Noorder
Noorder wants to move beyond the horizon. Beyond what we can still see or imagine. To the place where everything sparkles and anything is possible. A fresh perspective, a new shape. And always a hint of the infinite. As a listener, you are invited to leave behind what you know and open yourself to new worlds.
Noorder is
Ivar Berix: Clarinet
Aafje van Gemert: Piano and Indian Harmonium
Noorder plays
Program 1: Dew
Close your eyes and imagine: the day is breaking, a mist rises from the earth. Barefoot, you walk through the grass. You are welcomed by voices singing of wisdom. Then the duduk begins to speak, and an ancient Armenian song resounds—a memory of the moonlit night. A gentle dance unfolds to the serene sounds of an Armenian lute and drum.
It is time to awaken from the dream and open your eyes; there are no duduk, lute, or drum—though you would swear there were. The unsung songs of Fauré carry you into the dream of enchantment and joy, the mourning of lost youth, an intimate confession of love, a sorrowful farewell—more moonlight, and still more farewells—leading into Schubert’s Nachtstück, a mysterious tale of the final gentle sleep of an old man.
A rooster crows. Or perhaps not. Once again, a new day—one in which Beethoven brings forth a clarinet sonata. Could it really be true?
Music by Hildegard von Bingen, Djivan Gasparyan, Komitas, Fauré, Schubert and Beethoven
You can find the full program here
We would like to invite you to our studio for a tasting. Here you can see and hear us at work.
Program 2: Mirror
What happens when you place two mirrors facing each other? An infinite image. And if you tilt one of the mirrors just a tiny bit, the image changes completely. What we see goes beyond our imagination. It is an experience that evokes wonder, and sometimes estrangement. A new perspective.
Noorder seeks that unknown, for example through the use of an Indian harmonium. The slowing down of J.S. Bach’s music makes every detail audible. Step by step, the light shines in differently. When a solitary tone sounds, also from the harmonium, a clarinet explores a Turkish landscape – warm, shimmering, and the magic takes hold: how did we arrive here?
Composer and priest Komitas lets the piano be played like Armenian drums; the Dap and Tmbuk. A shepherd’s flute can be heard. Armenians dance as in ancient times. In Spiegel im Spiegel we hear eternity as the sound of divine bells. Meanwhile, a human being with a slow urge seeks a path through earthly life.
And then another mystic, but one who combines it with a sensual, intensely emotional expression. Scriabin demands everything you have in his grand Etude no. 5. In the Arpeggione Sonata (does anyone still know what an arpeggione is?), Schubert explores the extremes of high and low. This “guitar of love” thus explores the extremes of love itself.
Music by Bach, Komitas, Debussy, Pärt, Scriabin and Schubert.
You can find the full program here
If you are interested or have any questions, please feel free to contact us! You are also very welcome to visit the website of Aafje van Gemert, where you can listen to more music.