Zefir Records

House of Mirrors

Douwe Eisenga

The Italian ensemble Piccolla Academia degli Specchi performs the music of Dutch composer Douwe Eisenga.  Five brand new pieces and one reworking form a great collection of music that combines repetitive grooves and lyrical lines.

Piccola Accademia degli Specchi:

Giovanni Rosati, musical leader, piano
Assunta Cavallari, piano 
Alessandra Amorino, flute
Claudia Di Pietro, sax
Giuliano Cavaliere, violin
Kyung Mi Lee, cello
Matteo Sommacal, artistic director

Watch a clip by Omroep Zeeland about the recording sessions for House of Mirrors

Watch a clip by the PZC about the cd-release

Douwe Eisenga about this new cd:

In 2008 I met Matteo Sommacal on the social networking site MySpace. Discovering that our music shared some musical DNA, he quickly replied to my add: “Thanks for the add. Fantastic music. Actually, it seems that's true we share a close musical taste. Have you ever written anything for an ensemble? It would be a great pleasure to play your music in Italy”.
That was some kind of starting point. For a few years nothing happened until the summer of 2010 when Matteo mailed me: “We were wondering if there is a piece of yours that fits our line-up. We would be honoured and glad to have a piece of yours in our repertoire”.
|We decided to do a reworking of Cloud Atlas and Daily Music. While working on those two pieces I quickly discovered that this particular combination of instruments fitted very well with my music. After a few more mails and Skype sessions we agreed to extend our collaboration…. 
In July 2011 I went to Rome to attend rehearsals for this CD. It was a wonderful experience. PADS are a beautiful bunch of people. Each one of them is a highly gifted musician, fully devoted to my music. Working with PADS is a gift.”

external links
Visit de website of Douwe Eisenga
Visit de wiki of Piccola Accademia degli Specchi

press quotes:

KLASSIEKE ZAKEN The chemistry works, the pieces of Eisenga on this cd are strong. Catching pieces that can be listened to as extended songs - such as the melancholic Passacaglia or the jumpy, exciting Kick – that, even after repeated listening, remain firmly intact. Paul Jansen

read the full review (Dutch)

OPUS KLASSIEK The music of Eisenga lies in between the repetition-techniques and use of intervals of Michael Nyman and Philip Glass, interlarded with elements of popmusic. The pieces have been written stylistically with a lot of imagination and are, as a result, both interesting and inviting. Aart van der Wal

read the full review (Dutch)

LUISTER I’ve listened with pleasure to Eisenga’s eclectic recital with influences from minimalism to medieval music. Rene Seghers

read the full review (Dutch)

PLATOMANIA Strong compositions, perfectly performed, which make you long for more. Wil Zenhorst

read the full review (Dutch)