Loevendie explores unknown territory with Ziggurat

Again the oldest composer proved to be the most innovative. His composition for the Atlas Ensemble gave new meaning to combining eastern with western instruments. Yesterday in the Korzo Theater in The Hague Theo Loevendie, 74-years of age, proved to be the only composer of the four present capable of exploring unknown territory.

A Ziggurat is a pyramidal temple in Mesopotamia. Loevendie’s work is a cultural sanctuary, where everything is possible. In a colorful melting pot jazz fragments – sung with differentiation and full of expression by Swiss singer Kristina Fuchs – stood next to the sweet sound of the Erhu (Chinese violin). A fragment out of a Bach cantata stood next to a humorous encore, and the clear, ringing Panflute sounded together with the sultry saxophone, played by Loevendie in an improvised introduction.

A healthy and informal atmosphere, characteristic of the Stamp-concerts of the seventies, permeated throughout the work – the eastern sound assimilated fully with the western. Haagsche Courant, Peter Visser

Musicians for Loevendie’s dream ensemble Ziggurat, performed on exotic instruments at a high level and navigated with ease through the complex music score. The result was highly recommendable. The players of the Eastern European Panflute, the bass reorder, the Armenian Duduk, the African percussion, the Chinese Erhu, the baroque Viola da Gamba, the jazz singer, pianist and the double bass player produced beautiful subtle of sound.

Everything in the composition Ziggurat proved that Loevendie has ridded himself of the last remains of inhibition. In the fourth part, Her Favourite Nation, based on the American ballad Imagination, he let the singer Kristina Fuchs growl and squeal, lisp and howl. The curious mishmash of instrumentalists placed her performance into a surrealistic soundscape, a drugging mix of jazz, baroque, serialism and Turkish and Chinese teahouse music, inviting the listener on an agreeable trip. Also in the other parts, with allusions to Bach, Machaut, and Arabic folk music, the lavish colors of sound were entrancing.

The globe plays along

Loevendie’s work in seven parts for seven musicians was as colorful as it was light-footed, a bass part from a Bach cantata followed a percussion solo and a jazz ballad, and in everything the world was spinning along.

the stunning mix of bass recorder, viola da gamba and the Arabic kanun, Loevendie knows how to fully exploit the versatility of jazz singer Kristina Fuchs.

The Swiss jazz-singer Kristina Fuchs played a central role. In that way different compositions could have a medieval, oriental or jazzy touch. Especially Loevendie's solos, full of imagination, brought an idiom to the stage that is unusual and rare to find.

Ayse Önder combined the Duduk, an instrument with a very melancholy sound, in an enchanting way with the etheric, flexible tones of the Erhu, a string instrument from China.