Sarasvati Merel Vercammen & Dina Ivanova

• Claude Debussy (1862 - 1918): Sonata for Violin and Piano in G Minor, L. 140:
• 1Debussy: Sonata for Violin and Piano in G Minor, L. 140: I. Allegro vivo05:01
• 2Debussy: Sonata for Violin and Piano in G Minor, L. 140: II. Intermède. Fantasque et léger04:11
• 3Debussy: Sonata for Violin and Piano in G Minor, L. 140: III. Finale. Très animé04:40
• Mathilde Wantenaar (b. 1993): Petit Morceau:
• 4Wantenaar: Petit Morceau04:21
• Francis Poulenc (1899 - 1963): Sonata for violin and piano, FP 119:
• 5Poulenc: Sonata for violin and piano, FP 119: I. Allegro con fuoco06:24
• 6Poulenc: Sonata for violin and piano, FP 119: II. Intermezzo. Très lent et calme06:21
• 7Poulenc: Sonata for violin and piano, FP 119: III. Presto tragico (1949 Nouvelle version)05:47
• Alisson Kruusmaa (b. 1992): Mesmerism:
• 8Kruusmaa: Mesmerism04:47
• Joey Roukens (b. 1982): Sarasvati:
• 9Roukens: Sarasvati13:07
• Total Runtime54:39

Info for Sarasvati

Merel Vercammen and Dina Ivanova proudly present their third album, Sarasvati, which will be released on September 27, 2024, on Merel Vercammen's new label All Ears Records. On this album, they combine sonatas by Claude Debussy and Francis Poulenc with contemporary works by Mathilde Wantenaar, Alisson Kruusmaa, and Joey Roukens.

The album is an ode to the open-mindedness of these composers. Debussy's Sonata for Violin and Piano, composed during World War I, reflects his French heritage and is his last completed composition. This work is placed alongside the war sonata of his compatriot Poulenc.

Sarasvati also includes new compositions that build on the traditions of their predecessors while adding a contemporary voice. Mathilde Wantenaar's Petit Morceau, a short French-inspired work composed for the 2024 Dutch Violin Competition, showcases her talent for melodic development, ranging from exuberance to melancholy. Alisson Kruusmaa's Mesmerism reflects her personal experiences.

Just as Debussy was greatly inspired by East Asian music during his visit to the World's Fair in Paris, Joey Roukens is influenced by both Asian music and Debussy and Poulenc. Roukens shares with them the ability to combine the playful and the serious.

'Sarasvati' is an ancient Sanskrit word that originally means 'that which flows'. 'The word refers both to a mythical lost river in ancient India and to the Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, and water,' says Roukens. 'I see the piece as one continuous, flowing movement that starts calmly, like a gently flowing river – lyrical and meditative. Gradually, the flow becomes more hectic, and the piece grows more energetic and intense.'

What all these composers have in common is their open-mindedness. For Vercammen and Ivanova, this album represents mutual inspiration. Once it flows into the sea, some of those water molecules will return to the same river and form a new stream with other droplets. This is exactly how musical ideas have evolved through the centuries.

Vercammen and Ivanova have formed a duo since early 2018. Their previous two albums, Symbiosis (including the violin sonata by César Franck) and The Boulanger Legacy, were highly praised in the international press.

Merel Vercammen, violin
Dina Ivanova, piano

Recorded by Frerik de Jong at Muziekgebouw Eindhoven

Merel Vercammen
started playing violin at the age of 5. When she was 15 years old she was admitted to the Utrecht Conservatory, where she studied with prof. Eeva Koskinen. In 2012 she finished her Bachelor of Music at the Royal College of Music with prof. Jan Repko, and in 2014 she graduated with highest distinction at the same institution in the Master of Performance programme. Merel received scholarships and awards from the Royal College of Music, the Anton Kersjesfonds, the Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds and the Huygens Scholarship Programme. In addition to her performing degree Merel also completed a Master of Science in Music, Mind and Brain at Goldsmiths University of London. Merel is currently a student of Ilya Grubert at the Scuola di Perfezionamento di Fondazione Musicale Santa Cecilia in Italy.

Merel won prizes at the London Grand Prize Virtuoso Competition, at the Princess Christina Competition and at the National Competition of the Foundation for Young Music Talent of the Netherlands, where she was awarded both first prize and a prize for the best performance of a freely chosen piece by a Dutch composer. She gave several concerts throughout Europe and the UK, in South America and Africa. Merel appeared as a soloist with the orchestra of the Utrecht Conservatory, the Nijmeegs Studentenorkest, the Symfonieorkest BBS, and the Zeister Philharmonic Orchestra. She performed in all the major concert halls in the Netherlands.

Besides that she participated in festivals such as the Peter the Great Festival in Groningen (NL), the International Master Class Apeldoorn (NL), the International Holland Music Sessions, the Young Talent Course Feistritz and the Ost-West Musikfest in Austria, International Music Campus Porziano Musica and Suonarte Masterclasses in Italy, Festival MusicAlp Courchevel in France and the Kuhmo Music Festival in Finland. She recieved master classes from Valery Oistrach, Liviu Prunaru, Yayoi Toda, Josef Rissin, Lewis Kaplan, Daniel Hope, Alina Ibragimova, Zakhar Bron and Ilya Grubert. In 2009 she was invited by the Dutch Embassy in Tunisia to play at the festival ‘Jeunes Virtuoses’ in Tunis, and in 2012 she gave concerts in Rio de Janeiro on invitation from the Dutch Embassy in Brazil. In May 2012 she gave a performance for the Royal Family of Romania in the Royal Palace in Bucharest, Romania. Merel performed in many concert halls across Europe, her 2013 debut at the Wigmore Hall in London being one of the highlights. In 2016 Merel made her debut at the Royal Albert Hall.

Merel is a founding member of the ensemble trio42. This group has a combination of violin, harp and saxophone, which is unique in chamber music. They gave performances at festivals including the Zeist Music Days, the International Chamber Music Festival of Janine Jansen, Grachtenfestival, NJO Summer of Music andFestival Classique and their Debut CD included works by C. Franck and D. Shostakovich.

Besides that Merel started The New Mozart Effect, a lecture recital about music and the brain, supported by the Amsterdam Art Fund. Recently, Merel started a duo with pianist Danielle Bourne.

Merel plays on a beautiful violin made by Italian luthier A. Postacchini in 1820, kindly given on loan by the Dutch Musical Instruments Foundation.

This album contains no booklet.