For this album, violinist Merel Vercammen recorded free improvisations with eight duo partners. The result is a collection of intuitive, instant compositions, that reminded her of animals. This album has thus become a zoo, one without chains or cages, a garden where every animal can move about freely.
Merel Vercammen
The Zoo
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About the album
For this album, violinist Merel Vercammen recorded free improvisations with eight duo partners. The result is a collection of intuitive, instant compositions, that reminded her of animals. This album has thus become a zoo, one without chains or cages, a garden where every animal can move about freely.
Tracklist click to play/pause
- Seal Merel Vercammen & Maya Fridman 5:46
- Birds Merel Vercammen & Bernadeta Astari 3:46
- Elephants Merel Vercammen & Ties Mellema 3:25
- Monarch Butterfly Merel Vercammen & Bernadeta Astari 2:53
- Frog Merel Vercammen & Tobias Borsboom 1:46
- Capybara Merel Vercammen & Wilco Oomkes 4:07
- Snow Leopard Merel Vercammen & Ties Mellema 5:57
- Armenian Mountain Viper Merel Vercammen & Tobias Borsboom 3:49
- Komodo Dragon Merel Vercammen & Jaap Zwart 3:04
- Halcyon Merel Vercammen & Vincent Houdijk 3:31
- Melancholic Rabbit Merel Vercammen & Maya Fridman 4:51
- Funky Iguana Merel Vercammen & Vincent Houdijk 2:14
- Sloth Merel Vercammen & Wilco Oomkes 2:46
- Anglerfish Merel Vercammen & Rembrandt Frerichs 3:03
- Quokka Merel Vercammen & Maya Fridman 0:57
- Manatee Merel Vercammen & Rembrandt Frerichs 5:03
- Megalodon Merel Vercammen & Jaap Zwart 7:03
- Abyssinian Wolf Merel Vercammen & Wilco Oomkes 4:20
- Black Rhinoceros Merel Vercammen & Ties Mellema 3:22
- Eurasian Curlew Merel Vercammen & Rembrandt Frerichs 4:26
- Giant Otter Merel Vercammen & Wilco Oomkes 4:46
- Mountain Gorilla Merel Vercammen & Jaap Zwart 3:29
- Saiga Antelope Merel Vercammen & Rembrandt Frerichs 3:44
- Striped Hyena Merel Vercammen & Bernadeta Astari 2:57
- Tristan Albatros Merel Vercammen & Maya Fridman 6:54
More information
| Label | TRPTK |
|---|---|
| Genre(s) | Classical – Contemporary (> 1920) |
| Artist(s) | Bernadeta Astari |
| Composer(s) | Astari, Bernadeta |
| Recording location(s) | Orgelpark, Amsterdam (NL) |
| Recording date(s) | June 2019 |
| Cat. No. | TTK 0042 |
|---|---|
| Release date |
September 5th, 2019 |
| Additional links |
"Interaction and tension are first priority, so when she enters a dialogue with pianist Rembrandt Frerichs, dragging you into the sparkling underwater world of the anglerfish, you’ll hear scraping and touching sounds, raspy but full of wondrous enchantment. […] What Vercammen achieved here is both as a project and performance highly remarkable."
Mischa Spel, NRC
"The musicians communicate with all their senses, and you really experience that. […] The sound quality is so seriously good that we expect you’ll hear tracks from The Zoo a lot at [hi-fi] demonstrations and shows."
Yung Lie, Alpha Audio
"You’ll find cuddly animals, herd animals, solitary animals, intelligent animals, aggressive animals, and venomous animals. […] This leads us into an extremely varied animal world where Saint-Saëns’ Carnival des animeaux fades in comparison."
Jan de Kruijff, Musicalifeiten
"Extremely impressive. […] The Zoo offers fascinating improvisations. But it’s so amazing that this project is developed by someone who’s able to think outside the box and, with her vision and talent, adds to new pathways and ways of thinking in classical music."
Ruud Jonker, Music Emotion
"Hats off to the courageous blonde!"
Hanna Blom-Yoo, Reformatorisch Dagblad
"Daring yet classy"
Erik Voermans, Het Parool
"The interesting thing about this collection is that you hear how two people engage with one another and how this results in something unique each time. Sometimes something resembling a folk melody, sometimes ambient-like reflections, but also fully-fledged instant compositions with hands and feet."
Frits van der Waa, de Volkskrant
"With her perfect pitch and feel for nuance, Vercammen knows how to get to the essence of every musical moment and enlarge it: communication in optimal form that forms a route to a new language of improvisation."
Cyriel Pluimakers, Jazzenzo
"Especially due to its diversity, a beautifully checkered carnival of animals is created, with an engaging mix of new age, avant-garde, jazz, and classical. […] Nothing but praise for a perfectly recorded album with a magnificent design and a good story."
Siebe Riedstra, Opus Klassiek
"As a whole, it’s not just remarkably listenable, but also and most of all a huge and impressive plea to raise improvisation as a basic skill in the world of classical music."
Paul Janssen, Luister Magazine
