Blues, Reds & Other Songs for Madonna by Goeyvaerts String Trio | Robin Verheyen

Goeyvaerts String Trio | Robin Verheyen | Marc Copland

Blues, Reds & Other Songs for Madonna

Price: € 19.95
Format: CD
Label: Challenge Records
UPC: 0608917360523
Catnr: CR 73605
Release date: 02 May 2025
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Label
Challenge Records

UPC
0608917360523

Catalogue number
CR 73605

Release date
02 May 2025

"you will encounter an unexpected and surprising musical experience"

Jazzenzo, 15-12-2025

Album

Artist(s)

Composer(s)

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About the album

In this day and age, who still writes love songs for a chosen woman of yesteryear? With sounds that whistle deep blue and remind you of the blues - the origins of jazz? - in his new composition Robin Verheyen takes colors from Jean Fouquet’s ‘Madonna’ and assigns them to his tenor and soprano, the three musicians of the Goeyvaerts String Trio and the 88 keys of Marc Copland’s piano.

The masterpiece ‘Madonna’ in the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp dates to around 1452 and is the right half of a diptych. The other piece, in Berlin, depicts the client of this work of art and his patron saint. Together, they form the so-called Melun diptych. In Antwerp you can see a ‘Maria Lactans’: the intimate theme of a mother breastfeeding her child. Because the subject was always updated to the fashion, taste or insights of the time, it continues to give new meaning.

In Master Fouquet’s version, seraphs and cherubs appear. Throne and crown also replace the old-fashioned Gothic gold aureole. But the Madonna remains exalted with all good things: ‘de tous bien plaine’. That is certainly how the coveted chanson by Hayne van Gizhegem from Fouquet’s time sounds (which was incorporated by Robin Verheyen into his composition). They both free their art from devotion and cautiously put the autonomous aesthetic experience first. Mary becomes heavenly and profane, simultaneously. Her ivory skin remains unblemished, but - so the gossip of the time wants: “Isn’t that Agnes Sorel”, the mistress of the French king? Is the most beautiful woman of the beau-monde a model for the Mother of God?

In ‘Blues, Reds and Other Songs’, Robin Verheyen draws inspiration from the characteristic harmony of the budding renaissance with quotes (such as the hymn Ave Maris Stella), canon techniques and faux-bourdon. Could the musical ornaments and fugal imitations of that period already have predicted the uniqueness of jazz?

A composition is made up of different layers. In a painting, this is represented by the harmony between horizontal, vertical and the suggestion of depth with a front, middle and back plan. Mary with child, the throne and the angels, especially the blue ones, in the depths can be translated into the polyphony of the music. In contemporary music we may too often listen to what’s on the surface: the highest voice, the melody. Polyphony, on the other hand, is an exercise in a continuous interaction between all voices that shift in a virtuoso way between foreground and background. Verheyen’s composition makes the connection between all these voices and layers in an organic way.

Tempo and rhythm is the flow with which the eye explores the composition. The exposed bosom probably lingers on many retinas a little longer. Let’s not view that perfect geometry by today’s standards lest this noblewoman be suspected of plastic surgery. The idealized form fits within a Platonic perspective and is even a compelling moral exhortation to relationships stripped of sensuality or desire. The mysterious appeal of the painting and this newly created music corresponds precisely within the search for what perfection and aesthetics mean in a given time.

