zeitkratzer: volksmusik
zeitkratzer

Recorded live at the Donaufestival Krems, Austria on April 29, 2007, volksmusik (the “people's music”) finds its inspiration in folk recordings from countries bordering the Danube and the Alpine regions of Germany, Austria, Switzerland, etc., and as such is conspicuously different from other zeitkratzer releases. The eleven pieces aren't traditionals re-imagined by the Berlin ensemble but compositions by pianist and artistic director Reinhold Friedl (including a few collaborations with Maurice de Martin and Burkhard Schlothauer). Anything but precious in its attitude (liner notes emphasize the group's receptivity to the “contamination” other sources bring to its music), zeitkratzer not surprisingly treats the folk tradition with audacity.

Being so grounded in folk rhythms, the material erupts with energy, something less immediately apparent when “Batuta” opens with the lurch of a funeral march and strings that seem intent on mimicking the wail of tormented souls. But soon after the tempo accelerates to breakneck proportions with horns and strings violently colliding—the band sounding more like a wild pub band than anything else. Trumpets, clarinets, and bagpipes dance through the klezmer-like “Bouchimich” and thunderous “Sirba” respectively, while “Hora” sways drunkenly as its meter oscillates between 5/4 and 7/8, the tempi never played in total synchronicity. In “Picior,” percussionist Maurice de Martin leads a lively call-and-response prior to Hayden Chisholm's sinuous bagpipe solo, and violinist Burkhard Schlothauer violently scrapes and flails his way through the swinging dance piece “Lirica.” Comparatively more sober though no less extroverted is “Mountain,” where Franz Hautzinger's trumpet brays against a string-drenched background. The group also delivers a couple of vocal pieces (“Jodler,” “Holzlerruf”) with untrammeled panache.

March 2009