In pain, I breathe easier.
The sacred child,
is running from the house,
screaming.
I hear the gentleness.
Under nine layers of illusion,
Whatever the light,
on the face of any object,
I see your face.

Quatrain 1131 from "Poetry by Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi"(Soefi, 1207-1273),
a lover of God who illuminates all times with divine poetry.
Ghazal number 1472, translated March 17. 1991 from Rumi : Fountain of Fire,
a celebration of life and love, 75 poems translated from the original 13th
Century Persian by Nader Khalili, renowned writer, architect, artist, and teacher.

Ann Vancoillie graduated from the 'Royal Conservatory of Music' in Brussels and Ghent and later from the 'Mozarteum' in Salzburg under the tutelage of Prof. S. Végh. She was concertmaster of the 'World Youth Orchestra', the 'New Flemish Symphony Orchestra' and she has been a soloist of the first violins at the Flemish Opera, Antwerp-Gent since 1991. Ann is a regular guest of different ensembles such as 'Les Musiciens du Louvre' and 'Champs d' Action'. She plays a Paul Kaul violin, 'le Gounod' and a Vuillaume-Maline bow. The bow was a gift of the 'Belgian Foundation Vocation' in 1988.
In addition to classical music, she is a passionate improviser. Together with Jan Marmenout she performs in the duo 'Ethnic-Classic'. In her improvisations, she uses the modern violin, her voice, the e-violin and ethnic instruments such as Sarangi from India (originally an instrument to accompany the voice, played by the lower cast and since the 1960's considered a solo instrument by the virtuosos playing of Ram Narayan), Valiha from Madagascar (an old string instrument originally played to evoke ancient spirits) and Hectara from Bangladesh (a one stringed instrument).

Guido Martens studied Philosophy at the State University in Ghent. He plays a set of 40 Himalayan singing bowls, which he collected over the course of many years. They are very carefully chosen for their particular sound and are grouped together as one single instrument. The intervals of the bowls, their timbre and the specific sound combinations determine the constellation of his instrument. Guido likes to experiment with these singing bowls to find magic sounds by modifying them in the concept of the single open instrument: stressing the importance of the organic process of growth and change. Himalayan bowls come from the Bhuddist monasteries in the Himalaya. They are made of an alloy of precious metals in all kinds of sizes and shapes. They are played by striking them with a stick or bowing them on the brim. The bowls produce a rich variety of overtones, resonances and sometimes microtonal sounds. The music confronts us with endless listening which leads one into silence. On the tapestry of perpetual sound a melos is improvised played on strings such as violin, hectara and valiha.

Improvisation is the creation or the final form of a musical work, as it is being performed. It may involve the work’s immediate composition by its performers, or the elaboration or adjustment of an existing framework, or anything in between. It is the musical expression of a moment. Improvisation is instant composing: music originates out of the moment, fantasy becomes fact. The moment is a point in time, a space. Two musicians and a recording engineer communicate with sound. They have a intuitive knowledge of music, craftsmanship, experience and artistic ability to sense what is there and what is not. The titles of the improvisations correspond with the verses of Quatrain 1131 of the 13th century Sufi poet Rumi. The poem is an expression of divine simplicity, a metaphor of the Omni-creative-presence ‘listening’.

1. In pain, I breathe easier. 7:18
2. The sacred child, 3:37
3. is running from the house, 3:12
4. screaming. 3:40
5. I hear the gentleness. 10:12
6. Under nine layers of illusion, 7:34
7. Whatever the light, 9:06
8. on the face of any object, 8:45
9. I see your face. 6:34
Total time 60:12

Ann Vancoillie : violin, valiha, hectara, voice.
Guido Martens : Himalayan bowls

Composed and performed by Ann Vancoillie and Guido Martens.
All tracks were recorded live on location without dubs.
Tracks 1-7 recorded May 1999 in the chappel of the Centrum voor Jonge Kunst, Ghent.
Track 8 recorded October 1999 in the rehearsal room of the Opera House in Ghent.
Mixed and mastered by Ivan Candaele at the Highgate Studio.
Photography by Benn Deceuninck.
Cover painting by Arne Deforce.