Nils Bultmann - Troubadour Blue
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Nils Bultmann - Troubadour Blue
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Nils Bultmann Violist-composer Nils Bultmann brings his diverse biographical and musical interests to light in an original program that is part American folk, part contemporary puzzle. The former quality comes to brightest light in the Ten Viola Duets (2009) that start off the disc. Joined by the formidable Hank Dutt of the Kronos Quartet, Bultmann brings these self-styled "character pieces" to life with colorful panache. Individually, movements run the gamut from aggressive to whimsical, lively to haunting. Together, they form a warped tessellation of moods and signs that comes into being by way of the simply titled "Joy." This lilting, glissandi-laden opener introduces delectable attunement between the musicians, and in the music that moves them together. At moments, it sounds like the least occluded facets of George Crumb's Black Angels. Other references abound and are sure to inspire a detective's curiosity in the avid listener. The smooth hand-offs of "Buzy Body" and whirling "Crazy Chicken Dance" draw their comportment from the back porches of middle America, the playful "Babble Battle" seems to pay homage to Sergei Prokofiev's Opus 56 Sonata for Two Violins, and the programmatic "Tom & Jerry" recalls the cartoon music of Carl Stalling. Bultmann even references himself, dipping into his third-grade composition notebook for "Accordionly," a helix of light dissonances and harmonics. Lovely and luminescent, but with just the right amount of shadows, the duets are a welcoming calling card.
Improvisational prowess is spotlighted in the follow-up piece, From the Depths (2011), which puts Bultmann in company of multi-instrumentalist and composer Stephen Kent, puckered here at that most ubiquitous of aboriginal carry-alongs: the didgeridoo. In the spirit of free play, Kent delves wholeheartedly into the possibilities of this unorthodox combination and resurfaces without an essentialist lick within earshot. Over the course of four movements, he and Bultmann engage in some downright cosmic interaction, the viola having just enough grit to match the rasp of breath through hollowed bark. The second part, "A reformed movement," is an especially exciting ride that experiments with pointillism and smudging by turns. And in "The Headlands," Kent's skull-vibrating overtones waver with purpose and fidelity. All in all, an earthen experience.
Next is Lucid (2003), a partially improvised piece for solo viola that has long stood as an orientation exercise of sorts in Bultmann's live concerts. It holds the fingers to their promises of clean intonation, guiding performer and listener into a zone of harmony. It, too, flirts with folkish quality, a meditation of the plains wrought in twisted arpeggios. The Prelude of the Suite for Solo Cello (2012) closes the circle by recasting the album's opening piece, "Joy," in slightly more urgent light. Played by Parry Karp, cellist of the Pro Arte Quartet, this homage to Bach's Suite No. 1 in G Major is given a different studio treatment than what precedes it. The recording is less resonant, more intimate. Obvious deconstructions of the Bach occur in the "Courante" and the "Gig," both of which play with time in Karp's expressive playing. "Edna Baras," an entirely pizzicato movement, breaks the flow with its charm. Like feet tiptoeing through the halls after midnight, it sneaks by into the final "Allegro" for a spiraling finish. Kronos completists will certainly want to get this album for the duets, but also for the luxury of the program as a whole, for it proves the strikingly original voice of one who is as adept with a bow as he is with a pen. This is a real pleasure, from beginning to end. - Tyran Grillo Listen to more from this recording.
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