Concept, regie and animation: Wim Trompert
Presentation, reconstruction: Camerata Trajectina
Musical dramaturgie: Arjen Verhage
Text coaching: Nico van der Meel
Recording: Laurens Beijer & Jakko van der Heijden
Edit: Laurens Beijer
Business controler: Ineke Smits
Production Camerata Trajectina:
Sonja Heimans
Camerata Trajectina
Vocalists
Tineke Rosenboom: Geesken & Jenneken ter Borch
David van Laar: Sijbrandt Schellinger
Berend Eijkhout: Moses ter Borch, Henrik Jordis & Joost Roldanus
Instrumentalists
Saskia Coolen: flutes, viola da gamba, bagpipes
Cassandra Luckhardt: viola da gamba
Constance Allanic: harp, viola da gamba, dulcimer
Arjen Verhage: lute, guitar, citer
Laurens Beijer: percussion
David van Laar: regal
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Serene paintings / lively watercolours
Geesken is the brainchild of Wim Trompert. To get as close to Geesken and her family as he could, he studied her albums and other art. He immersed himself in seventeenth-century Zwolle, and listened to the music that may have been heard in the Ter Borch home.
Not only did these sources unlock history, but they inspired him to make this animation. Gerard II's serene paintings and Gesina's lively watercolours are Geesken's visual basis. And although Trompert freely manipulates the situations and people depicted, the visual language of these works of art is retained wherever possible in his animations. Digital techniques that might disrupt the illusion of the original material are therefore left unused. Making Geesken took about three years.
Still from Geesken
All derived from Gesina's albums
All texts in this animation are derived from Geesken ter Borch's albums. They were taken from songs in her album Liedboeck (Book of Songs), from the poems contributed by friends, and from her mournful works on Moses's death.
Bravura and Tragedy
Geesken is a musical animation in five acts, bringing the Ter Borch family of painters to life. At first sight, it seems all play: the family members paint each other's portraits lovingly, in ever changing attire. But Gesina ter Borch's watercolours show that behind this cheerful facade hides a world of profound emotions - a world ruled by unrealized dreams, heartache and the fear of death. Geesken shows the artist Gesina ter Borch with all her artistic bravura as well as her vulnerability, her doubts and her tragedy.
The music was chosen from the melodies (or their reconstructions) of the songs mentioned, supplemented with work by composers contemporary with Geesken. This was done by Camera Trajectina, the Utrecht-based ensemble specialized in early music. Led by lutenist Arjan Verhage, all ensemble members contributed to the musical reconstructions used, making arrangements and combining individual pieces into the animation's musical foundation.
Festival of Early Music Utrecht 2025
&
At home with the Ter Borchs 2025