Well-known record label TRPTK from the Dutch ciry of Utrecht released a new CD by the Intercontinental Ensemble, titled “Arc”.
The nine-member Intercontinental Ensemble, which consists of four strings and five wind instruments, has previously made the enthusiastically received productions ‘Traveling Light’ (TTK 0021) and ‘In Motu’ (TTK 0071) for the adventurous TRPTK label. Besides playing original nonet repertoire, the musicians focus on their own arrangements of classical pieces.
Connection between old and new
The ensemble was asked by the Amsterdam Grachtenfestival in August 2019 to compile a programme around female composers. The choice then fell on ‘Collage van een Achtvlak’ by Bianca Bongers (1987), the Nonet en Mi b major’ by Louise Farrenc (1804-1875) and an arrangement of the ‘3 Romances’ by Clara Schumann (1819-1896). Their concert was received very enthusiastically and formed the prelude to their third TRPTK album. “We wanted to make a connection between old and new and went looking for two more talented young composers,” says artistic director Ernst Spyckerelle. “For example, the Dutch Sarah Neutkens (1998) contributed ‘September I’ and the Armenian Aregnaz Martirosyan (1993) composed ‘Emotional Diversity’. It has become a particularly exciting production, under the overarching title ‘Arc’: an architectural form that displays the same exciting contradictions as the pieces on the album.”
Dream away
Never before has a bridge been built between Bianca Bongers’ geometric sense of form, Clara Schumann’s German Romanticism, Aregnaz Martirosyan’s splendour of colour, Sarah Neutkens’ melancholy and crystal-clear structures in Louise Farrenc’s nonet. An artistic venture of the highest order that paves the way for the performance practice of tomorrow: boundless and unpredictable music that surprises the listener and simultaneously allows you to dream away. With their new album ‘Arc’, the Intercontinental Ensemble draws attention to a new generation of composers.
Super Jewel Box
Starting in 2022, TRPTK will switch to the Super Jewel Box, the well-known format for SACD. The future is digital and that is why TRPTK is now going to focus on the world outside the CD: TRPTK will literally build a bridge between the physical product and a virtual world. Behind the disc you will find a QR code: if you scan this you will get a virtual booklet with lots of extra information, such as videos, stories of the recording sessions, sound clips and other relevant material.