Black Pencil - Schokland

Jorge Isaac: blockflute
Matthijs Koene: panflute
Esra Pehlivanli: viola
Marko Kassl: accordion
Enric Monfort: percussion

catalogue number 21148

Black Pencil is a game changer band with more than a thousand years of music history as their playing field. The possibilities of a huge collection of recorders, panflute, viola, accordion and percussion are endless - just like the curiosity and imagination of the five musicians.

With respect, knowledge and refinement, the most beautiful music is lifted from its historic place and returns to the limelight completely fresh. An audience member can expect to experience combinations that they have never heard before, for example; “melancholic renaissance melodies derail into jazz rock à la Miles Davis” (NRC).

In 2022 the ensemble started a multi-year collaboration with UNESCO World Heritage Schokland. Schokland is a unique combination of cultural history and nature, in the middle of the Noordoostpolder. Evidence of human habitation going back more than 10,000 years can be found on this site.

Black Pencil launched an international call for compositionsm asking for new works of about a minute in length, written for one of the instruments of the Black Pencil ensemble, fully inspired by Schokland to be created.

The call was a tremendous success with 174 compositions from 36 countries: The album presents 22 of the exciting works and John Cage's "Child of Tree" from 1975.

works by:

Ulrich Schultheiss, Piyawat Louilarpprasert, Aart Strootman, Rens Tienstra, Ng Yu Hng, Otto Wanke, Luca Donati, Alina Silina, Enric Monfort, Soumil Biswas, Claudio Huerta Honores, Florence Anna Maunders, Andrea Guterres, Lucas Veeger, Andrzej Ojczenasz, John Cage, Irene Tanuwidjaja, Yushun Pei, Jonatan de Jesus Carrasco Hernandez, Sarah Jeffery, Florian Magnus Maier

"curious and captivating! "(WDR 3)