Search - Gheorghe Zamfir & Marcel :: Improvisations Pour Flut1

Sensational

Teemacs | Switzerland | 10/13/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Swiss musicologist and organist Marcel Cellier "discovered" pan-pipe virtuoso Gheorghe Zamfir on a trip to Romania and wanted to record with him. This recording is the result of the unlikely, yet extremely effective, union of two very different pipe instruments, one very ancient, the other relatively modern. I believe that the music had its first outing when one of the slow numbers was used in Peter Weir's classic Australian film "Picnic at Hanging Rock".



The attractiveness of the record is the sheer virtuosity of Zamfir, which is breathtaking (literally and metaphorically). How anyone can conjure up such emotional expression by simply blowing across lengths of bamboo is beyond me. The rapid runs of notes are also amazing - all clean, no slurring of one pipe into another.



The material is largely Romanian folk music, and like much traditional music, it is not particularly profound and it can be repetitive. However, provided you're not going to play it every night, it's well worth having."

An old favourite

J. MOLDOVAN | 02/07/2008

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I am buying this CD as part of my campaign to finally update my old vinyl collection. I have had the record for eons and it has always been one of my favourites.



If you like Zamfir's style of music, (and in my biased opinion you have to be odd not to), this is a must-have. The organ and pipe complement each other superbly and the collection has everything from foot tapping Banat tunes to plaintive shepherd's songs.



When I listen to music I do it seriously and with concentration so it's interesting that this collection is virtually the only music I can stand as a background mood setter.



PS: I just noticed that I have inadvertently given this two stars instead of five and I can't edit the rating. A bit tragic really. It's worth every star I can give it."