Very special guests: Jacob Lekkerkerker on organ and the amazing Bulgarian Voices of the Pauni Trio. Furthermore, Cafuné (Brazilian), Çiğdem Okuyucu,(Turkish), Daphne Chlimintzas (Greek), Marianne Svasek (Dhrupad) Marije Nie (tap), Marieke Franssen and Mark Alban Lotz (flutes).
‘From writings of the Church fathers and other reports, it is unequivocally clear that the rites of worship of the early Christians were marked by a religious ecstasy that manifested itself in unhampered, purely emotional, spontaneous expression. From the earliest time onward there is copious documentary evidence of the extensive part played by improvisation throughout the development of all church music. In vocal music, improvising on all the intervals and internal combinations appearing in Gregorian chant was systematically practised by singers and choirboys. Later, instrumentally, there is evidence that musicians such as the 14th century blind organist Francesco Landini became well-known for their improvising abilities.’ (taken from Derek Bailey: Improvisation, its nature and practice in music (1992, p29)