Wer schreibt heutzutage noch Liebeslieder für eine auserwählte Frau von einst? Mit Klängen, die tiefblau pfeifen und an den Blues erinnern – die Ursprünge des Jazz? – greift Robin Verheyen in seiner neuen Komposition Farben aus Jean Fouquets „Madonna“ auf und weist sie seinem Tenor und Sopran, den drei Musikern des Goeyvaerts String Trio und den 88 Tasten von Marc Coplands Klavier zu.
Das Meisterwerk „Madonna“ im Königlichen Museum der Schönen Künste Antwerpen stammt aus der Zeit um 1452 und ist die rechte Hälfte eines Diptychons. Das andere Stück, das sich in Berlin befindet, zeigt den Auftraggeber dieses Kunstwerks und seinen Schutzpatron. Zusammen bilden sie das sogenannte Diptychon von Melun. In Antwerpen können Sie eine „Maria lactans“ sehen: das intime Thema einer Mutter, die ihr Kind stillt. Da das Thema immer an die Mode, den Geschmack oder die Erkenntnisse der Zeit angepasst wurde, erhält es immer wieder eine neue Bedeutung.
In der Version von Meister Fouquet erscheinen Seraphim und Cherubim. Thron und Krone ersetzen auch den altmodischen gotischen Goldschein. Aber die Madonna bleibt mit allen guten Dingen erhöht: „de tous bien plaine“. So klingt sicherlich das begehrte Chanson von Hayne van Gizhegem aus Fouquets Zeit (das von Robin Verheyen in seine Komposition aufgenommen wurde). Beide befreien ihre Kunst von der Hingabe und stellen vorsichtig die autonome ästhetische Erfahrung in den Vordergrund. Maria wird gleichzeitig himmlisch und profan. Ihre elfenbeinfarbene Haut bleibt makellos, aber – so will es der Klatsch der Zeit: „Ist das nicht Agnes Sorel“, die Geliebte des französischen Königs? Ist die schönste Frau der beau-monde ein Vorbild für die Mutter Gottes?
In „Blues, Reds and Other Songs“ lässt sich Robin Verheyen von der charakteristischen Harmonie der aufkeimenden Renaissance mit Zitaten (wie der Hymne Ave Maris Stella), Kanontechniken und Fauxbourdon inspirieren. Könnten die musikalischen Ornamente und Fugenimitationen dieser Zeit bereits die Einzigartigkeit des Jazz vorweggenommen haben?
Eine Komposition besteht aus verschiedenen Schichten. In einem Gemälde wird dies durch die Harmonie zwischen Horizontalen, Vertikalen und der Andeutung von Tiefe mit einem vorderen, mittleren und hinteren Plan dargestellt. Maria mit dem Kind, der Thron und die Engel, insbesondere die blauen, in der Tiefe können in die Polyphonie der Musik übersetzt werden. In der zeitgenössischen Musik hören wir zu oft nur auf das, was an der Oberfläche liegt: die höchste Stimme, die Melodie. Polyphonie hingegen ist eine Übung in kontinuierlicher Interaktion zwischen allen Stimmen, die sich virtuos zwischen Vordergrund und Hintergrund bewegen. Verheyens Komposition stellt auf organische Weise eine Verbindung zwischen all diesen Stimmen und Schichten her.
Tempo und Rhythmus sind der Fluss, mit dem das Auge die Komposition erkundet. Der entblößte Busen bleibt wahrscheinlich auf vielen Netzhäuten etwas länger haften. Betrachten wir diese perfekte Geometrie nicht nach heutigen Maßstäben, damit diese edle Dame nicht der plastischen Chirurgie verdächtigt wird. Die idealisierte Form passt in eine platonische Perspektive und ist sogar eine überzeugende moralische Ermahnung an Beziehungen, die frei von Sinnlichkeit oder Begierde sind. Die geheimnisvolle Anziehungskraft des Gemäldes und dieser neu geschaffenen Musik entspricht genau der Suche nach der Bedeutung von Perfektion und Ästhetik in einer bestimmten Zeit.

Artist(s)

Marc Copland (piano)

Marc Copland grew up in Philadelphia. He first played saxophone and then moved to New York. Later in Baltimore and Washington DC he worked as a pianist for example with Gary Peacock, who was to become his long-time musical partner. In the mid-1980s, he returned to New York. In 1988, his debut album appeared as a pianist, since then has released more than 25 CDs under his own name, all in casts with world-elite musicians and published on renowned labels (Savoy, Steeplechase, Hat Hat, etc.). Since 2000, it became more important to Marc to play in trio and duo. Those small ensembles have received the best reviews in the professional world. His duo partners include global jazz giants such as...

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Robin Verheyen (saxophone)

At 40, Robin Verheyen is considered one of the top European saxophone players and composers having made NYC and the US musician’s community his home. Established here since 2007, he quickly built a reputation as a player and composer. He has worked with jazz greats such as Gary Peacock, Ralph Alessi, Joey Baron and many others. In 2014 he traveled to Senegal to immerse himself in the local music scene, using the experience towards a long-term process of bringing together West African rhythms with the modernistic harmonies of French composer Olivier Messiaen. This is representative of Verheyen’s cross-genre approach to music, something that has become a mainstay in his oeuvre. In January 2018 Verheyen released When the Birds Leave on Universal...

In 2014 he traveled to Senegal to immerse himself in the local music scene, using the experience towards a long-term process of bringing together West African rhythms with the modernistic harmonies of French composer Olivier Messiaen. This is representative of Verheyen’s cross-genre approach to music, something that has become a mainstay in his oeuvre. In January 2018 Verheyen released When the Birds Leave on Universal Music, with his quartet featuring Marc Copland, Drew Gress and Billy Hart.

