Ketil Bjornstad, David Darling - Epigraphs (1998)

Ketil Bjornstad, David Darling - Epigraphs (1998)

jazz | 1cd | eac-flac-cue-log-cover | 215MB

ECM

Allmusic:
Those familiar with previous work by these two instrumentalists will find no surprises on their second duo album, which consists primarily of compositions by pianist Bjornstad, interspersed with fragments of works by composers of the European Renaissance (William Byrd, Orlando Gibbons, Guillaume Dufay, and the obscure German composer Gregor Aichinger) and a couple of David Darling compositions, one of them written for multi-tracked cello. The sixteen pieces on this disc are highly consistent in terms of mood and texture: from Bjornstad's "Epigraph No. 1" that opens the program to the Aichinger compositions "Factus Est Repente" that closes it, the feeling is one of deep calm and contemplation. To call this music "minimalist" wouldn't be entirely accurate, since there's quite a bit of harmonic movement and not much repetition, but because Bjornstad and Darling's playing is so consistently gentle and the music is so consistently quiet and pleasant, this album has a flavor that will be familiar to fans of Philip Glass and Arvo Part. Recommended.

Tracks
-01. "Epigraph, No. 1" - Ketil Bjornstad - 3:01
-02. "Upland" - Ketil Bjornstad - 4:01
-03. "Wakening" - Ketil Bjornstad - 4:07
-04. "Epigraph No. 1, Var. 1" - Ketil Bjornstad - 1:35
-05. "Pavane" - Ketil Bjornstad / William Byrd / David Darling / Gabriel Fauré - 3:34
-06. "Fantasia" - Ketil Bjornstad / David Darling / Orlando Gibbons - 1:56
-07. "Epigraph No. 1, Var. 2" - Ketil Bjornstad - 2:16
-08. "The Guest" - Ketil Bjornstad - 2:37
-09. "After Celan" - Ketil Bjornstad - 3:41
-10. "Song for TKJD" - David Darling - 1:02
-11. "Silent Dream" - David Darling - 4:38
-12. "The Lake" - Ketil Bjornstad - 4:09
-13. "Gothic" - Ketil Bjornstad - 4:05
-14. "Epigraph No. 1, Var. 3" - Ketil Bjornstad - 1:22
-15. "Le Jour S'endort" - Ketil Bjornstad / David Darling / Guillaume Dufay - 3:41
-16. "Factus Est Repente" - Gregor Aichinger / Ketil Bjornstad / David Darling - 4:54

Personnel
* Ketil Bjørnstad - piano
* David Darling - cello

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