Search - Ketil Bjornstad :: Ketil Bjørnstad & David Darling: The River

Meditative and intimate - a pure flow of stark Nordic melody

M. Williams | Traveller | 09/12/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Improvisatory duet for cello (Darling) and piano (Bjornstad) forms part of a water-themed ECM cycle based around Bjornstad and assorted partners. Darling and Bjornstad were reunited in the subsequent album Epigraphs, although I don't think it quite captures the magic of this effort. They are also heard in the soundtrack to Jean-Luc Godard's film "Forever Mozart".After working on the earlier album "The Sea", Bjornstad wrote about the processes that lead to "The River": "I spent the winter of 1994/5 researching and playing music of the late renaissance, paying particular attention to the clarity of William Byrd's and Orlando Gibbons's melodic invention, trying to 'translate' some of this into a modern idiom, trying to find a contemporary language for further dialogues." This album deserves to share the higher profile of other ECM artists like Jan Garbarek & the Hilliard Ensemble. See also the soundtrack music of Eleni Karaindrou (Music for Films, Ulysses Gaze,...) for other richly textured marvels in the ECM roster."

So beautiful

RG | Sydney Australia | 07/03/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is without a doubt a wonderful CD.. It takes you through a beautiful, soulful journey . I find it one of the most centering CD's I own, and one I greatly treasure. If you are a David Darling fan, this is a must have."

A deep and moving river

Sentinel | Essex | 09/09/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A scattering of crystalline piano notes, and then this is underpinned by the rich depth of cello, and the piece continues to build and explore in a slow, meditative and richly melodic vein, almost as if the mysterious depths and pace of a mature river are being revealed. Bjornstad and Darling's work throughout this entrancing disc is of a very high order indeed,including the immaculate ECM production, and there is a superb sense of a yearning sadness which pulses in waves at points throughout the piece, counterpointed by a calm acceptance and wisdom. The interplay between cello and piano is almost uncannily fused, and this richly atmospheric album is deeply haunting, and its ghost remains with you long after the final chord has sunk far into the depths. This is a superb album, and a rich and rewarding retreat from the craziness of our everyday lives. Taken regularly, this can only help nourish and repair the battered soul. What are you waiting for?"