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See and hear the Surinamese opera Het pand der goden

Our performance of Het pand der goden ('The Pledge of the Gods’) on 15 February drew wider attention to the Surinamese composer and musician Johannes N. Helstone. The video of the concert was shown in Paramaribo, and now we’re delighted to be able to share both the video and audio recordings of this unforgettable concert with an even larger audience.

More than a century after the first performance in Paramaribo, the Concertgebouw Orchestra breathes new life into the opera Het pand der goden by the Surinamese composer Johannes Nicolaas Helstone (1853-1927) as part of a special collaboration with Cappella Amsterdam and conductor Otto Tausk.

The audio recording of the concert is now available on Apple Music Classical in hi-res stereo and spatial audio with Dolby Atmos, and on all other platforms from 18 October.

Recorded live at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam on 15 February 2024

Track list and performers

Johannes Helstone (1853-1927)
Het pand der goden (1906) (ed. Leonard Evers)

1] Introduction (2:02)
2] Overture (9:37)
3] Act 1. Scene 1. 'Het is nu 23 jaren later' (1:51)
4] Act 1. Scene 2. 'Als hij het wist, dan zou ik nog veel meer lijden' (0:54)
5] Act 1. Scene 2. Helder klinken mijne tonen (4:34)
6] Act 1. Scenes 3 & 4. 'Mijn hart is vol dankbaarheid!' (1:40)
7] Act 1. Scene 5. 'Als ik mijn zoon aankijk' (1:11)
8] Act 1. Scene 6. Blijv’ vrij van lijden (4:42)
9] Act 1. Scene 6. 'In de heilige tuin van het koninklijk paleis…' (1:23)
10] Act 1. Scene 7. Interlude (0:48)
11] Act 1. Scene 8. ‘Het zij zo. Je eed wordt geaccepteerd’ (4:13)
12] Act 1. Scene 8. Hier sta ik weer, nog ongedeerd! (3:40)
13] Act 1. Scene 8a. Interlude: Heloinka's droom (3:42)
14] Act 1. Scene 8a. 'Wat een vreemde droom' (0:12)
15] Act 1. Scene 9. De hemel bewaar mij voor grootere ramp (1:53)
16] Act 1. Scene 9. 'Lieve moeder, bent u nog wakker?' (0:41)
17] Act 1. Scene 10. Interlude (1:31)
18] Act 1. Scene 11. Klop, harte, klop! (2:33)
19] Act 2. Scene 12. Interlude (1:00)
20] Act 2. Scene 12. ‘'s Ochtends in de eetzaal vertelt Olindo zijn moeder over het feest' (0:40)
21] Act 2. Scene 13. Interlude (1:12)
22] Act 2. Scene 13. ‘Moeder, gisteren op het feest...’ (1:13)
23] Act 2. Scenes 14 & 15. Interlude (2:15)
24] Act 2. Scene 16. Nu is de maat van mijn lijden vol (1:33)
25] Act 2. Scene 16. De wind kan loeien... (0:51)
26] Act 2. Scene 17. Heer, wij kunnen niet verzuimen (5:33)
27] Act 3. Scene 18. 'In het bergachtige woonoord van de berggeesten...' (0:30)
28] Act 3. Scene 18. Opent u, gij berglokalen (5:17)
29] Act 3. Scene 18b. Halids naam, zij hoog geloofd (3:52)
30] Act 3. Scene 18c. Broeders laat ons nu gaan denken (1:36)
31] Act 3. Scene 18d. Ja, ja, de raad is goed (2:34)
32] Act 3. Scene 18e. Interlude (1:23)
33] Act 4. Scene 19. 'Olindo staat vertwijfeld onder een boom…' (0:20)
34] Act 4. Scene 19. Hoe onbestendig toch is 't ondermaansch geluk (2:43)
35] Act 4. Scene 20. Waar is een land op aarde (2:38)
36] Act 4. Scene 20. 'Olindo hoort Haloffs gezang...' (0:42)
37] Act 4. Scene 20. Hechio! Hechia! (5:15)
38] Act 4. Scene 20. 'Haloff vertelt Olindo hoe hij de tempel betreden kan' (0:30)
39] Act 4. Scene 21. O Redder mijn, Gods gunst zoo waard (2:59)
40] Act 4. Scenes 22 & 23. 'En daar staan ze voor de tempelpoort' - Halid mirwa dahè! (1:44)
41] Act 5. Scene 24. 'De tempel. Daar staat Athlolinda midden in de tempel' (0:21)
42] Act 5. Scene 24. Ver in het oostelijk deel der wereld (3:04)
43] Act 5. Scene 24. Zij meent mijne moeder (2:07)
44] Act 5. Scene 24a. Interlude (0:48)
45] Act 5. Scene 24a. De brave knaap ons juichen doet (1:47)
46] Act 5. Scene 24. Laat schallen de horens van hoog uit de torens (3:51)

Total timing: 1:46:10

Performers

Judith van Wanroij, soprano
Aylin Sezer, soprano
Lucas van Lierop, tenor
Germán Olvera, baritone
Jasper Leever, bass
Manoushka Zeegelaar Breeveld, narrator
Cappella Amsterdam
Daniël Reuss, choirmaster
Otto Tausk, conductor

Paramaribo

The video recording of our concert was screened two months afterwards at the National Archives in Paramaribo. A nearly full house was exuberant about the recording of Het pand der goden. Writer and documentary maker Tessa Leuwsha attended, and says it felt like a party:

‘Remember, we hardly ever hear classical music in Surinam! We watched it breathlessly. The audience was moved by the music and the story, and by the performances from the soloists and conductor Otto Tausk. Afterwards, and even in between sections, there was wild applause. Everyone is extremely grateful to the Helstone family, the Concertgebouw Orchestra and the National Archives for making this screening possible. It’s very special to hear and see the performance of music by a Surinamese composer on our own soil.’

The applause after the last notes of Johannes N. Helstone’s Het pand der goden, with the Concertgebouw Orchestra conducted by Otto Tausk, Cappella Amsterdam, soprano Aylin Sezer, baritone Germán Olvera, bass Jasper Leever, speaker Manoushka Zeegelaar Barneveld, soprano Judith van Wanroij and tenor Lucas van Lierop (photo: Milagro Elstak).

Helstone Fonds

The Helstone Fonds (Helstone Fund) was established by Astrid Helstone and Diederik Burgersdijk. Its aim is to finance the performance of works by the Surinamese writer, composer and musician Johannes N. Helstone, his students and other composers from the former colonies, and to increase public awareness of them.

In the next few years, the Concertgebouw Orchestra will accordingly be intensifying its focus on this body of music, as part of its objective to highlight less-well-known and forgotten repertoire.

“By performing the repertoire, we can finally demonstrate our place in our shared history.”- Astrid Helstone, descendant of Johannes N. Helstone

Would you like to contribute to the Helstone Fonds?

The Foundation Concertgebouworkest welcomes gifts and donations, of any amount.

Bank details:

IBAN: NL10 ABNA 0446758906
in name of: Foundation Concertgebouworkest
Please state ‘Helstone Fonds’ and provide your name and e-mail address
NB: If it is not possible to type the @-sign when using internet banking, replace the @-sign with the letters 'at'.