Kelimutu, for tenor and bass recorder, double bass, and piano, was composed in 2023 on commission from the Alba Rosa Viëtor Foundation. The work originates from a personal experience of the composer, who visited the three coloured lakes of Kelimutu in Indonesia—among them a black lake with a strong, almost fatal attraction.

The theme of death, which frequently appears in Jeths’ oeuvre, is central here as well. Kelimutu portrays a person drawn to this force and ultimately succumbing to it. The double bass represents the black lake, whose overtone-rich sound exerts an almost hypnotic pull on the protagonist, embodied by the recorder. The piano acts as an intermediary between the two, enriching the texture with chordal patterns.

Erik Bosgraaf, for whom the work was written, describes it as “a melodic and harmonic piece that, through the use of unusual scales, creates an uncanny atmosphere. It is remarkable how Jeths captures a sense of impending doom in the music.” The instrumentation is also highly unusual; as far as is known, there is no earlier work written for this particular combination of recorder, double bass, and piano.