2019 - Germany / USA
Modern Classical, Chamber Music, Post-Minimalism
The National’s Bryce Dessner, Moses Sumney and… the German string ensemble Ensemble Resonanz sounds like a strange association doesn’t it ? What kind of classical music could these three entities possibly make, knowing how different their relationship to music is in the first place ?
Released out of the blue, Tenebre opens the door of a brilliant post-minimalist collaboration where every music piece is a powerful installment taking its time. The first song, Aheym, probably is the darkest one, and the most interesting one too. The ensemble uses the tense feeling that can only come from string instruments to create textures floating in your ears in a threatening atmosphere. Just like the artwork underlines it, this music world feels like looking at the handle of the door with a huge lock on it. You’re tempted to look through it but at the same time you don’t know if doing so won’t put you in a vulnerable situation.
From these Yiddish influences, the band moves forward with the title track, Tenebre, featuring Moses Sumney. The melody still is delicate, maybe a little more soothing than before, and when Sumney’s voice enters the song, its unique eeriness takes you to another world. Through these four compositions, Ensemble Resonanz and Bryce Dessner carefully place rare rays of light to guide us through the darkness, so we become enough aware of where we’re heading to, while still needing to move very slowly not be surprised by what’s hiding in front of us.
Tenebre is a wonderful modern classical album that was created thanks to an eventful collaboration, and it only gives us hope that more of these kind of collaborations (more popular artists with classical ensembles) will happen in the future.
Released out of the blue, Tenebre opens the door of a brilliant post-minimalist collaboration where every music piece is a powerful installment taking its time. The first song, Aheym, probably is the darkest one, and the most interesting one too. The ensemble uses the tense feeling that can only come from string instruments to create textures floating in your ears in a threatening atmosphere. Just like the artwork underlines it, this music world feels like looking at the handle of the door with a huge lock on it. You’re tempted to look through it but at the same time you don’t know if doing so won’t put you in a vulnerable situation.
From these Yiddish influences, the band moves forward with the title track, Tenebre, featuring Moses Sumney. The melody still is delicate, maybe a little more soothing than before, and when Sumney’s voice enters the song, its unique eeriness takes you to another world. Through these four compositions, Ensemble Resonanz and Bryce Dessner carefully place rare rays of light to guide us through the darkness, so we become enough aware of where we’re heading to, while still needing to move very slowly not be surprised by what’s hiding in front of us.
Tenebre is a wonderful modern classical album that was created thanks to an eventful collaboration, and it only gives us hope that more of these kind of collaborations (more popular artists with classical ensembles) will happen in the future.