Keel Road
The Danish String Quartet, with guests
rec. 2022, The Village Recording, Copenhagen
Reviewed as a Hi-Res download
ECM New Series 2785 [51]
I find it barely credible that seven years have passed since I enthusiastically recommended the DSQ’s previous flirtation with folk stylings, the majestic Last Leaf (review). That disc and its predecessor Wood Works (Dacapo 8.226081) have remained staples in my house. Keel Road will certainly join them. To my ears at least it trumps the two previous releases: it has an internal coherence, in its way as impressive and compelling as the jaw-dropping playing, diamantine (yet abundantly natural) arrangements, and the typically atmospheric ECM/Eicher production.
The disc must not be diminished by the loaded descriptor crossover. Put in coldly mechanical terms, Keel Road is a collection of folk songs, dances, laments and legends ancient and modern, which the members of the DSQ arranged for string quartet. By now it seems obvious what the twin missions of this group are: project the gravitas of serious classical quartet repertoire with a spirit of rare generosity and plurality (as in their ‘Prism’ sequence of discs for ECM), and simultaneously amplify the dignity of folk music by transmogrifying into a fiddle combo of extraordinary grace and beauty of tone. I would fervently disagree with those who might suggest that their productions lack ‘earthiness’; what absolutely counts is their musicality and heartfelt affection for these tunes. They unfailingly bring all of them to life in dynamic, nuanced, always beautiful arrangements.
Some readers may, for example, be unfamiliar with the name of the folk song Lovely Joan, initially noted down in Norfolk in 1907, but most will recognise it. It provides the counterpoint for (and dominates the second half of) Vaughan Williams’s immortal Fantasia on Greensleeves. It is an unforgettable melody, but in the context of the Fantasia it is inevitably overshadowed by the titular tune. The DSQ’s splendid arrangement, and perfect execution, draw our undistracted attention to its singular majesty, and sprinkle it with the stardust that is its due.
This track epitomises the spirit of the DSQ’s quest to exploit and harness the DNA which connects the native songs of Norway and Denmark, via the Faroes to those of Ireland and England. In a concise introductory note, they point out the fact that all four members (three Danes and a Norwegian) lived close to the sea; its spirit and essence have evidently informed each of them as people and artists. The North Sea is obviously the channel which links all the music here.
Ireland is represented by the itinerant blind harpist Turlough O’Carolan. His plangent and rich lament Mabel Kelly opens proceedings in gravely affecting terms before seguing into Pericondine,an upbeat Danish tune. That in turn morphs into a jig named after the tiny North Sea dot we call Fair Isle, contributed by Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen, the quartet’s first violin. Stabs on a guesting piano kick off Ale Carr’s barnstorming, emotionally engaging Stormpolskan, which does exactly what it says on the tin and blows one away.
There is a stark contrast with the crackle that infiltrates a 48-second ancient cylinder recording , also from 1907, of an unnamed singer performing En Skomager Har Jeg Været [I was once a shoemaker], a raw, profoundly haunting moment which turns one’s living room sepia. It forms the basis of the colourful, partially eponymous piece by Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen which follows – this swings delightfully, not least when the wordless voices of the quartet are interpolated. Lovely Joan is next, seemingly the pivot of the album, bookended by its pizzicato raindrops.
The third quarter of the album features a trio of numbers by O’Carolan in arrangements which oscillate seamlessly between flowing and foot-tapping; in Captain O’Kane, the arrangement is fleshed out with an important role for piano. Two other tracks separate the numbers. Regin Smiður is a Faroese tune of visceral sadness, accompanied by the sound of heavy rain, which one is led to believe is unceasing in those islands. The much jollier Norwegian Kjølhalling benefits from something that approaches a heavy rock pulse at its core in cellist Fredrik Sjølin’s spiky arrangement.
The album concludes with a trio of ‘Trad’ confections. The breezy manifestation of As I Walked Out is so elegantly laid out for the instruments and the players’ atmospheric whistling that it could have been made by Percy Grainger. An uplifting album highlight comes as a seamless medley of three tunes: Marie Louise is a Danish traditional number, whilst The Chat and Gale Warning are contributions from members of the DSQ. The medley gathers considerable emotional intensity as it proceeds – it incorporates one or two tastefully applied studio effects, entirely at one with the album’s underlying concept.
To close the disc, there is a powerfully moving arrangement of Når Mitt Øye, Trett Av Møje [when mine eyes, grown tired of weeping]. This Norwegian hymn tune fades so painfully it evokes the beloved St Margaret’s Hope as it disappears into the horizon when I stand on the deck of the Pentalina, reflecting sadly upon yet another Orkney holiday which has reached its end.
Everything about Keel Road is just so: immaculate ECM production, impassioned musicianship, impeccable planning. This exceptionally lovely disc trades on the contrast between the apparent uniqueness of Northern places and the universality of the routines and specifically the music of their inhabitants.
Do not let it pass you by.
Richard Hanlon
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Track listing
- Turlough O’Carolan (1670-1738)
Mabel Kelly * - Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen (b.1983) / Traditional
Pericondine / Fair Isle Jig * - Ale Carr (b.1989)
Stormpolskan (arr. for string quartet, piano and cittern by the Danish String Quartet) - Traditional
En Skomager Har Jeg Været (field recording, 1907) - Sørensen
Once a Shoemaker - Traditional
Lovely Joan * - O’Carolan
Carolan’s Quarrel with the Landlady * - Traditional
Regin Smiður * - O’Carolan
Captain O’Kane * - Fredrik Sjølin (b.1982)
Kjølhalling - O’Carolan
Planxty Kelly * - Traditional
As I Walked Out * - Traditional / Sjölin / Sørensen
Marie Louise / The Chat / Gale Warning * - Traditional
Når Mitt Øye, Trett Av Møje *
- arranged for string quartet by the Danish String Quartet
Personnel
The Danish String Quartet: Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen (violin, harmonium, spinet, clog fiddle, voice, whistle), Frederik Øland (violin, voice, whistle), Asbjørn Nørgaard (viola, voice, whistle), Fredrik Schøyen Sjölin (cello, bass, voice, whistle)
Guests: Nikolaj Busk (piano), Ale Carr (cittern)
