Nieuwe Blik Terug: Classical Spirituals

New Look Back

Musician, presenter, and documentary filmmaker Orville Breeveld has once again curated a series for the Kleine Zaal in which he shines a spotlight on composers and musicians who have unjustly remained underexposed. Nieuwe Blik Terug (New Look Back) tells a story about the power of music. Breeveld: 'Nieuwe Blik Terug tells stories about greats we do not know well, important composers, people who fought for freedom and wrote the most beautiful music. The history of these fellow human beings is close to my heart. These composers are historical figures who deserve all the attention, greats of music history; we should be proud of them. I want to tell their stories so that they remain on our radar.'

Classical Spirituals

In this edition of Nieuwe Blik Terug, Classical Spirituals take center stage. This is music born in the shadow of slavery, yet which always reached for the light: songs full of faith, fire, and indestructible dignity. Spirituals emerged where African rhythms and melodies coincided with biblical stories and the daily reality of unfreedom. They resounded in the fields, in the rhythms of work, but also in the hidden space of the invisible church, where singing became a form of survival. Comfort and hope, community and resistance reside in these songs, and from their sound world grew blues and gospel. In this edition, we celebrate spirituals as a source of inspiration, as musical memory, and as a legacy that continues to resonate worldwide.