The Calefax musicians enhanced a new video collection with a personal touch. This collection of existing as well as brand new clips of Concert Registrations and Tour Impressions offers a unique way to explore Calefax’s history of no less than 35 years.
Alban Wesly, bassoon
Moondog – Suite no. 1
Alban: “Sometimes musical projects sprout from an accidental meeting. In 2013 I was rehearsing in the German town of Bochum for a big piece by the American composer Harry Partch when I had a quick espresso…”
Oliver Boekhoorn, oboe
Abing – Er Quan Ying Yue
Oliver: “The piece is originally a solo piece for Erhu, a two-stringed string instrument, with an incredibly expressive sound. The glissandi and decorations that seem to come naturally from this instrument cannot easily be imitated by us. I listened a lot to…”
Jelte Althuis, bass clarinet
P.A. Locatelli – Introduzione Teatrale Op. 4 (1-3)
Jelte: “This music was on a CD which I already owned for years, before ever listening to it. It once was a birthday gift, but the name of the composer and of the composition itself somehow put me off and made the disc being captured in plastic for many years…”
Ivar Berix, clarinet
Mohammad Motamedi – Lullaby
Ivar: “Prior to this performance I read out the meaning of the (self written) words the Iranian singer Mohammad Motamedi is singing here. You will find the text below. It is a lullaby, but not just a simple one. The text is about the huge contrast between the loving, protecting embrace of…”
Raaf Hekkema, saxophone
Arnoud Noordegraaf – Verzonken
Raaf: “Arnoud Noordegraaf, for his piece for solo saxophone plus the rest of Calefax, wanted to depict my biggest fear. I told him that I did not like to be in (cold) water, and disliked swimming (and that I was not very good at it). He made me stay in…”
Alban Wesly, bassoon
Johan de Meij – Un Momento Dado
Alban: “In January 2020 we enjoyed the much-anticipated collaboration with renowned Dutch composer Johan de Meij. Together with the Marine Band of the Royal Netherlands Navy, Calefax premiered a new work by De Meij, Un Momento Dado, an ode to another Dutch phenomenon, the legendary soccer player Johan Cruijff…”
Raaf Hekkema, saxophone
Aj Ki Raat – from the movie Anamika (arr. Maarten Ornstein)
Raaf: “Our tour in India with the jazz group Jungle Boldy involved a lot of travelling. After one of the long trips Alban surprised us with a video he had put together on the basis of a recent recording of this splendidly arranged Bollywood-song by Maarten Ornstein…”
Jelte Althuis, bass clarinet
Rameau – Les Boréades
Jelte: “Jean-Philippe Rameau is a brilliant composer, I will never stop saying this! The choices when colouring his scores are daring and he turns every tune into a party. Calefax plays his music for already many years, but at first it were only the works for harpsichord. Les Boréades was written for choir, orchestra and a number of vocal soloists…”
Raaf Hekkema, saxophone
Gershwin – An American in Paris
Raaf: “That was a funny TV-broadcast. We did a theatrical program called Roaring Twenties (with singer Cora Burggraaf), in which we acted as a backdrop for her as a cabaret singer and actress. Hence the hats…”
Ivar Berix, clarinet
Kinan Azmeh – Wedding
Ivar: “There is so much to tell about this clip from 2015. My research for music from the Middle East started in 2007. For the project Far East Revisited (with tours to China, India and Turkey in 2008 and 2009) I was looking for inspiring composers and artists from Syria, Iran, Libanon and Egypt…”
Raaf Hekkema, saxophone
J.S. Bach – Brandenburg Concerto No. 5
Raaf: “For our 30th anniversary, we treated ourselves and our audiences to a selection of different soloists. One of them was pianist Ivo Janssen, famous for his recordings of all(!) of Bach’s keyboard works…”