21/03/2007

Ketil Bjornstad & David Darling - The River (1997)

«There are few collaborations in the fields of improvised and neo-classical music that have created works so richly evocative as that of the Norwegian pianist Ketil Bjornstad and the American cellist David Darling. The River, the first of these collaborations, is arguably the finest, drawing upon influences as diverse as the music of the Renaissance and twentieth-century minimalism. The results are sublime; Bjornstad's introspective piano themes are delicately counterposed by Darling's meditative cello passages which haunt the listener with their searing poignancy. This is achieved both structurally and atmospherically through the use of chord progressions and performance techniques which explore the full range of both instruments in a way which emphasizes harmonic texture over virtuosity.

More abstractly, the transcendent beauty of The River is derived from the sensitivity with which the overwhelming mood of sorrow is depicted. The musical ideas are introduced through a contemplative reserve which never once lapses into sentimentality. Bjornstad and Darling are clearly two deeply thoughtful men; in this work, they epitomize the rare talent of being able to express the profundity of grief through music. A contemporary masterpiece.» (10goldstars)

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3 comments:

alonsii said...

Gran disco!! Me lo compré cuando salió. Tengo una relación extraña con el. Desde entonces no lo he vuelto a escuchar. Te explico. Lo escuche mucho en una época en la que rompí con una novia. Tiempo después al intentar escucharlo me volvía la tristeza de esa época. Curioso.
Lei en algún sitio que las canciones son como cajitas donde depositamos nuestras emociones... De todas formas lo voy a buscar por entre la montaña de CD's que tengo por casa, es momento de enfrentarse a los viejos fantasmas,je,je!!

Ciao, mio amicci!!

Anonymous said...

Hola Radu, soy Manuel, y escribo de Chile, gran parte de tus reseñas me han parecido asertadas, y la musica que compartes es un tesoro, de chile puedo compartir cosas contigo, por ahora, quisiera pedir si tienes el enlace de este disco, que me encantaria escuchar
un abrazo
Manuel

DJ Radu said...

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