Postscript is recording its second Live CD on the label TRPTK on June 10th, 20:15 at De Waalse Kerk in Amsterdam! For this recording, we chose to explore Baroque music from the city where we all met... Amsterdam.
Back Story... Amsterdam was the European centre of publishing for books in the 17th century, and the music publishing industry that grew from that success achieved similar importance. Our ensemble - Postscript -
Postscript is recording its second Live CD on the label TRPTK on June 10th, 20:15 at De Waalse Kerk in Amsterdam! For this recording, we chose to explore Baroque music from the city where we all met... Amsterdam.
Back Story...
Amsterdam was the European centre of publishing for books in the 17th century, and the music publishing industry that grew from that success achieved similar importance. Our ensemble - Postscript - was formed in Amsterdam. We want to create something special for the city which has become so meaningful to us; an ode to Amsterdam in the form of a recording. Everything around this recording will be of Amsterdam - the venue is in the centre of Amsterdam, the music is by composers who lived and were published in Amsterdam, even the instruments themselves are from - no surprises - Amsterdam. There’s so much about this city to celebrate, but we’d like to offer a viewpoint from a different lens, one specific to our growth and development since living here - Our Amsterdam.
This recording will take place "live" in front of an audience, because we want to capture the intensity and spontaneity of a concert. In order to cover the costs of recording and filming the concert; renting the recording venue (De Waalse kerk) in Amsterdam; building, renting and preparing our instruments; and pressing the CDs, we need your help!
Any small donation makes a difference, and sharing this page with your friends on social media or by email is a great way to show your support too.
ABOUT Postscript
(From left to right on the image above)
Octavie Dostaler-Lalonde, cello
David Westcombe, traverso
Artem Belogurov, harpsichord
Aysha Wills, traverso
For more info, visit us on Instagram - Facebook - Website
The Documentarian
Octavie’s attention to detail goes beyond her exquisite cello playing, musical research and excellent fashion sense. Her interest in cameras and all things film has followed her around for a large part of her life, and we are fortunate enough to have been able to take advantage of this fact with the documentary she’ll be making about the (long…) process involved in the preparation of this project. She’s made some short films of us already, and the amount of time and dedication she’s put into her work has made us guilty about also making her play the cello… Not guilty enough to ask her to stop though; her recent work with Ensemble Masques, Vox Luminis, Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique, as a duo with Artem Belogurov as well as her own Romantic Lab project has given her plenty of tools to work with for this recording.
The Narrator
If we weren't an ensemble, we would be a radio station and David would be our voice. With his BBC-worthy timbre and enunciation, every morning he would update our listeners with the latest from around the world. This would of course have to be accompanied by a cup of expertly made filter coffee by the very same man of many talents. But it is above all his musical voice and the sense of adventure and improvisation, so central to 18th-century music, we love him for. Whether he is wearing an apron (yep, he is no stranger to kitchens too, lucky us..) or tails with the likes of Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique, Nederlandse Bachvereniging, Das Neue Orchester and NPU he doesn't shy away from the spotlight and is the heart and soul of every party.
The Archivist
He’s probably the most recorded member of our group, and for good reason - Artem’s keyboard skills are legendary. However, his interests go beyond just performance, and his research into publishers, venues, composers and other aspects of this recording cannot go unmentioned. From trawling through mountains of data to getting in touch with various churches and halls as well as the relationship he’s fostered with our record label TRPTK, he’s really been instrumental (PUN INTENDED) in making this project a reality. And yet, all of this STILL pales in comparison to his playing. He’s performed in major halls in Europe and US as a soloist and chamber musician and worked with Concerto Köln, Aleksey Semenenko and Menno van Delft and they’ve all been lucky to have him. Because he’s ours, and we’re keeping him. You’ll see why when you hear the magic.
