De Materie

De Materie is a four-part semi-staged vocal and orchestral composition by Dutch composer Louis Andriessen. De Materie ("Matter") became an international sensation with its anti-traditional orchestration, minimalist sense of form, offbeat texts and emotional intensity. The work opens with 144 iterations of the same chord played fortissimo (very loud) and features an extended solo for two anvils. It also contains a polytonal boogie-woogie and readings of texts about Piet Mondrian and from Marie Curie's diary.