''human in scale and otherworldly in effect''
Steve Smith, Night After Night
read about
concerts
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12&13/01/24 Musical Utopias, Den Haag
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14/04/24 Sint-Martinuskerk, Cuijk
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11/05/24 Waalse kerk, Leiden
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25/08/24 Grote of Sint-Bavokerk, Haarlem
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27/09/24 Grote of Sint-Barbarakerk, Culemborg
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25/10/24 Orgelpark, Amsterdam
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10/05/26 Muziekgebouw aan 't Ij, Amsterdam
Slow Roads is an 8 track album for solo 1/4 meantone organ released
in 2023 by an American based label Elsewhere. All of the movements
were composed between 2019 and 2022 and recorded throughout 2022 on
five historic organs coming from the early 16th century to mid 17th century,
located in medieval churches scattered around the countryside of the
northern Netherlands. The pieces explore the moods and peculiarities of the
meantone temperament and a meditative and contemplative aspect of
music, partly relying on the sentiments of late medieval and renaissance
keyboard music. All the pieces were performed by Tineke Steenbrink, with
guest appearances by Francesca Ajossa, Jan Hage and Lise Morrison with
one piece each. In collaboration with the visual artist Flora Reznik, five of the
pieces were made into short performance films. These five videos contain
the five core pieces of the album, and each video explores the specific
visual and architectural aspect of the churches in which the organs are
located. The videos don't focus solely on the performance, but the
performance itself becomes part of the space.
''tot tranen toe geroerd wordt door de schijnbare eenvoud en melodische pracht''
Job van Schaik, Dagblad van het Noorden
''It is impossible to describe the pulsing vividness, the physicality, with each note and chord of the music transitions to the next''
Marc Medwin, Point of departure
''Un disque admirable''
Dionys Della Luce, Inactuelles, musiques singulières
MUSICIANS
Tineke Steenbrink is a co-founder of Holland Baroque. Since her youth, she has been associated with the historical Severijn organ of the Sint Martinuskerk, Cuijk. After teaching at conservatories in Zwolle and Groningen, she has been a teacher at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague since 2014. Her years-long study of the autograph of Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater led to the publication of his manuscript at Edition Wallhall. Tineke is engaged in the study of baroque Gregorian chant: the usage and performance practice in Brabant in the 17th and 18th centuries. Centuries-old Gradualia, Antiphonalia, and Processionalia are studied page by page for annotations, insertions, instructions, and usage traces. In 2023, the CD SLOW ROADS was released, featuring works by the young composer Ivan Vukosavljevic. A fascinating album with new compositions for organs in meantone temperament. She studied organ at the Utrecht Conservatory and harpsichord at the Hochschule für Musik Köln, where she graduated with the highest distinction.
Francesca Ajossa (1999) studied organ and organ-composition with Angelo Castaldo at the “Palestrina” Conservatory in Cagliari (IT), where she obtained her bachelor diploma in 2018. Following her bachelor studies, Francesca studied with Ben van Oosten at the conservatory of Rotterdam (NL), where she graduated cum-laude for the Master of Music in 2020. From 2020-2022 she was Organ Scholar of the church St. Peter und Paul Ratingen (GER). In 2021, Francesca concluded a master in Music Psychology at the University of York (UK). In 2023 successfully completed her master studies ”Claviorganum” at the Hochschule für Music und Theater in Hamburg (GER). There, Francesca studied with Menno van Delft (harpsichord), Pieter Van Dijk (organ) and Isolde Kittel-Zerer (basso continuo). She took masterclasses with musicians such as G. Bovet, L. Lohmann, H. Deutsch, D. Zaretsky, J.Palur, L. van Doeselaar, C. Mantoux and O. Latry and participated in numerous academies, amongst which the “International Bach Academy” held by prof. Jacques van Oortmerssen, the “Young Talents Class” and the ”Excellence Class” at the Haarlem Organ Festival. Francesca is currently a PhD candidate at the KU Leuven (BE), main organist of the Church in ‘t Woudt (NL) as well as artist in residence of the Contius Foundation, on whose behalf she promotes the Contius-organ of the St.Michielskerk in Leuven (BE).
Jan Hage (1964) is a big advocate and much sought-after interpreter of contemporary organ music. As a soloist he performed with Slagwerk Den Haag, Asko|Schönberg and the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra. As a composer he wrote works for organ and ensembles. In 2016, he obtained his PhD at the Protestant Theological University in Amsterdam. His dissertation is entitled 'Music as a mission. A Lutheran sound in a Calvinist world. A study of Willem Mudde and the church music renewal movement.' As an organist, Jan Hage is associated with the Dom Church in Utrecht where he plays the majestic Bätz organ. He himself says about it: "It is of course a top place, with a great organ that I love. I graduated there in 1991. For me, it is one of the top places in the Netherlands with international appeal, next to, for example, the Bavo in Haarlem, the Grote Kerk in Dordrecht and the Sint-Jan in Gouda. Not everywhere people are equally active in the church. In the Dom Church, it is, with a service every Sunday and a vespers every Wednesday. It could hardly be better."
Lise Morrison is a South African composer and sound artist, currently based in The Hague, Netherlands.
Her work has been performed in the Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden, South Africa, UK, Russia, the United States, Canada, and Serbia. Her instrumental and electroacoustic works deal with repetition, extended form, and the effects of material and pacing change in a fragile environment of carefully exposed sounds. Notable performances and collaborators include Ensemble Asko Schönberg, Ives Ensemble, Slagwerk Den Haag, Orkest de Ereprijs, New European Ensemble, Ensemble Modelo62 (NL), Ensemble Mise-En(USA), Moscow Contemporary Music Ensemble (RUS), and the Bozzini Quartet (CA) in festivals/venues such as the Unyazi Electronic Music Festival, Moscow Philharmonic, Orgelpark Amsterdam, Lucerne Festival, and Gaudeamus Muziekweek. Recent projects include Lise’s debut album released on Sawyer Editions (USA) in July 2023, a commission from the Signum Quartet (DE), and two new pieces for organ and ensemble. Lise also curates a concert series at Korzo Theater in The Hague, In Bloom, and teaches part-time. Lise holds a B.Comm and a B.Mus (Hans Roosenschoon) from Stellenbosch University and an M.Mus from the Royal Conservatory The Hague. In 2018/2019 she furthered her studies at the Institute of Sonology in The Hague.
LOCATIONS
