Monday 14 January 2013

Over Sundet – Masquerade

The second album from Over Sundet pretty much picks up the baton from their debut. A four-piece (clarinets, saxes, cello and percussion), they really make Nordic chamber music that has more than a touch of the Balkan/Middle East axis about it (just listen to “Sultanens Dans” for a prime, intricate example, or to “Vægelsind”). The beauty here lies in the arrangements of the music – which is all original – with its strong interplay between the instruments, to the point that it’s often filigreed and quite delicate. It’s music to listen to and absorb, with some exceptional cello work from Lea Havelund Rasmussen underpinning everything (and she also contributes a couple of short, glorious soloes). At times inevitably veering towards classical music, they can also swing like the devil, and are starting to use their singing voices a little more, not only to fill out the sound, but with an actual song (“I Nattens Klare Måneskin”) with Siri Iversen taking a lovely, smoky lead vocal, the others backing her up. It adds more texture and variety to the sound, although they manage that perfectly well just using instruments. And they finish off in perfect style with “Flowing With Yangtze”; no evocation of China but rather a stately tune with medieval overtones.

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