The Carpenter
Aysha doesn’t just play flutes, she creates them. She’s been a resident in Amsterdam for more than a decade, she’s fluent in Dutch, and she’s made a name for herself with her sensitive playing in the last few years with work with the NBV, Das Neue Orchester, Concerto Köln, Kölner Akademie, and Nieuwe Philharmonie Utrecht, among others. If you haven’t heard her play yet, you’re in for a treat. For the last two years she’s been training as a flute builder, several hours every two weeks. Her efforts will be our reward when the sound of her newly made instrument joins the three others during our performance. We’re most excited to hear what she sounds like on an instrument she made herself.
TIMELINE of the story of our Amsterdam CD
May 2020, online
The project is born. Artem - with some help from David - started the extensive process of collecting and labelling all the music they could find with these criteria:
- Published in Amsterdam
- Composed between 1650 - 1750
- Composer was a resident of the Netherlands at the time of its publication
- Written for our forces - two flutes, 'cello and harpsichord - or a combination of one or more of these instruments
This resulted in our group’s very first music database, which can be viewed online as soon as you become a member of Postscript! Sorry!
July 2020, Oostenburgergracht, Amsterdam
While we squinted at the Worldcat website and various books detailing music catalogues, Aysha began her journey as The Carpenter, which would span from May, 2020 — right now! She would travel to her flute student Jeroen’s workshop and work for several hours every Thursday, beginning with building handles of tools and finally graduating up to carving the beauty you’ll hear in our recording.
Sep 2020, Haarlemmerstraat
Postscript applies for Balkonscenes, a fund dedicated to artists performing around Amsterdam in spaces that are safe during the pandemic. With this in mind, we decided to perform these fresh Amsterdam works around the city, in parks and small venues.
Jan 2021, Javastraat
The database continues to expand, and after finding out which libraries housed copies of the original manuscripts could be found, Artem contacted them and managed to order new batches of fresh.. old… music for us to taste. Delicious.
Feb 2021, Javastraat
Postscript gains another opportunity to perform the newly discovered music, with an online concert for Muzewest, broadcasted in Canada!
Jan — Feb 2021, Oosterpark, Benkoelenstraat, Javastraat…
Postscript’s concerts for Balkonscenes finally take place, in various locales around Amsterdam.
Jan — May 2021, Javastraat
The “tastings” of our researched music occur (as well as no small amount of food and drink…)! We play through all the repertoire we’ve found, giving marks from 1-5 to condense the list further.
Dec 2021, Akerendam
Postscript performs a concert during MouseEar Concertswith a preparatory programme of the Amsterdam-based music we had found thus far.
Then — Now
We’ve rehearsed, eaten, drunk, researched and talked together. Throughout all this, Octavie has been diligently documenting our process, capturing images and videos of us playing. Aysha has continued to work on her skills as a flute builder, bringing her final piece ever closer to completion. Artem has collated all the research and given us the material we need to bring Amsterdam music to your ears. David has talked incessantly, made coffee, and provided help when needed for the research process. We’re ready, willing and excited to make this recording a reality and share it with you!
June 10th 2022, 20:15
De Waalse Kerk, Walenpleintje 157-159, Amsterdam
The live recording will take place at De Waalse Kerk, with the help of Brendon Heinst from the Dutch label TRPTK for audio, and Andrea Friggi for video.
Please feel welcome to join us in person if you are in the area!
Buy your tickets here
Next steps:
The album will be edited together with Brendon Heinst and the members of Postscript at the TRPTK studio in late June 2022.
The printing and pressing is expected to take place in the summer 2022.
The release of the album is expected to take place in the fall 2022.
We will organise a release concert shortly after the official release and will write to all of you via a campaign update to invite you to come and listen, and to share the album online with all your friends!
Nieuwste donaties
George Kennaway
23-06-2022 08:39A great ensemble!
Iemand
22-06-2022 21:59The project is well-conceived and interesting. I have no doubt that it will be executed to a high artistic standard.
Een donateur
22-06-2022 18:27Kreeg verzoek van een vriendin