Product Description

Discover a uniquely evocative luxury gift book with CD and become one with Vincent van Gogh, experiencing twelve powerfully moving moments of his life inspired by twelve of his most riveting works of art. In Van Gogh by Van Eck, renowned international composers and performers join forces to translate Vincent s personal story into a contemporary musical homage with Van Eck actually singing as Van Gogh, expressing the drama, passion, and turmoil of the world's best-loved artist. The paintings upon which the songs are based including (among others) Sunflowers, Yellow House, and Wheatfield with Crows offer a chronology of Van Gogh s remarkable life. Meeting at Capitol Records Studios in LA, renowned songwriters Pamela Phillips Oland and Tom Harriman joined forces with van Eck to produce the magnificent CD. Van Gogh by Van Eck is beautifully encased in a forty-two-page hardbound art book, including full-color pictures provided by the Van Gogh Museum.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1440137 in Books
• Published on: 2009-12-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 44 pages

About the Author
The artistic power behind this concept, Van Gogh by Van Eck, is Diederick van EckNetherlands-born producer, passionate performer, singer, and art lover. This soundtrack creates a dynamic audio experience for those who are stunned by the strong emotions conveyed through Van Gogh s intense color and brushwork.

Customer Reviews

A New Light on Vincent Van Gogh
'Van Gogh by Van Eck' sets Vincent Van Gogh's art in a new light. Most songs are an instant hit as to why they chose to compose this song to this specific painting. Take the song `Show Me What's Over the Bridge' for example. Based on Van Gogh's "The Bridge in the Rain", light green and yellow hues are reflected in the interplay between the lead and background vocals and in powerful lead guitar lines; and the frisky electronica beats that we hear in the beginning of the song reflect the gentle rain descending gracefully on the scene. A cheerful, multi-layered composition, reflecting the strong and optimistic theme in the painting. Lyrics are as if Van Gogh is singing himself.

Other songs, such as 'One of the Family', based on the 'potato eaters', require some more explanation. It first seemed a bit odd to have such a cozy song with a painting that at first seems so dark, so full of suffering. Luckily, however, the accompanying booklet provides an explanation by dr. Fred Leeman, Emeritus curator of the Van Gogh Museum: "Vincent's relationship with his own family, especially with his father was tense, to say the least. No doubt he was craving to belong to a family. In 'The Potato Eaters' he creates a substitute family of poor farmers - who're having dinner under an oil lamp after a hard day's of work - that embodies his longing." And so 'Van Gogh' (Van Eck) sings:
"Someday I'll paint the shapes and colors of this sight, but I'm one of them tonight..."

The above example also shows why the booklet is such a necessary feature of the CD. Some songs, all based on Van Gogh's letters and produced in cooperation with Van Gogh experts, require just some more background information to understand Van Gogh. Lets face it, most of didn't devote our lives to study the remarkable life of this art-icon, but we can, however, enjoy the intellectual fruits of these experts.

Van Gogh by Van Eck: A Musical Journey Into The Heart and Soul of Vincent van Gogh

Not What Van Gogh Sounds Like (To Me)
Vincent Van Gogh is widely revered as a national hero in Holland; Dutch performing artist Diederick Van Eck has recorded twelve songs that interpret a dozen of his paintings through song. Van Gogh by Van Eck follows Van Gogh's life from the period spanning 1882 - 1890. The accompanying gift book is a cross between a glorified hardcover note-liner booklet and a mini-art book, interposing Van Gogh's paintings with the lyrics of Van Eck's interpretive songs.

Billed as something of an exploration of synesthesia ("seeing" sounds as colors, or "hearing" colors as sounds), I was in all honesty surprised to hear a wide variety of musical styles woven around the biographical fabric of Van Gogh's life. Anyone who has spent time studying Van Gogh's work will no doubt be familiar with the melancholy, lonely, and distress-filled elements present in much of his work, but very little of this visual mood is musically present on the CD.

"Still Life" which accompanies the painting "Sien with Cigar Sitting on the Floor Near Stove" is an optimistic love song filled with soothing instrumental backing and the surprise of finding a love he needed. Visually however, this stark, monochromatic piece seems to speak more of desperation than it does breathy infatuation and devotion. It's difficult to reconcile the two.

Likewise, the visually dark "The Potato Eaters" which is so often associated with poverty is transformed into a jazzy longing for family and belonging in Van Eck's "One of the Family". This almost bouncy, strolling-rhythm tune seems well, out of place when viewing the painting. Others may differ, but I never imagined Van Gogh would sound like this.

"Lost Letter to Theo" which imagines a letter from Van Gogh to his brother and sponsor during his time in the asylum at St. Remy comes much closer to including some elements of Van Gogh's mental descent. More angst enters Van Eck's voice as he voices Van Gogh lamenting the sale of only a single painting during his lifetime - "Red Vineyard". "Standing on the Edge" accompanying Van Gogh's final painting "Wheatfield With Crows" sadly seems to depict the artist's final days as an empowering and exciting climb towards the end of his life, rather than the tragedy it truly was.

Due to these surprising contrasts, I certainly can't recommend Van Gogh by Van Eck as the definitive musical portrayal of Van Gogh's art (though it's the only one I'm familiar with.) The songs and notes are well researched, and the song content matches biographical detail, but in terms of matching art study to musical appreciation, the set falls short. Die-hard fans might want to check this set out, it's certainly easy to listen to; I have no complaints with the production, and Van Eck performances are flexible.

STRANGE AND BRILLIANT
I am a huge fan of Vincent Van Gogh, so anything about him or his life catches my eye (and ear!!) When I first read about this compilation of songs, I was immediately intrigued and had to check it out, and I'm very glad I did! What you'll find when you listen to these songs are personal histories about the famous painter's life, sung from Vincent Van Gogh's perspective. Van Eck does this in a smooth jazz style. The songs are historically accurate and if you know about Vincent's life, you'll hear the level of research is spot in; each moving the listener along the timeline of Vincent's life as he developed from a strange and alienated young man to the brilliant artist he is known as today. Vincent's goal as an artist, when he composed his canvasses, was to create a color scheme that would put the viewer at ease and create a feeling of COMFORT. Oftentimes, this comfort was strange, unexpected and otherworldly. That's the same feeling you get when you listen to these songs. If David Lynch ever makes a film about Vincent Van Gogh's life, this would be his soundtrack.