Source Ground
Hans Bakker composer
On SOURCE GROUND, Hans Bakker’s second full-length release on Navona Records, the composer once again probes music’s ability to, as Leonard Bernstein said, “name the unnameable and communicate the unknowable.” Rhythmically rigorous pieces for solo piano, organ works that fill every nook and cranny of the aural spectrum, powerful orchestral works, and pieces for the rare and haunting lame-sonore draw listeners towards a sense of infinite oneness connected by music.
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Track Listing & Credits
| # | Title | Composer | Performer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Fanfare Ananke for orchestra | Hans Bakker | London Symphony Orchestra | Miran Vaupotić, conductor | 8:19 |
| 02 | Two Pieces for piano: I. Omaggio | Hans Bakker | Rangel Silaev, piano | 2:59 |
| 03 | Two Pieces for piano: II. Capriccio | Hans Bakker | Rangel Silaev, piano | 4:43 |
| 04 | Toccatina for piano | Hans Bakker | Rangel Silaev, piano | 1:53 |
| 05 | Three Epilogues for piano: I. Largo | Hans Bakker | Rangel Silaev, piano | 2:53 |
| 06 | Three Epilogues for piano: II. Allegretto | Hans Bakker | Rangel Silaev, piano | 1:29 |
| 07 | Three Epilogues for piano: III. Lento e rubato | Hans Bakker | Rangel Silaev, piano | 3:50 |
| 08 | Three Pieces for organ: I. Source ground | Hans Bakker | Frans Jan Wijma, organ | 7:01 |
| 09 | Three Pieces for organ: II. Invocation | Hans Bakker | Frans Jan Wijma, organ | 5:34 |
| 10 | Three Pieces for organ: III. Just the Jewel of the Heart | Hans Bakker | Frans Jan Wijma, organ | 6:14 |
| 11 | Toccata for organ | Hans Bakker | Maarten Wilmink, organ | 7:34 |
| 12 | Spark for lame sonore (musical saw), viola and piano | Hans Bakker | Annette Scholten, lame sonore (musical saw); Luca Altdorfer, viola; Nanke Flach, piano | 4:55 |
| 13 | Dare Voce I for lame sonore (musical saw) | Hans Bakker | Annette Scholten, lame sonore (musical saw) | 4:39 |
| 14 | Dare Voce II for lame sonore (musical saw) | Hans Bakker | Annette Scholten, lame sonore (musical saw) | 4:25 |
| 15 | Cantus for string orchestra | Hans Bakker | Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra | Vit Micka, conductor | 5:41 |
Fanfare Ananke for orchestra
Recorded February 25, 2022 at LSO St. Luke’s in London, United Kingdom
Editing, Mixing & Producer Brad Michel
Engineers Jonathan Stokes, Neil Hutchinson
Two Pieces for piano, Toccatina for piano, Three Epilogues for piano
Recorded January 5, 2022 at ERA Studios in Venray, Netherlands
Producer Hans Bakker
Engineer Chris Slager
Session Coordinator Oksana Titova
Three Pieces for organ
Recorded January 5 & May 13, 2021 in Amersfoort, Netherlands
Producer Hans Bakker
Engineer Frans Jan Wijma
Toccata for organ
Recorded December 21, 2021 at St. Lambertus basilica in Hengelo, Netherlands
Producer Hans Bakker
Engineer Maarten Wilmink
Spark for lame sonore, viola and piano
Recorded January 7, 2022 in Wehe-den Hoorn, Netherlands
Producer Hans Bakker
Engineer Tjalling Nijboer
Session Coordinator Annette Scholten
Dare Voce I for lame sonore, Dare Voce II for lame sonore
Recorded January 6, 2022 in Groningen, Netherlands
Producer Hans Bakker
Engineer Tjalling Nijboer
Session Coordinator Annette Scholten
Cantus for string orchestra
Recorded March 10, 2010 in Olomouc, Czech Republic
Producer Vít Mužík
Engineer Zdeněk Slavotínek
Track 8 recorded via Sonus Paradisi, Krzeszow Organ, M. Engler (1732-37), Poland
Tracks 9 & 10 recorded via Sonus Paradisi, Caen-St.Etienne Abbey, A. Cavaillé-Coll (1885), France
Executive Producer Bob Lord
A&R Director Brandon MacNeil
Production Director Levi Brown
VP of Production Jan Košulič
Production Assistant Martina Watzková
Audio Director Lucas Paquette
Mastering Melanie Montgomery
VP, Design & Marketing Brett Picknell
Art Director Ryan Harrison
Design Edward A. Fleming, Morgan Hauber
Publicity Patrick Niland, Aidan Curran
Artist Information
Hans Bakker
After he finished his studies piano, church organ, and choral conducting at the Dutch Institute for Church Music in Utrecht, Hans Bakker (b. 1945) worked as a teacher at two music schools in the Netherlands. He also conducted two choirs and was active in the improvisational music scene. His career in music was followed by the study of Sanskrit. After obtaining his master's degree at the University of Amsterdam, he returned to music, becoming completely occupied by teaching at Globe Center for Art and Culture in the city of Hilversum.
