CYMIN SAMAWATIE / KETAN BHATTI - Trickster Orchestra
ECM 355 0243
Rabih Lahoud, Sveta Kundish (vocals); Cymin Samawatie (vocals, conductor); Mohamad Fityan (nay, kawala); Susanne Fröhlich (recorders, Paetzold recorder); Tilmann Dehnhard (flute, contrabass flute); Mona Matbou-Riahi (clarinet); Wu Wei (sheng); Milian Vogel (bass clarinet, electronics); Florian Juncker (trombone); Naoko Kikuchi (koto); Bassem Alkhouri (kanun); Mahan Mirarab (guitar, oud); Niko Meinhold (piano); Sabina Ma, Taiko Saito (marimba, vibraphone); Joss Turnball (percussion, electronics); Ketan Bhatti (drums); Biliana Voutchkova (violin); Martin Stegner (viola); Anil Eraslan (violincello); Ralf Schwarz (double bass); Korhan Erel (electronics)
Recorded January 2019
This latest release from Cymin Samawatie and Ketan Bhatti, known to followers of ECM from their highly personal recordings under the group name Cyminology, should not be seen as a continuation of the work of the small group but as a new and separate project. With the larger ensemble, Samawatie and Bhatti draw on multiple disciplines and their own musical experiences to provide a unique and fascinating sonic palette that extends far beyond anything that they have previously collaborated on.
The Trickster Orchestra has been in existance since 2013, another collaborative effort from the vocalist and drummer that has evolved from part of the education programme of the Berlin Philharmonic to a permanent ensemble that the pair have used to introduce their more experimental compositions, which can now stand proudly on their own merits in this fascinating recording.
Drawing on influences as diverse as contemporary classical music and traditional verses, spanning psalms to texts by Sufi poets Rumi and Hafiz and performing lyrics in Farsi , Hebrew, Turkish and Arabic, the ensemble is no less eclectic in its choice of instrumentation, and this brings with it another set of problems for the composer and orchestrator in dealing with differences in pitch and musical notation; and combining Western instruments with traditional and ancient instruments such as the koto, ney, and Susanne Fröhlich's command of the recorder family.
Quite how Bhatti and Samawatie have brought this diverse transcultural ensemble together, and written for it so cohesively is no mean feat, and an aural delight. Sounds and textures that dominate the senses on one hearing will often fade upon subsequent listening to reveal new nuances, such is the range of sounds elicited from the Orchestra. This is no more evident that on the superb 'Kords Kontinuum', composed by Bhatti, that seems to sum up everything that the orchestra has to offer in a most satisfying performance.
Overall, what makes the arrangements so arresting throughout is the way in which the ensemble is often broken down into smaller units that continually change and move within the music from percussion ensemble, interjections and short passages for vibraphone and marimbas, and the commentary from Milian Vperfectly captured in Vogel's bass clarinet and the trombone of Florian Juncker.
Samawatie's vocals are beautifully enveloped by the string quartet in another skilfully scored ensemble-within-an-ensemble on the opening 'Shir hamalot'; and the trio of voices of Rabih Lahoud, Sveta Kundish and Cymin are simply divine on 'Gebete' featuring the text of Rumi Ghazal. The album come to a close with the equally satisfying 'Por se ssedaa' featuring Samawatie in another of her compositions that, like the others that came before, is considerably more than the sum of its parts.
Reviewed by Nick Lea
ECM 355 0243
Rabih Lahoud, Sveta Kundish (vocals); Cymin Samawatie (vocals, conductor); Mohamad Fityan (nay, kawala); Susanne Fröhlich (recorders, Paetzold recorder); Tilmann Dehnhard (flute, contrabass flute); Mona Matbou-Riahi (clarinet); Wu Wei (sheng); Milian Vogel (bass clarinet, electronics); Florian Juncker (trombone); Naoko Kikuchi (koto); Bassem Alkhouri (kanun); Mahan Mirarab (guitar, oud); Niko Meinhold (piano); Sabina Ma, Taiko Saito (marimba, vibraphone); Joss Turnball (percussion, electronics); Ketan Bhatti (drums); Biliana Voutchkova (violin); Martin Stegner (viola); Anil Eraslan (violincello); Ralf Schwarz (double bass); Korhan Erel (electronics)
Recorded January 2019
This latest release from Cymin Samawatie and Ketan Bhatti, known to followers of ECM from their highly personal recordings under the group name Cyminology, should not be seen as a continuation of the work of the small group but as a new and separate project. With the larger ensemble, Samawatie and Bhatti draw on multiple disciplines and their own musical experiences to provide a unique and fascinating sonic palette that extends far beyond anything that they have previously collaborated on.
The Trickster Orchestra has been in existance since 2013, another collaborative effort from the vocalist and drummer that has evolved from part of the education programme of the Berlin Philharmonic to a permanent ensemble that the pair have used to introduce their more experimental compositions, which can now stand proudly on their own merits in this fascinating recording.
Drawing on influences as diverse as contemporary classical music and traditional verses, spanning psalms to texts by Sufi poets Rumi and Hafiz and performing lyrics in Farsi , Hebrew, Turkish and Arabic, the ensemble is no less eclectic in its choice of instrumentation, and this brings with it another set of problems for the composer and orchestrator in dealing with differences in pitch and musical notation; and combining Western instruments with traditional and ancient instruments such as the koto, ney, and Susanne Fröhlich's command of the recorder family.
Quite how Bhatti and Samawatie have brought this diverse transcultural ensemble together, and written for it so cohesively is no mean feat, and an aural delight. Sounds and textures that dominate the senses on one hearing will often fade upon subsequent listening to reveal new nuances, such is the range of sounds elicited from the Orchestra. This is no more evident that on the superb 'Kords Kontinuum', composed by Bhatti, that seems to sum up everything that the orchestra has to offer in a most satisfying performance.
Overall, what makes the arrangements so arresting throughout is the way in which the ensemble is often broken down into smaller units that continually change and move within the music from percussion ensemble, interjections and short passages for vibraphone and marimbas, and the commentary from Milian Vperfectly captured in Vogel's bass clarinet and the trombone of Florian Juncker.
Samawatie's vocals are beautifully enveloped by the string quartet in another skilfully scored ensemble-within-an-ensemble on the opening 'Shir hamalot'; and the trio of voices of Rabih Lahoud, Sveta Kundish and Cymin are simply divine on 'Gebete' featuring the text of Rumi Ghazal. The album come to a close with the equally satisfying 'Por se ssedaa' featuring Samawatie in another of her compositions that, like the others that came before, is considerably more than the sum of its parts.
Reviewed by Nick Lea
