Description
Marais Project (The) and Duo Langborn/Wendel – Nordic Moods and Baroque Echoes
CD review by Tony Smith – TN2562-91 – $25
TN163 Jun 24
The Marais Project was formed originally to play the viol works of Marin Marais.
Anyone unfamiliar with the work of French genius Marais has only to hear Jordi Savall playing the tunes from ‘All the Mornings of the World’ to appreciate Marais’ significance.
Jenny Eriksson has been the mainstay of the Marais Project, which she formed in 2000.
She is accomplished at viola da gamba.
Gambas are held in the knees and have no spike.
They have moveable gut frets on the six strings and the instrument is ‘underbowed’ unlike a cello which is overbowed showing the knuckles.
Jenny has also introduced electric gamba and most importantly, has engaged in many collaborations, particularly with Scandinavian musicians, and has encouraged emerging artists such as Susie Bishop.
Susie emerged from the folk tradition with an impeccable pedigree as her father, mother and sister are well known performers of music and dance.
She then went on to gain formal qualifications and to utilise her beautiful voice and skill on the fiddle, and to broaden her repertoire to include many styles and epochs of music.
For this 2024 album, Jenny is joined by long time collaborator, plucked strings maestro, Tommie Andersson, on guitar and theorbo, Susie Bishop on voice and violin, and Swedish duo Catalina Langborn on baroque violin and Olof Wendel on cimbalom, which resembles a dulcimer, and is either hammered or plucked with thumb and finger picks.
The 15 tracks include traditional Swedish pieces – ‘Death of the Beloved’, ‘The Flowers of Joy’ and ‘The Crystal So Fine’.
There are originals, ‘Anna’ and ‘Marais Echoes and Nordic Moods’ by Eriksson and ‘A Leaf Falls’ by Wendel.
Marais of course has a presence with ‘Instrumental Music from Alcione’ – minuet, prelude and gigue.
Other composers represented are Marc Antonie Charpentier: ‘Without Fear’, Esbjorn Svensson: ‘Thoughts of a Septuagearian’ and Johan Helmich Roman: ‘Sonate in G minor for violin and continuo’ which includes largo, allegro, intermezzo and allegro ma non presto.
Members of the ensemble share the arrangements.
From the opening track ‘Death of the Beloved’ led by Susie’s voice, the album has the listener hooked.
While the English titles of songs are provided here, the language is truly international.
But the lyrics remain in the folk idiom, down to earth and genuinely felt.
The sleeve notes are attractively presented, comprehensive and bilingual.
The album arose from the sold out tour of Australia.
The ensemble also gave a performance at the Australian embassy in Stockholm.
The Marais Project has now secured richly deserved international appeal.
Nordic Moods & Baroque Echoes
‘The land of the northern lights meets the land of summer sun!’
A new album from The Marais Project and Sweden’s Duo Langborn/Wendel
Nordic Moods & Baroque Echoes continues The Marais Project’s decades’ long commitment to exploring new repertoire and dissolving artistic and geographical boundaries. It documents the group’s musical partnership with Swedish ensemble, Duo Langborn/Wendel, developed during 2023 tours of Australia and Sweden.
Recorded at Atlantis Studios, Stockholm, (ABBA’s favourite studio), the album explores the collaboration’s rare instrumentation: voice/violin; baroque and modern violin, viola da gamba, cimbalom, and lute/guitar. The range of available tone colours is truly unique. This is believed to be the first Australian recording featuring the viola da gamba, lute, and cimbalom – the concert cimbalom is similar to hammer dulcimer but with damping pedals like a piano – and the first to include an album booklet in both Swedish and English.
The track list features moving arrangements of two of Sweden’s most famous folk songs – one of which was taken up as the tune for the Swedish national anthem – an orchestral suite by Marin Marais, new works by Eriksson and Wendel, Tommie Andersson’s arrangement of a Pavane by Swedish jazz greats, e.s.t., as well as a violin sonata by the Baroque era ‘Father of Swedish Music’, Johan Helmich Roman.
From the start of their long distance ‘north-south’ relationship the musicians decided to focus on three areas: baroque music, traditional songs from both Australia and Sweden, and originals by group members. This approach drew on the diverse musical skills and backgrounds of group members. As well as leading some of the finest Swedish early music ensembles, violinist Catalina Langborn, studied and plays Swedish folk music, as does Swedish/Australian lutenist, Tommie Andersson. Violinist and singer, Susie Bishop, has a long folk music history alongside her training as an opera singer. Gamba player Jenny Eriksson has explored traditional music on the acoustic viol as well as with her electric viola da gamba band, Elysian Fields. Percussionist and cimbalom virtuoso, Olof Wendel, has a diverse background that spans from orchestral music to jazz, contemporary classical music, and opera. In fact, all five members of the collaboration are composers and/or arrangers – something that is still something of a rarity in the classical music world.
