The Priest’s Paradox

Pianist/composer Rembrandt Frerichs, drum whisperer Vinsent Planjer, and oboist Maripepa Contreras take on the challenge of making music with the 31-tone Fokker organ as their starting point. The organ’s grandeur is challenged by Planjer’s drum kit with its whisper-quiet power, featuring the resonant tones of the Persian tombak (a goblet drum). Contreras’ melancholic duduk joins the fray, its mournful cries echoing the microtonal richness of ancient Middle Eastern melodies.

Frerich’s grandfather was an organist; the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Both Frerichs and Contreras play classical and jazz. Contreras and Planjer share a love for the colours of old Arabic and Persian music. As a trio, their dynamic range is truly impressive. Their performance swings between the near-whisper quiet, when Frerichs switches from the organ to the clavichord, and the majestic fullness of the Fokker organ played with its church organ settings.