Drift

In Drift, Renske Vrolijk dissolves the boundary between the 15th century and the present day. Commissioned by the renowned sonic.art quartett, this work for saxophone quartet is an ‘acoustic installation’ designed to interact with the architecture of the performance space.

The Crossing

The title Drift refers to the South African term for a ‘ford’—a safe crossing point in a river. Renske Vrolijk uses this metaphor to guide the listener across the river of time.
The work bridges two distinct worlds: the 15th-century polyphony of Johannes Ockeghem’s Missa mi-mi and the modern language of Steffen Schleiermacher’s Gregorianik 1. Vrolijk creates a slow, meditative transition, allowing the audience to experience the physical sensation of time passing.

The Fifth Instrument

Vrolijk treats the saxophone quartet as a resonator for the room itself. The instruments abandon their modern, percussive capabilities to mimic the human voice, blending into a singular, choir-like organism.

Listening to the Walls

The piece is scored specifically for the acoustics of Gothic churches. The natural reverberation is an integral part of the score. Consequently, the musicians must adapt their speed to the decay of the room. They ‘listen to the walls’, waiting for the resonance to settle before moving forward. The building dictates the pace of the drama.

Also for saxophone quartet: Lachrymae