… wonderful effect of connecting the beautiful acoustic and visual elements to lute, song and setting.
Michael Schreiner in Quarterly of the American Lute Society, Spring 2009
"La cause est amer": a gourmet program … moving, and often astonishingly virtuosic… deeply poetic.
Provinciale Zeeuwse Courant
Quadrivium: the charm of medieval simplicity … passionate music making.
Brabants Nieuwsblad
A choice from the CD [Proba me Deus] … that did impress me very much. I was no less moved by this live performance!
Joachim Lüdtke in Journal of the Deutsche Lautengesellschaft, 2009, nr.1
Willem Mook presented a beautiful concert [with tenor Harry van Berne] around Huygens with a well constructed simultaneous projection of illustrations, song texts and tablatures …
Padrig Kernoa in Le_Luth groupe, February 2009
Accompanied by the delightfully smooth soprano Paulien van der Werff and the rich readings of Peter Adema in both English and the rhyming Dutch, Willem Mook's superbly talented lute was the perfect introduction to the early Baroque era of music that is rarely heard in Zimbabwe. Hopefully this talented trio will be back!
Andy Roberts in HIFA Festival News, April 2008
Annegret Kleindopf phrased wonderfully well, while excelling in perfect dynamic variation. Willem Mook's refined luteplaying contrasted fast passages with soothing sonorities and joyous sounds.
Christina Köhler in Main-Echo, November 2007
Lutenist Willem Mook and violplayer Susanne Seitz furnished their singer Annegret Kleindopf with an admirably flexible fundament of filigree tones, chords and harmonies.
Rainer Lange in Fränkische Nachrichten, November 2007
Beautifully wrought lute solos ..., the virtuosity amazing the listeners.
Westfälische Rundschau, Juli 2007
Willem Mook clearly enjoyed presenting his nimble finger technique.
Joachim Buch in Allgäuer Zeitung, Juli 2007
Willem Mook demonstrates stunning skill as a lutenist.
James Ross in Newsletter of the Early Music Forum of Scotland, oktober 2006
The framing lute repertoire was remarkably beautiful, forming a seamless unity with the chosen poetry. Willem Mook proved himself an artist pur sang, his breathing play being subtle in sound, touch and dynamics. Technical perfection and intense musicality (…)
Devoid of any straining after effect, Peter Adema captivated the audience with his refined expression (…) excellent timing and dosing of pitch in word and phrasing.
Johan G. Koers in Heerenveense Courant, 30 oktober 2006
Master lutenist Willem Mook is not only an expert accompanist, he makes his lute sing.
Kees Huges in Haarlems Dagblad, October2001
Paulien van der Werff recites with great intensity, supported by a beautifully differentiated accompaniment by Willem Mook.
Rinus Groot in Haarlems Dagblad, September 2000
on the album 'La cause est amer' (Quadrivium)
Thanks to the thematic setup and the unique combination of medieval and contemporary music, this is a highly interesting production ...
We should be glad that [in the world of luteplaying] we have a rare opportunity to listen to some newly conceived music; the combination with the early repertoire works wonderfully well. In my opinion this is due to the used instrumentarium, which produces a colourful variety of sounds.
Jack Scholten in De Tabulatuur 98, Januari 2010
… all done with great freshness and very convincing.
When Biesemans writes, every note is there for a good musical reason. The Waka pieces … are given a richness of invention I've not heard in Japanese source music … No idea what the Japanese might make of it, but it pleased me greatly.
When Willem Mook gets a chance to show what he can do on a solo, it's delightful.
I love this record, and recommend it highly.
Meic Goodyear in Lute News 91, October 2009
Marvellous … those who love beautiful music must have this CD.
Ludwig van Mechelen in Klassiek Centraal, 15 September 2009
La cause est amer, but the result is of great delicacy and exquisite poetry …
… The Japanese pieces [of Biesemans'] are superbly instrumented
…, the structure well thought out and present all along the recording. The beautiful sequence of pieces does not hinder the contrasts. … The great range of the voice evokes the clair-obscur of the lyrics. One relishes in the beautiful sound of Willem Mook's lute, in his phrasing, his nuances, his zen-like calmness and respiration.
Pascale Boquet in Bulletin de la Société Francaise de Luth, June 2009
This is exquisite, moving music, while being surprisingly accessible at the same time.
De tabulatuur – tijdschrift van de Nederlandse Luitvereniging 85, May 2009
This programming …is certainly original. Janpieter Biesemans is strongly inspired by traditional Japanese music and this contributes to a pleasant change and variety.
Marcel Bijlo in Tijdschrift voor Oude Muziek, 2009, nr.3
… medieval love songs that reflect the emotions evoked by the preceding waka. What a wonderful idea for a programme!
Biesemans’ compositions are clearly inspired by Japanese music … and are well suited to the sound of a medieval ensemble.
David van Ooijen in Newsletter of the Lute & Early Guitar Society of Japan, April 2006
on the album 'Proba me Deus' (Huygens)
The performances are polished, often sensitive, extremely pleasant, and deliberately unspectacular.A lot of thought went into preparing, performing and explaining this program, which is an intriguing window on the early seventeenth century. ... the 68-page booklet alone, packed with information, may be worth the price of admission.Howard Posner in Lute Society of America Quarterly, September 2007
This new CD is beautifully presented with a generous CD booklet. The performances are technically very good throughout, (…) genuinely affecting songs.
Making this CD was clearly a labour of love, and well worth all the effort that went into it.
Chris Goodwin in Journal of The Lute Society 81, April 2007
This disc will ever again play itself on my CD player. It belongs on every table of gifts, also when after Christmas!
Joachim Lüdtke in Journal of the Deutsche Lautengesellschaft, December 2006, nr.4
These pearls from the Baroque era are excellently performed by three musicians, who in their authentic approach do not shy from showing their personal passion.
Henriëtte Posthuma de Boer in De Liedvriend, 2006 nr.4
In duets the voices of Harry van Berne and Jasper Schweppe color together wonderfully well. A most beautiful album; the well-balanced alternation of vocal and instrumental works render it ever captivating.
René de Cocq in Luister, September 2006
The tenor’s voice is easy, natural, the diction soft and clear, the phrasing well articulated. The lute accompaniment respects and perfectly matches the singer’s phrases; the playing is pure with a warm sonority, the gut strings being beneficial to this quality of sound…
Pascale Boquet in Bulletin de la Société Francaise de Luth, September 2006
Tenor Harry van Berne and baritone Jasper Schweppe are the ideal singers for this repertoire. With his flexible and vibrant voice Schweppe reminds of Max van Egmond in his best years. A top-CD.
Marcel Bijlo in Tijdschrift voor Oude Muziek, August 2006
I can recommend this CD and its booklet as a perfect introduction to the musical world of Constantine Huygens, beautifully sung and excellently played.
David van Ooijen in Newsletter of the Lute & Early Guitar Society of Japan, July 2006
The repertoire for solo lute tastefully introduces the subsequent songs (…) pearls on their own accord. The sound of the gut-strung lute is sublime …
Frits Sandkuijl in De tabulatuur – tijdschrift van de Nederlandse Luitvereniging 85, June 2006
newly released:
Ensemble Quadrivium:
CD "La cause est amer -
Medieval Love Poems from Japan
and the Low Countries "
CD "Proba me Deus - music by Constantine Huygens and contemporaries "
with Harry van Berne (tenor) and Jasper Schweppe (baritone)
Alle rechten voorbehouden Willem Mook 2000-2010 - All rights reserved Willem Mook 2000-2010