Time Crawls
— A new broken consort (2022)
Zefiro Torna
The Belgian ensemble Zefiro Torna takes us into a timeless universe with a reinterpretation of the popular 17th century broken consort music. Melodies created by flute player Jowan Merckx received a new arrangement for flute, violin, viola da gamba, violone, harp and lute by composers Marnix De Cat and Martin Valcke. The new written music bears traces of baroque and traditional music from all over Europe. The music which is sometimes melancholic, sometimes nimble and festive, fascinates by its ingeniously crafted texture and invites to dance.
1. l’ Envie d’être Samedi & la Cuite prise Jowan Merckx, arr. Martin Valcke
2. Gestold Jowan Merckx, arr. Marnix De Cat
3. Laster Jowan Merckx, arr. Marnix De Cat
4. Time crawls -when it should fly- Jowan Merckx, arr. Marnix De Cat
5. le Lac profond & Ricochets Jowan Merckx, arr. Marnix De Cat
6. Klapka & les Oiseaux à l’Aurore Jowan Merckx, fiddle arr. Lotte Remmen
7. Zonderdak Jowan Merckx, arr. Marnix De Cat
8. Stomend in de Zon Jowan Merckx, arr. Marnix De Cat
9. Charbel Jowan Merckx, arr. Martin Valcke
10. Raymond’s Adieu Jowan Merckx, arr. Martin Valcke
11. Château Desclée & Aline Jowan Merckx, arr. Marnix De Cat
12. ‘t Wolfsuur Jowan Merckx, arr. Marnix De Cat
13. l’ Intimité déployante & en Chair et en Os & slippery Jowan Merckx, arr. Martin Valcke
Jowan Merckx flutes (flauti dolci & whistles), compositions
Lotte Remmen violin
Jutta Troch baroque harp
Liam Fennelly viola da gamba
Alon Portal violone, baroque bass
Jurgen De bruyn lute, archlute, artistic direction
Marnix De Cat, Martin Valcke arrangements
Recording, mixing and mastering: Yannick Willox
Photography: Sigrid Spinnox
Artwork: eRno le Mentholé
Booklet text: Jurgen De bruyn
Recorded: March 2022, Beguinage Church, Sint-Truiden
Released by HOMERECORDS.BE
more info
The English broken consort was one of the most popular instrumental chamber music forms around 1600. Exquisite authors or composers such as Thomas Morley, Peter Philips, William Byrd and John Dowland wrote entire books full of Lessons for this ensemble consisting of wind, string and plucked instruments. Their adaptations of popular tunes and dance-like pavanes and galliards often served as entertainment during theatre plays. Compositions like “Hold fast“ or “Follow me“ provided a humorous note, while the slow “Tears“ and “Lamentations of a Sorrowful Soul“ brought contemplation. The instruments offered extra symbolism: violins and viols were used for harmonious love scenes, flutes for fear and death, and plucked instruments for festive occasions.
Jowan Merckx, flute player with the Belgian ensemble Zefiro Torna and an established musician in the world of traditional and early music, is fascinated by ancient traditions. He composes tunes and melodies that bear traces of traditional music from all over Europe or that are inspired by medieval, renaissance and baroque music. The titles of his pieces refer to a place, an event, a philosophical reflection or a state of mind. Sometimes they are simply a play on words, one of Jowan‘s guilty pleasures.
For the TIME CRAWLS programme, the Flemish composers Martin Valcke and Marnix De Cat were asked to arrange a selection of melodies from Jowan‘s extensive oeuvre, for a broken consort with fl ute, violin, viola da gamba, violone, harp and lute. De Cat and Valcke let their inspiration run free. They wrote timeless, intriguing and exciting music. They built on Jowan‘s melodies and added an extra dimension to the root-bound music. They designed sophisticated polyphonic and contrapuntal confi gurations, strengthened the ‘dance character’ and drew a filmic sonorous landscape.
The newly composed consort music is performed by an international collective of outstanding musicians, who seamlessly shift between early, contemporary and improvised music. Enigmatic works such as ‘t Wolfsuur, Time crawls and le Lac profond fascinate with their sophisticated tonal language. Ingeniously crafted pavans, bourrées, gigues, etc. leave no one sit still and rouse to dance.