Recordings The first recording of Simeon ten Holt's 1979 magnum opus "Canto Ostinato" released as a triple album off-label, then reissued on Donemus. Performed on four pianos by Arielle Vernède, Cees van Zeeland, Gene Carl and Gerard Bouwhuis at the Music Centre of Vredenburg, Utrecht on February 12th 1984. They performed Canto in ‘The Gala of New Contemporary Music’ 1985, broadcast on Television live from the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.

Many different recordings of Canto Ostinato are now available. The CD recording made by Kees Wieringa and Polo de Haas, published in 1996 by Emergo Classics, received Gold status, which means that more than 10,000 copies were sold (the actual number lies above 15,000). That is rather rare for modern classical-music performance CDs and especially for Dutch composers, who usually do not generate that much popularity. Another recording that is relatively popular is the four piano version of the Piano Ensemble, featuring Irene Russo, Fred Oldenburg, Sandra van Veen, and Jeroen van Veen and released by Brilliant Classics. One particular record was made by Ivo Janssen, released in 2009, which has a total length of around 60 minutes, and is a one-man, one-piano performance of the original composition. Ten Holt was the official sponsor of the record of "Canto Ostinato" by the Netherlands Rondane Quartet published in 2010.CD Canto Ostinato by Rondane Kwartet EAN code: 8717953097514

Versions using other instruments than piano include solo organ (performed by Aart Bergwerff in 2007), solo harp (by Assia Cunego, Italy, in 2009), string quartet (by Matangi Quartet, 2020) and solo marimba (Peter Elbertse, 2012). Cunego's performance inspired Dutch pianist Ivo Janssen to record a one-man version for solo piano in 2009. Other versions use combinations of piano, organ, marimba, carillon, and other instruments.

On October 23, 2017, this piece was performed for the first time in Saratov, Russia, at the opening of the II International Festival of Contemporary Music "Art Modern" in a version for organ, vibraphone, marimba, double bass and piano. Performers: Olga Kiywovski (organ), Elena Pekarskaya (vibraphone), Anastasia Glavatskikh (marimba), Dmitry Tolochkov (double bass), Vasily Igonin (piano). The concert took place in the Great Hall of the Saratov Conservatory.

In 2024 a version for solo harp was recorded by Gwyneth Wentink.