American jazz trumpeter Dave Douglas tells Brian Morton how he found inspiration for his new album in Van Eyck’s Ghent Altarpiece

In 1823, while the outer panels of the great Ghent Altarpiece were being cleaned, restorers found a Latin quatrain that, translated, reads: “The painter Hubert van Eyck, greater than whom no one was found, began this work. His brother Jan, second in art, completed this difficult task at the request of Joos Vijd. He invites you by this verse to see the result on 6 May.” If you add up the Roman numerical values of the letters in the last line, you get the year, 1432. The work, more correctly known as the polyptych Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, took more than half a decade to complete and Ghent is currently preparing to celebrate the forthcoming 600th anniversary of the masterpiece.

Among the celebrations is a commissioned work by American trumpeter Dave Douglas, a figure who has largely transcended the already crumbling boundaries between jazz and contemporary composition. The altarpiece, with its 12 interior panels, has been likened to a complex multi-screen movie, to a symphony and to a mystery novel, or novel of mysteries, constantly shifting and unfolding new associations. Music and musicians play an important part in its imagery, but how did Douglas become involved?