Kappeler / Zumthor: Herd

Swiss duo pianist Vera Kappeler and percussionist Peter Conradin Zumthor deliver a haunting program of eleven simple but effective mood pieces. They share a spare aesthetic which marries elements of minimalism, folk, jazz and circus music into an idiosyncratic, but by no means inaccessible, whole. While their previous outing together, Babylon-Suite (ECM, 2014), was inspired by the biblical Book of Daniel, the genesis of Herd is more mysterious still. The sleeve and liner notes hint at a narrative, but one left to the imagination to assemble. That task is made easier by a performance which possesses a cinematic quality. It is not a stretch to envisage an accompanying storyline.

For instance, the laggardly cadence of "Trabant," a slow march with intermittent pauses, as if catching breath, evokes the snaking procession shown on the cover as the populace walk for the final time to a village church about to be flooded by the construction of a dam. Similarly it is difficult not to think of an impending avalanche when listening to the chiming hymn-like piano and rattling percussion which become louder, more sustained and more random as "Diluvi" progresses.

Other tracks might conjure more oblique events. The wistful "Calanda" suggests an amalgam of a music box, a gamelan orchestra and traditional folksong, as Kappeler's spare piano abuts Zumthor's toy piano clanking. "Three Toypianos" which features the titular instruments has a madhouse feel, an explosion of cartoon alarm clocks, which intersect in staccato rhythms. Staying with the notion of time passing, the ticking noise of "Stube" underpins a plaintive melody which recalls Erik Satie. That is just a selection which in no way sums up the eclectic delights on offer.

While the individual pieces do not necessarily leap through any developmental hoops or act as showcases for virtuosic expression, that is not the point. The whole has the air of a suite, an enigmatic portrayal of something just beyond the grasp of reason. Intriguing and unsettling in equal measure.

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