“Vrohta endi bivunga quamon over mii, bihtekoda mii thimsternissi.” Singer Sanne Rambags sings it with visible pleasure. Smooth, as if she grew up with this foreign language. It is Old Dutch as it was spoken in the early Middle Ages. Not only does this ‘Fear and trembling came over me and darkness covered me’ sounds completely natural, it is also in a solid rock arrangement with a strong melody line that makes the language of a thousand years ago almost hit-sensitive.
For the album Miin Triuwa (my faithful) Rambags studied the language intensively with the help of linguists. Guitarist Bram Stadhouders wrote suites which he then forged into a richly orchestrated whole with percussionist Joost Lijbaart. The trio played as Under The Surface all over the world in recent years with mainly improvised music. In corona time, things changed. Perhaps we should call the impressive result jazz folk. The band members, supplemented by a bassist and multi-instrumentalist, still seem impressed by the process, the fun is just splashing.
Also read the interview with Sanne Rambags: ‘Dare to sound ugly – that’s accepting’
Mystical imitations
There is a lot of wind during the CD presentation in the Bimhuis. It does not come from the IJ, where there is a storm, but from mystical musical imitations. A violin bow runs along a rod, a multitude of beads, bells and shells rustle and jingle, Rambags’ breath whistles through the microphone. As soon as she raises her voice and lashes out, the drums also swell and Under The Surface transforms into a prog rock band.
The softer and rounder sounds, such as ‘th’, which can also be found in English, make Old Dutch less angular. Rambags seems to have found her home in it. She based herself on surviving texts such as the Wachtendonckse Psalms and the Egmondse Willeram, but while singing she completely manipulates the old language. The text about fear and trembling is continued with a rocking: “Endi ik quath wie sal gevan mii vetheron also duvon, ik vliugan sal.” Or: “And I said, Who shall give me feathers as of a dove, and I shall fly.”
Also read the interview with Jelle Stegeman about the history of the Dutch language.
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