LINES TO INFINITY

hANS BAKKER & PETER GREVE

 

OVERVIEW

 

PARMA Recordings artists Peter Greve and Hans Bakker have come together to give us LINES TO INFINITY, a stunning album that revolves around emotive and dramatic scores for primarily piano and flute. The two composers hail from the Netherlands and share a knack for creating thoughtful contemporary chamber works that appeal to the listener’s imagination.

 

Peter Greve first contributes Sonata for flute and piano, a modal piece that was written in 2005 but has roots in the 1950s, when Greve observed Turkish folk music on a trip through the country. The first and third movements are tonal in their makeup, while the middle section uses an atonal idiom. The third and more modal movement incorporates elements of the Turkish folk music that Greve observed so long ago. It also utilizes asymmetric measure types, with both 10/8 and 13/8 making an appearance. The piano primarily serves as the rhythmic guide of this track, while the flute takes the lead.

 

Greve’s second composition, Dialogues for narrator, flute, cello, and piano, centers around the idea of human communication, specifically between lovers in a relationship. The two lovers are represented by flute & cello collectively, while the piano represents the various friends & family who are amidst the peripheral of the lovers’ relationship. The piece can be broken into four movements: Discussion, Dispute, Reflection, and Celebration. The flow and tone of the music follows these parameters; the mood starts light until the conversation slowly descends into chaos, moves to contemplation and finally confirmation of the relationship. In the third movement, a poem by the Argentine poet Jorge Bucay is interjected among the music.

 

Hans Bakker contributes three works to this album. Leys for flute solo draws upon the phenomenon of ley lines for its hymn-like cascading melody. Listeners might remember the melody from Brenne for violin and piano or Leys III for flute, violin, and guitar from Navona Records’ PINNACLE compilation album. Easy Piece for violoncello and piano is a straightforward but efficient duo piece that represents peace, solitude, and hope. Its effectiveness as a work is in its simplicity; it would not be out of place as the main motif in a romantic film.

 

The centerpiece of Bakker’s contributions is the piece Trio for flute, oboe, and clarinet, a sprawling 11-minute opus split into three movements. In Part I, the instruments each take turns playing 16th note variations, sometimes intersecting playfully within the rhythm. The piece is able to navigate multiple accidentals while still sounding like it's revolving around one key. Part II features the flute beginning this piece followed then by the oboe taking over the melody, as if in direct response. The theme, though, seems to be the off-beat quarter notes. The three instruments come back together just once in rhythm before the flute takes over again with a more aggressive 16th note melody, which builds in intensity and leads us back to the introductory passage. The coda introduces a new rhythm, the triplet, which makes a few brief appearances before part II ends abruptly. Part III is finally the clarinet’s time to shine, evoking a frolicking and playful finale.

 

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HIGHLIGHTS

 

Peter Greve (born 1931) received private musical training from the likes of Jean Antonietti, Theo Laanen, and Terence Lovett, all the while obtaining a Masters of Science degree. After his studies, he worked as a scientific researcher for Philips-Duphar Pharmaceutial Industry and for the Dutch Ministry of Public Health and Environmental Hygiene, but remained active in music on a part-time basis. Since his retirement in 2002, he is fulfilling a wish he felt since his early youth working as a full-time musician, composer, arranger, conductor, and pianist

 

After years of teaching and conducting, Hans Bakker (born 1945) began seriously composing in 1997. He wrote a great number of chamber music works and many choir compositions, including the cycle of choirs Prasasti. He has also composed works for orchestra and pieces for carillon

 

Greve and Bakker, both from the Netherlands, have appeared together previously on a Navona Records’ release PINNACLE, a compilation of contemporary chamber works along with Steven Block, Daniel Perttu, and Kevin M. Walczyk

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CREDITS

 

Leys/ Krachtlijnen for flute solo

Recorded June, 2011 at the Globe Center for Art

and Culture in Hilversum, Netherlands

Recording Session Producer Hans Bakker

Recording Session Engineer Son Thomsen

 

Easy Piece – Petite Pièce for violoncello and piano

Recorded June 14, 2015 at Reduta Hall

in Olomouc, Czech Republic

Recording Session producer Vit Muzik

Recording Session Engineer Jan Košulič

 

Sonata for flute and piano,

Trio for flute, oboe and clarinet,

and “Dialogues” for flute, cello and piano

Recorded June 24, 2016 at Reduta Hall

in Olomouc, Czech Republic

Recording Session producer Vit Muzik

Recording Session Engineer Jan Košulič

 

Package photography Rita Verstraeten

 

Executive Producer Bob Lord

Executive A&R Sam Renshaw

A&R Brandon MacNeil

Audio Director Jeff LeRoy

Editing, Mixing & Mastering Shaun Michaud

Engineering Manager Lucas Paquette

Art & Production Director Brett Picknell

Graphic Design Emily Roulo, Ryan Harrison

Marketing Scott Murphy

Release Date: January 13, 2017

Catalog #: NV6070

 

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TRACK INFO

 

1 Leys/ Krachtlijnen for flute solo  Hans Bakker

Cora Greevenbosch flute

 

2  Easy Piece – Petite Pièce for

violoncello and piano Hans Bakker

Ludmila Bubeníčková cello  Lucie Kaucká piano

 

Sonata for flute and piano Peter Greve

Petr Hladík flute Lucie Kaucká piano

3  Vivace

4  Larghetto – Presto – Tempo I

5 Aksak: Allegro molto (alla Turca)

 

Trio for flute, oboe and clarinet  Hans Bakker

Markéta Soldánová flute Aleš Janeček clarinet

Gabriela Kummerová oboe

6  Allegretto

7  Adagio

8  Moderato

 

“Dialogues” for flute, cello and piano  Peter Greve

Markéta Soldánová flute  Petr Nouzovský violoncello

Lucie Kaucká piano

9    Discussion: Moderato

10  Dispute: Vehemente

11  Reflection: Adagio tranquillo

Jorge Bucaj author  David Chevalier narrator

12  Celebration: Allegro energico – Moderato

     (Tempo of 1st movement)

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ALSO ON NAVONA RECORDS

 

(NV6022)   PINNACLE