presents:
BACH
Mike Fentross (theorbe) & Maarten Ornstein (basklarinet)
In 2022, lutenist Mike Fentross and bass clarinettist Maarten Ornstein were awarded the Willem Breuker Prize at the Bimhuis Amsterdam. The prize was awarded for their pioneering artistry with which they manage to connect music from different traditions. Baroque music forms the backbone of their repertoire in which compositions by Dowland, Purcell and Bach play an important role, and to which the unusual instrumentation of theorbo, vihuela and bass clarinet gives new dimension and colour.
BACH is the latest programme from Mike Fentross and Maarten Ornstein, and is built around the famous Goldberg Variations, incidentally called ‘changes’ by Bach himself. The central and well-known main melody appears for the first time in Anna Magdalena Bach's Notenbüchlein, a music book of pieces that would have been played at the kitchen table in Bach's house. For all its simplicity, the theme is compelling and at the same time one of the most moving instrumental pieces ever written. Besides the Goldberg Variations, the programme is complemented by music by Willem Breuker, Girolamo Frescobaldi and Karlheinz Stockhausen.
Mike Fentross - theorbo
Maarten Ornstein - bass clarinet