Amorroma
Encyclopedia
Amorroma is a Belgian acoustic folk music
duo of the present with roots in traditional European folk-dance music. The group has been founded by Jowan Merckx in the year 2000. Amorroma's duo consists of Jowan Merckx [composer], recorder
, singer, bagpipes
and Sarah Ridy harp
.
Amorroma gives concerts as a duo but can also give concerts as a trio, quartet, quintet and sextet. The other members of the group are Vincent Noiret double bass
, Maarten Decomble guitar
, Elly Aerden singer and Toon van Mierlo bagpipes
, accordion
, saxophone
. All musicians have received their qualification at the academy of music. Jowan Merckx obtained his degree recorder at the Lemmensinstituut in 1996 and Sarah Ridy obtained her degree harp at the College of Music in 2003 and her degree in Baroque harp performance at the Koninklijk Conservatorium Den Haag in 2006 and her masters degree in 2009.
Before that, they have been members of the group Gwenaël Micault, Rheidun Schlesinger and Bert van Reeth. Bert van Reeth has arranged many music for Amorroma.
All melodies are composed by Jowan Merckx. In the music is the recorder
used as a main musical instrument, with makes the music of Amorroma unique. Amorroma has a programme of dancemusic with a singer too. This programme is based on poems, written by Jowan Merckx and traditional French lyrics, with music composed by Jowan Merckx.
The name Amorroma consists of the two words Amor and Roma. For the Cathars these words have a contradiction. Amorroma uses this theme for her music to show all different feelings with form part of human being. The music is suitable for dancing and to listen to. Amorroma gives concerts at festivals, schools and folk-dance balls.
, the renaissance
, the baroque
, jazz
and folk
. In the music are medieval lyrics used with some original melodies and some melodies are composed by Els van Laethem. All instrumental melodies are composed by Jowan Merckx.
with Bert van Reeth
Zefiro Torna
Traces
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
duo of the present with roots in traditional European folk-dance music. The group has been founded by Jowan Merckx in the year 2000. Amorroma's duo consists of Jowan Merckx [composer], recorder
Recorder
The recorder is a woodwind musical instrument of the family known as fipple flutes or internal duct flutes—whistle-like instruments which include the tin whistle. The recorder is end-blown and the mouth of the instrument is constricted by a wooden plug, known as a block or fipple...
, singer, bagpipes
Bagpipes
Bagpipes are a class of musical instrument, aerophones, using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. Though the Scottish Great Highland Bagpipe and Irish uilleann pipes have the greatest international visibility, bagpipes of many different types come from...
and Sarah Ridy harp
Harp
The harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
.
Amorroma gives concerts as a duo but can also give concerts as a trio, quartet, quintet and sextet. The other members of the group are Vincent Noiret double bass
Double bass
The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
, Maarten Decomble guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, Elly Aerden singer and Toon van Mierlo bagpipes
Bagpipes
Bagpipes are a class of musical instrument, aerophones, using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. Though the Scottish Great Highland Bagpipe and Irish uilleann pipes have the greatest international visibility, bagpipes of many different types come from...
, accordion
Accordion
The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
, saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
. All musicians have received their qualification at the academy of music. Jowan Merckx obtained his degree recorder at the Lemmensinstituut in 1996 and Sarah Ridy obtained her degree harp at the College of Music in 2003 and her degree in Baroque harp performance at the Koninklijk Conservatorium Den Haag in 2006 and her masters degree in 2009.
Before that, they have been members of the group Gwenaël Micault, Rheidun Schlesinger and Bert van Reeth. Bert van Reeth has arranged many music for Amorroma.
All melodies are composed by Jowan Merckx. In the music is the recorder
Recorder
The recorder is a woodwind musical instrument of the family known as fipple flutes or internal duct flutes—whistle-like instruments which include the tin whistle. The recorder is end-blown and the mouth of the instrument is constricted by a wooden plug, known as a block or fipple...
used as a main musical instrument, with makes the music of Amorroma unique. Amorroma has a programme of dancemusic with a singer too. This programme is based on poems, written by Jowan Merckx and traditional French lyrics, with music composed by Jowan Merckx.
The name Amorroma consists of the two words Amor and Roma. For the Cathars these words have a contradiction. Amorroma uses this theme for her music to show all different feelings with form part of human being. The music is suitable for dancing and to listen to. Amorroma gives concerts at festivals, schools and folk-dance balls.
Les Tisserands
Amorroma takes part in the musical program Les Tisserands with vocal-music group Zefiro Torna and jazz duo Traces. The program is related to the religion grouping Cathars of the Middle Ages. The name Les Tisserands means weavers, the occupation that they often were practising. This musical program is from the present with influences of the middle agesMiddle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, the renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
, the baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
. In the music are medieval lyrics used with some original melodies and some melodies are composed by Els van Laethem. All instrumental melodies are composed by Jowan Merckx.
musicians AmorRoma
- Jowan Merckx: recorders, whistlesWhistlesWhistles is a clothing brand with 40 stores across Britain. It was founded in the early 1980s by Lucille and Richard Lewin.In January 2008, Jane Shepherdson, former Topshop director, signed a deal to purchase a 20 per cent stake in Whistles and was appointed the job of chief executive.-Style:In the...
, French bagpipesFrench bagpipesFrench bagpipes cover a wide range and variety of styles of bagpipes and piping, from the Celtic piping and music of Brittany to the Northern Occitan's cabreta....
, bugel, percussion - Sarah Ridy: arpa doppia, triple harpTriple HarpThe triple harp, often referred to as the Welsh triple harp , is a type of harp employing three rows of strings instead of the more common single row...
- Vincent Noiret: contrabassContrabassContrabass refers to a musical instrument of very low pitch; generally those pitched one octave below instruments of the bass register...
- Maarten Decomble: guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
- Elly Aerden: singer
musicians Les Tisserands
AmorRomawith Bert van Reeth
Zefiro Torna
- Els van Laethem: singer
- Jurgen de Bruyn: luteLuteLute can refer generally to any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back, or more specifically to an instrument from the family of European lutes....
- Liam Fennelly: viola da gamba, fiddleFiddleThe term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
Traces
- Philippe Laloy: soprano saxophoneSoprano saxophoneThe soprano saxophone is a variety of the saxophone, a woodwind instrument, invented in 1840. The soprano is the third smallest member of the saxophone family, which consists of the soprillo, sopranino, soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, bass, contrabass and tubax.A transposing instrument pitched in...
- Vincent Noiret: contrabassContrabassContrabass refers to a musical instrument of very low pitch; generally those pitched one octave below instruments of the bass register...
- Rheidun Schlesinger harpHarpThe harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
Discography
- Op Voyage (2000)
- Carduelis (2003)
- Balance (2005)
- Les Tisserands (2006)
- La-bas dans ces Vallons (2010)
- Carrousel (2011)