It started out as a group of teenage boys with big dreams or as Raaf Hekkema describes them, ‘‘arrogant little brats in the back row’’ who thought highly of themselves.
Nearly 40 years later Calefax are acclaimed in their home country of the Netherlands and around the world as a ‘‘classical ensemble with a pop mentality’’.
They are credited with inventing a completely new genre - the reed quintet. And it all began with their school orchestra performing an opera to mark its 100th anniversary.
Four boys in the orchestra - saxophone players Hekkema and Lucas Helsdingen, bassoonist Alban Wesly and oboist Eduard Wesly - decided to found a wind quartet and boldly asked the opera composer Willem van Manen to write a piece for them.
The composer did as asked but added a clarinet to the group to enrich the sound spectrum and the piece was debuted on November 21, 1985.
‘‘And eventually that lineup evolved into Calefax because then the other saxophonist started playing bass clarinet. That was a great invention,’’ Hekkema said.
Although the boys at that time did not realise what they were starting.
‘‘It was just friends having a good time and dreaming of something that seemed to be inconceivable. Our teachers at that time were laughing at our dreams of having a career with that lineup.’’
And it was not easy. The group did a lot of composing of their own music but then realised that maybe it was not the best way forward.
‘‘I don’t think we were great composers back then. So it was best to arrange music, and people would recognise that music. And we kept rehearsing during conservatory time, so that was very fruitful,’’ Hekkema said.
What followed was many years of hard work.
‘‘We were not so successful in the beginning. I mean, it took us many, many years of struggle, and a lot of rehearsing, and very few concerts, until we became successful. And then first in the Netherlands, of course, and then later some international success.’’
The group has mostly stayed stable. In the mid-’90s bass clarinetist Jelte Althuis and oboist Oliver Boekhoorn joined. The next change was not until 2020, when clarinetist Bart de Kater joined.
‘‘We stay interested in each other. We are individuals that evolve. Nearly all of us had children and family and moved from city to city, starting new lives. And that creates a very complex social structure in the group that is constantly evolving. And that actually keeps it interesting, I think. And if you manage to stay interesting for each other by bringing in your personal desires, thoughts, fears, anxieties, that keeps you with each other.’’
For Hekkema the quintet provided a future as a performer - a more secure one for a classical saxophonist as there were no roles for one in orchestras. The only option was teaching, something he was not keen to do until more recently.
‘‘I never felt the urge to start teaching, and it was never necessary, because I had enough to do performing.’’
While he had grown up with a father who was a jazz musician, Hekkema did not pick up an instrument until he was in his early teens.
‘‘He named all the jazz instruments that he knew. And then the shiny one with all the buttons, I thought that was cool, so I picked that one. And then only much later I found out that it’s actually, it can be, a really beautiful instrument that fits me well.’’
He admits when he got to know the symphonic instruments his first crush was on the oboe, then later the piano and then the violin but he knew he was too old to pursue those instruments.
‘‘I’m stuck with the sax, but I’m very happy with it. It’s a very versatile instrument. The only thing is that the repertoire of the saxophone, the classical saxophone, is relatively poor, so I have to create a lot on my own.’’
However, it was his mother who influenced his music direction more, he believes, as she was an ‘‘enormous’’ pop music enthusiast.
‘‘She would take me to a lot of pop concerts, festivals and the famous venue in Amsterdam called Paradiso. So I was there a lot when I was young, even before I started playing an instrument myself.’’
He moved toward classical music when he found out about notating music.
‘‘I thought there was magic in jotting down notes on paper and have people do what you’ve invented in your mind. So that had an enormous attraction to me.’’
Its structure also appealed to him as he had a ‘‘fairly muddy childhood’’ moving frequently from house to house.
‘‘I think that the fact that classical music is so organised attracted me.’’
He found like minds at high school and they all went on to study music together at the conservatory.
‘‘And then it grew from there.’’
These days there are reed quintets all over the world from Argentina to Japan and from Denmark to Australia and New Zealand, helped along by the music the group has published under the name Calefax Edition, recorded and commissioned for the combination of oboe, clarinet, saxophone, bass clarinet and bassoon.
The group has continually sought out other musicians and singers to collaborate with, such as Iranian singer Mohammad Motamedi. This year they are also performing the King’s Day Concert, which will be televised and attended by the Royal Family.
‘‘I think that we dive into the past a lot. Playing music from all centuries, from let’s say the 13th century until now. So that’s meeting with people who are no longer there. But it’s also fantastic to meet with people who are far away from our culture. And then creating something new out of that. It’s very inspirational.’’
The musicians come together in Amsterdam to rehearse and often travel throughout the Netherlands and Europe to perform. Their trip to New Zealand is a first and also an extension to their rule of only doing two weeks on the road at a time for family reasons. They are coming out for three weeks to make the trip viable.
‘‘Being on the road with a group for more than 30 years makes it very comfortable. And sometimes you crave for something that is exciting. And actually throughout the Calefax career, I’ve always done things besides that as a soloist.
‘‘I’ve always felt the urge to do things on my own. Also because being on the road with my four buddies is great, of course, but it can be a bit oppressive to be always together. Because you’re always giving in to the group’s desires. Sometimes you just feel the need for liberty to do what I want. To just have myself as the steering wheel. ’’
Hekkema has performed as a soloist with orchestras all over the world as well as performing his own concerts and recording music. In his 40-year career the technical possibilities of the saxophone had evolved ‘‘tremendously’’.
‘‘The influence on the classical saxophone was always from France, mostly. And then in the past half century, I think that Spain became important, Japan, and just in the past, let’s say 15 years, Russia. The Russian saxophone school has done a great deal.’’
He says his saxophone is ‘‘fairly old’’ at 40 years old and instruments of that type are no longer made.
‘‘So yes, it’s very special. Also, I made a lot of modifications on it. So it’s really very personalised.’’
He had the modifications made to allow him to play music that would have been challenging on a ‘‘factory-made’’ instrument.
‘‘So I invented a couple of things and had them installed on the instrument.’’
His contribution to classical saxophone has been arranging and recording Paganini Caprices for Saxophone (2006), which earned him the German Echo Klassik ‘‘Instrumentalist of the Year’’.
‘‘But I’ve left that path a bit. I think that the saxophone is an ever-evolving instrument.’’
As it is still not part of the symphonic orchestra, the saxophone’s role in classical music is still growing but is undefined.
‘‘Which in a way maybe is good. Classical music in general loses definition perhaps, and that’s also maybe good in a way, because it was perhaps a bit too defined as a white male art form.’’
Like many musicians, Hekkema loves Bach and has recorded three albums: Bach Partitas (2014), Bach Suites (2018) and Bach Solo (2023).
‘‘Personally, I love music from the beginning of the 20th century. So Debussy, Ravel, Stravinsky, well, those composers.’’
In New Zealand Calefax will be performing many of his favourites, including Bach’s Baroque harmonies, Schubert and Gershwin’s An American in Paris as well as the world premiere of a newly CMNZ-commissioned work by Rosie Langabeer, As the mountain folds itself to sleep.
Hekkema’s latest solo CD is about to be released featuring music by little known German composer Sigfrid Karg-Elert.
‘‘It just came in my mailbox, so I’m very proud.’’
TO SEE:
Calefax, CMNZ SERIES
Invercargill, September 24, 7.30pm Civic Theatre
Dunedin, September 27, 7.30pm Glenroy Auditorium
