Merijn Bisschops

Textures

2017
35′
violin, viola, cello
with optional photo projections
première: Prisma Strijktrio, 12 November 2017, November Music, ‘s-Hertogenbosch (NL)
commission: November Music
made possible by Fonds Podiumkunsten, Makersfonds Gemeente Tilburg, Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds Noord-Brabant

Music for string trio based on photos of Iceland.

Merijn Bisschops: 'The raw unspoilt nature of Iceland has a strong attraction for people. The photographs I have taken allow me to translate the landscape into sound, introducing the public to music as a geomorphological experience.'

In Textures I combined new music for string trio with projections of abstract landscape photography. The origins of Textures lie in Iceland, where I stayed at the invitation of Fljótstunga Artist in Residency in 2015 to take photos and get inspiration for the music. I captured natural shapes, colors and textures of the landscape. The music I composed for the photos is both serene and overwhelming. Finely interlocking sound textures and layers of minimalist rhythm express the primal forces that have shaped the landscape and its fragility.

Blue

Minimalistic Iceland

colour photo
copy: 2/6

€ 545,00

Painting

Minimalistic Iceland

colour photo
copy: 2/6

€ 545,00

In de pers

about Textures
“Crystal-clear images of landscapes that shaped over millions of years. Those are the inspirational source of photographer and composers Merijn Bisschops. His work ‘Textures’, that could be heard during the Kunstmuziekroute, was one of the highlights of the festival November Music.”

about Textures
“Bisschops is a composer, but since a few years also active as a photographer and film maker and he strives to create total artworks in which diverse art forms are interwoven in a logical and inextricable manner. With ‘Textures’ he certainly succeeded in that.”

about Textures
“Exceptionally impressive was the work by composer and photographer Merijn Bisschops. He combined razor-sharp projected photos of beautiful desolate landscapes in which millions of years of geological processes where visible, with music for string trio. The music was as layered as the images, sometimes abrasive and harsh, sometimes sensitive and full of tender colours.”

about Textures
“During concerts the composition is performed while a selection of photo’s is projected in a slow sequence behind the musicians. There is plenty of time to absorb the details, both of the music and the images. They are of enchanting beauty, in terms of colours and shapes. But even though the photos are crystal clear, it is not always obvious what you are looking at. You have no idea of dimensions and distances. Something similar can be found in the music, a fragile ambiguity and a wealth of colours that are at times melancholic. Occasionally you would swear that a human voice arises from the trio of violin, viola and cello. What is special is that the music is never a direct translation of the images. Existing links are indirect, associative.

about Textures
Bisschops took a next step in presenting his work by publishing it in the form of a photo book, with a recording of the music on cd. He chose an exceptional size, 39 x 26 cm. Because of that the photos, that in some cases stretch out over two pages, are shown to advantage. Because images and sound are disconnected they each lead their own live. Synchronicity makes way for a separate experience of the two elements. Now the music proves to be strong enough by itself, and becomes even more suggestive if possible. As a book with cd ‘Textures’ is a publication to continuously return to, to roam around through faint, neboulous (musical) landscapes, saturated by colour. Pictures of our own earth, but also images you would like to dream.”

Merijn Bisschops

Textures

Music for string trio based on photos of Iceland.

Blue

Painting

PERS