For Jakob’s Mirror, composer and saxophonist Robin Verheyen (b. 1983) sought inspiration far from home, retreating to the Albers Foundation in Connecticut to reflect on the life and work of painter Jakob Smits (1855–1928). Smits, who settled in the Belgian Campine and captured its light and landscapes in a personal, timeless style, became a guide for Verheyen’s own exploration of identity, memory, and belonging.

Rather than translating Smits’ canvases literally, Verheyen immersed himself in their atmosphere, while also listening to the music of Smits’ era, including Flemish folk songs—one of which briefly surfaces in the score. Written for the Goeyvaerts String Trio and percussionist Robin Schulkowsky, the work weaves together European harmonic traditions, jazz’s rhythmic vitality, and echoes of Verheyen’s roots in the Campine.

Jakob’s Mirror is both homage and self-portrait: a meditation on landscape, light, and the enduring pull of home.