London Symphony Orchestra
Widely acclaimed by audiences and critics alike, The London Symphony Orchestra was named by Gramophone as one of the top five orchestras in the world. A world-leader in recording music for film, television, and events, it was the official orchestra of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games ceremonies, memorably performing Chariots of Fire on stage in the opening ceremony, conducted by Simon Rattle and with Rowan Atkinson.
Miran Vaupotić
Acclaimed as “dynamic and knowledgeable” by the Buenos Aires Herald, Croatian conductor Miran Vaupotić has worked with eminent orchestras including the London Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the Berliner Symphoniker, the Russian National Orchestra, the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Budapest Symphony Orchestra MÁV, Orchestre de Chambre de Genève, the Cairo Symphony Orchestra, Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional Argentina, and others, performing in major halls around the globe such as Carnegie Hall, Wiener Musikverein, Berliner Philharmonie, Rudolfinum, Smetana Hall, Victoria Hall, Forbidden City Concert Hall, Shanghai Oriental Art Center, Dubai Opera, Tchaikovsky Hall, International House of Music, CBC Glenn Gould Studio, and more.
Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra
The Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra is one of the foremost and oldest symphony orchestras in the Czech Republic. It is based in the historical capital of Moravia, the city of Olomouc, and has been a leader of music activities in the region for the past 70 years. Its artistic development was directly influenced by distinguished figures from the Czech and international music scene.
Rangel Silaev
Dutch virtuoso pianist and composer Rangel Silaev has been playing the piano since he was 5 years old. He first worked with orchestras at the age of 9 and began giving piano recitals and concerts. At just 10 years of age, Silaev became the youngest pupil at the Young Musician Academy of the Conservatory. In 2014, he started studying at the Dutch Royal Conservatory in The Hague, where he is taught by the renowned professors Naum Grubert and Ellen Corver.
Frans Jan Wijma
Frans Jan Wijma received his first organ lessons at the age of 8 from a local organ teacher, eventually moving on to lessons from Hans Bakker, Haite van der Schaaf, Gerrit ‘t Hart, Anton Pauw, and Harry van Wijk. Since 1977 he has been organist of various Reformed churches in Bussum, Almere, and Amersfoort.
Maarten Wilmink
Maarten Wilmink is active as an international concert organist and church musician. He studied organ at the Conservatory in Rotterdam with Zuzana Ferjenčíková and Christian Schmitt after studying for two years with Ben van Oosten. He also studies improvisation with Hayo Boerema. Wilmink regularly performs recitals on historical and famous organs in The Netherlands and abroad.
Annette Scholten and Nanke Flach
Annette Scholten and Nanke Flach, both from The Netherlands, formed a duo in 2009. Scholten obtained her master’s degree as a cellist from the Prince Claus Conservatory in Groningen, with an extra certificate for chamber music. Scholten performed as a soloist with several orchestras, both cello and lame sonore. Flach studied piano at the conservatories of Groningen and Utrecht, where she obtained a master’s degree with special attention to chamber music and accompaniment. Flach is a laureate of the Princess Christina Competition for performing chamber music and much in demand as an accompanist.
Luca Altdorfer
Luca Altdorfer is a Hungarian violist currently living in The Netherlands, Groningen. She is active as a violin, viola, and chamber teacher and as a chamber and orchestra player. She has performed on radio stations throughout Europe, and with orchestras such as Sebastian Strings in Belgium, Budapest Bach Consort, Noord Nederlands Orkest, and Ciconia Consort (Den Haag), and toured in China with the Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra. In 2009 she completed her studies at the Béla Bartók Conservatory in Budapest, Hungary.
Notes
The impetus for this album, my second full-length following the release of THE UNNAMED SOURCE on Navona 12 years ago, was twofold. Firstly, an invitation from PARMA Recordings to contribute to the Fanfare project with the London Symphony Orchestra. Secondly, an unexpected reunion with a former organ student, Frans Jan Wijma. In addition to his profession as an engineer, he was a church organist all those years. He asked me if I was interested in writing an organ piece, which resulted in 14 works in 2021. After his expressive recordings of the Three Pieces, via Hauptwerk, I didn’t want to wait any longer to release these pieces to the world. When I found the young organ virtuoso Maarten Wilmink willing to record my Toccata for Organ, my decision was finalized by contact with piano virtuoso Rangel Silaev, who found it a challenge to record six recent piano works. Annette Scholten, cellist and pioneer in the development of the lame sonore, joined in with Nanke Flach to perform three works written for her.
Leonard Bernstein said, “music can name the unnameable and communicate the unknowable.” That could have been the motto of my first album. It also links to and is encompassed by the title “Source Ground,” the first of the Three Pieces for Organ, which is inspired by an incomprehensible text in the book The Mystery of Golgotha (p.22 & 23). It gave me the impetus for the idea and title of this second full album.
It is a tribute to the one indivisible life, which breathes uninterruptedly in all that lives in an infinite variety and diversity, and which wants to come to consciousness in every person. My music wants to act as an aide-memoire for the listener, but first of all it wants to be enjoyed.
— Hans Bakker
