Jochen Tiberius Koch: Walden
Schole

Anyone who's read Thoreau's Walden; or, Life in the Woods would likely expect any conceivable musical treatment to be pastoral in character, acoustic in design, and perhaps minimal in presentation—which makes the version produced by German musician Jochen Tiberius Koch (b. 1983) all the more surprising. It's hardly what one would call minimal, it generously supplements its acoustic sounds with electronic ones, and it's more epic in tone than pastoral. In fact, it wouldn't be wholly inaccurate to characterize it as a prog project of some modern-day kind, though while it does have its grandiose moments it's hardly bombastic in the over-the-top manner of Rick Wakeman's Journey to the Center of the Earth, to cite one example of many recordings inspired by literary works.

None of the above argues against the recording, by the way: Walden, Koch's first full album following two self-released EPs under the Autumn Of Pækward alias, is a thoroughly engaging and accomplished piece of work, not to mention one stylistically wide-ranging. Its ten-track presentation includes spoken word passages, vocal songs, and expansive arrangements featuring the Schmalkalden Philharmonic Orchestra. For those unacquainted with Thoreau's text, Walden recounts the American author's experiences during nearly two years spent living in a forest. The book's enduring appeal stems in part from its blistering attack on ‘civilized' society and the immeasurable gains, spiritual and otherwise, that accrue from time spent communing with nature.

Koch's skills as an arranger, composer, and multi-instrumentalist are put to immediate good effect in “Solitude,” a lovely keyboards- and strings-driven overture animated by the kind of dramatic buildup Sigur Ros specializes in. Melancholy in tone, the piece works its considerable entrancement by draping arpeggiated piano and mournful strings across a pulsing base that swells insistently. The quiet euphoria of that opener is darkened by the brooding, minor-key meditation “The Bean-Field,” which overlays simple piano figures with a gravelly voiceover by Dieter Bellmann, the portentous effect of the gesture amplified by the solemnity with which the German text is enunciated. Offsetting that dark set-piece is “The Ponds,” which follows scene-setting declamations of French horns with an intimate vocal performance by Willy Son and the cascading sprinkle of Koch's piano arpeggios. Up next, “Baker Farm” features a spoken word turn by a vocoderized Manfred Kroog, who resurfaces on the sombre “Brute Neighbors” as a just-audible whisper alongside strings and field recordings of a train rattling along its tracks.

It's on purely instrumental pieces such as “Solitude,” “The Pond in Winter,” and “Higher Laws,” however, that Koch most shows what he's made of as an arranger and sound designer. He's not entirely alone, of course, in such instances as the orchestra is often called upon to bolster the material's heft and gravitas. Though it might not necessarily be how the album came into being, it's tempting to visualize Koch animatedly directing the musicians as they perform these dramatic pieces, with the composer playing alongside them on piano.

September 2018