Erik [Bosgraaf] came over to my place a few times to play things through. He also played a number of different recorders to me. These included a sixteenth century renaissance recorder by Silvestro Ganassi. That instrument is more powerful than the more common baroque variant, so I composed my concerto specifically for the Ganassi recorder.’ As the composition progressed, Jeths was increasingly captivated by what he calls the “essence of the instrument”. ‘To me, the sound of the recorder represents innocence and fragile purity. I had to give the soloist enough scope to let him put these qualities across to the best possible effect. My orchestration is therefore deliberately thin. The orchestra plays a subservient part in this piece so that the soloist can emerge in the limelight.
(Willem Jeths)
More about the concert
Willem Jeths at Donemus
Link to the score
Composers in the crosshairs of our attention