Bart Stouten - Haydn, het Al en ik

Bart Stouten is a Belgian poet and writer who has made a significant impact on the literary scene of his country. As a radio personality, he has shifted his focus lately to writing, and since then, has become a prolific author of poetry, essays, and prose. Stouten's work is known for its depth of emotion, clarity of language, and philosophical themes that explore the complexities of human experience. His poetry has been widely published in anthologies and literary magazines and has received critical acclaim for its thought-provoking nature. With his unique voice and talent for capturing the beauty and complexity of the human condition, Bart Stouten is a major force in the world of Belgian literature.

At a certain moment, Bart was invited by an organization to write seven verses that were inspired by Die sieben letzten Worte unseres Erlösers am Kreuze - an orchestral work by Joseph Haydn. Bart wrote text’s with a contemporary touch, approximately 250 years after the original. In this publication titled ‘Haydn, het Al en Ik’, Bart Stouten shares these writings and his feeling’s on the world today.

Thanks to publisher Bruno Devos, Bart Stouten was introduced to the artist Arpaïs Du Bois. Bart discovered that her personal and intimate, poetic and playful, reflective and still artworks matched his writing, and so they were bought together in dialogue in this publication.

Haydn, het Al en Ik is a testimonial - bringing intellectual and artistic people from different eras together

Elena Bollette designed Bart Stouten’s book ‘Haydn, het Al en Ik’ under three themes: blue - silence - music.

BLUE was generated due to the philosophical and almost holy texts, therefore the blue colour becomes the red-thread of the book, enhancing and repeating the sacred use of blue in historical religious painting.
SILENCE appears through symbols, that crop up seven times throughout the book. These symbols are used in music theory writing and symbolise The Seven Last Words of Christ which are mentioned in the text: the seven sonatas in Haydn’s composition.
MUSIC embodies rhythm and the design of the book attempts to resonate a graphical interpretation of this within the pages. Rhythm is also seen in Arpaïs Du Bois’ works on paper which appear alongside the texts, like a diva’s voice in an opera. Essentially, the elements of the book are conceived like a music score.