More recently Verheyen completed two new commissioned works, one for string quintet and saxophone (partly inspired by a residency at the cultural center Thread in Senegal); and a composition for string trio, piano and saxophone (featuring pianist Marc Copland and the Goeyvaerts String trio) that premièred at the Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp where Verheyen has been visiting Artist in Residence since 2017.

In 2019 Verheyen released the album MiXMONK on his Universal contract with the co-op trio with Joey Baron and Bram De Looze which was followed by their second album On The Loose (Curatores/L’autre Distribution) in 2022.

In 2021 he released The Bach Riddles, a quartet reworking of Bach’s Musical Offering (WERF Records). In 2023 his solo soprano saxophone album Playing the Room was released and later this year a recording of the commissioned work for the KMSKA will also be published.

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Goeyvaerts String Trio

The Goeyvaerts String Trio was founded in 1997 with the aim of performing exclusively 20th and 21st century repertoire. The trio takes its name from the Belgian composer Karel Goeyvaerts, who played an important role in developments within European new music. The ensemble not only plays existing works but is also active in commissioning new string trios. The Goeyvaerts String Trio consists of Fedra Coppens (violin), Vincent Hepp (viola), and Pieter Stas (cello). Their CD featuring string trios by Arnold Schoenberg, Anton Webern, and Alfred Schnittke was released by the renowned international label Challenge Records. This CD received the highest ratings in various magazines and, among other things, a Gold Label from Klassiek Centraal, a nomination for best CD production for...

Their CD featuring string trios by Arnold Schoenberg, Anton Webern, and Alfred Schnittke was released by the renowned international label Challenge Records. This CD received the highest ratings in various magazines and, among other things, a Gold Label from Klassiek Centraal, a nomination for best CD production for the Klara’s, and a recommendation in Gramophone. In 2012, a new CD entitled String Trios from the East was released, featuring trios by Sofia Gubaidulina, Alexander Knaifel, Oleg Paiberdin, and Giya Kancheli. Luister wrote: ‘What the three musicians achieve here in terms of concentration and precision borders on the impossible. The trio then launched Stabat Mater in 2014,

consisting of Arvo Pärt’s Stabat Mater in just intonation and Simeron by Ivan Moody. With the help of more than 500 international investors, the Goeyvaerts String Trio raised £15,000. Muziekcentrum Vlaanderen wrote about the trio: ‘It is well known that they are excellent; that they also achieved this is a testament to their enthusiastic entrepreneurship.’ This CD was showered with superlatives in the press, Editor’s Choice in Gramophone, Luister 10, etc. More recently, this recording was awarded an Edison and the trio was named musician/ensemble of the year by Klara (classical radio station), and the City of Sint-Niklaas also honored the trio with the 2014 Culture Prize.

In February 2016, Whispers of Titans was released, featuring string trios by Nikolaj Korndorf and Henryk Górecki. Their CD with Klang by Wolfgang von Schweinitz was recorded for the Louth Contemporary Music Society in 2020. Charles Wuorinen’s second string trio (2018) is dedicated to the Goeyvaerts String Trio, and its world premiere took place at the Guggenheim in New York. During Stations of the Sun 2019 in Dundalk (Ireland), they performed two world premieres by Linda Catlin Smith and Pascale Criton. In October 2019, they premiered Robin Verheyen’s Blues, Reds and other Songs at AMUZ. Blues, Reds and other Songs was recorded on vinyl together with Marc Copland and Robin Verheyen and released in 2025.

In 2025, a second album was released with music by Robin Verheyen in collaboration with Robyn Schulkowsky based on the works of painter Jakob Smits.

As ensemble-in-residence at the KMSKA, they developed programs around the museum’s renovation and collection, including a project with saxophonist Andrew Claes (STUFF) in which real-time data was used for scores for strings and robots. With the support of their home city of Sint-Niklaas, they curate the annual Passages festival, which brings together local and international talent from different genres.

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Composer(s)

Robin Verheyen

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Press

you will encounter an unexpected and surprising musical experience
Jazzenzo, 15-12-2025

..this is a strong recording by a musician and composer who confidently transcends stylistic boundaries and has developed a highly personal and versatile aesthetic over the years. The fact that he frequently disrupts the balance is greatly to his credit.
Jazzhalo, 17-6-2025

... composer Verheyen chose a sound palette ranging from new music to rhapsodic blues-tinged jazz...
Jazzthing, 26-5-2025