"Eternity And A Day" [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack] (ECM Records, 1999)

Artist: Eleni Karaindrou
Album: "Eternity And A Day" [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]
Release Date: 1 October 1999
Label: ECM Records
Genre: Soundtrack, Classical, Chamber-Jazz, Instrumental
Mood: Elegant, Sophisticated, Passionate, Spiritual
Reminds Of: George Russell, Henry Mancini, Don Ellis, Jan Garbarek
Definitely Worth Buying: Amazon

Tracklist
1. Hearing The Time
2. By The Sea
3. Eternity Theme
4. Parting A
5. Depart And Eternity Theme
6. Borders
7. Wedding Dance
8. Parting B
9. To A Dead Friend
10. Eternity Theme Variation I
11. Depart And Eternity Theme Variation I
12. Bus (Pt. 1)
13. Depart And Eternity Theme Variation II
14. Bus (Pt. 2)
15. Trio And Eternity Theme
16. The Poet
17. Depart And Eternity Theme Variation III
18. Depart

Film composer Eleni Karaindou was born in the Greek mountain village of Teichio and raised in Athens, going on to study piano and music theory at the Hellenikon Odion. Relocating to Paris in 1969, she studied ethnomusicology for five years before returning to Greece to found the Laboratory for Traditional Instruments at the ORA Cultural Centre. Karaindrou's most successful collaboration was with filmmaker Theo Angelopoulos, with whom she first teamed in 1982, going on to score features including 1991's The Suspended Step of the Stork, 1995's Ulysses' Gaze and 1998's Palme d'Or-winning Eternity and a Day. Although primarily aligned with the Greek film industry, Karaindrou also worked with noted European directors including Jules Dassin and the great Chris Marker.

Eternity and a Day is about an elderly writer, Bruno Ganz, who discovers he has only a short time to live and must decide what to do with his remaining time on earth. The album is both shorter and considerably more varied than its predecessor. Again the music is scored for string orchestra and soloists, this time oboe, bassoon, French horn, mandolin, accordion, piano and two clarinets. Over the course of 18 tracks Karaindrou weaves a series of melodies around a central "Eternity" theme, cues ranging from the eloquent piano solo (played by the composer) "By the Sea" to a traditional wedding dance, various ensemble pieces, a touching elegy for string orchestra and clarinet, "To a Dead Friend" to finally a wind trio against strings for the moving finale, "Depart". More varied and thus more accessible, it is perhaps the better choice for the newcomer to Karaindrou's music.

(source: AllMusicGuide)

“As you are writing…The ink grows less…The sea increases…”

Pierre Bensusan "Intuite" (Favored Nations, 2001)

Artist: Pierre Bensusan
Album: "Intuite"
Release Date: February 11, 2001
Label: Favored Nations
Genre: Chamber-Jazz, Instrumental, World-Fusion, Neo-Classical
Mood: Reflective, Sweet, Warm, Refined
Reminds Of: Al Di Meola, Pat Metheny
What People Think: BridgeGuitarReviews
Definitely Worth Buying: Amazon, CdUniverse

Tracklist
1. Kadourimbou
2. The Welsh Arrow
3. So Long Michael
4. Intuite
5. Bouree Voltige
6. Le Jardin d' Adonis
7. La Hora Espanola
8. L' Alchimiste
9. Agadiramadan
10. En Route From Scarborough
11. Silent Passenger

For his first all-solo, all-instrumental, all-acoustic album, French fingerstyle guitar virtuoso Pierre Bensusan found himself signed to Favored Nations, a label owned by rock & roll stunt guitarist Steve Vai. It may not be an obvious pairing, but Vai has long been a fan of Bensusan's elegant and pancultural approach to the guitar, and with Intuite he offers Bensusan a warm, resonant ambience in which to stretch out. As you might expect, the compositions refer to any number of guitar traditions -- "Kadourimdou" nods to the blues before veering off into samba rhythms and a wholly unique combination of folk and jazz inflections; "En Route From Scarborough" (dedicated to fellow fingerstyle guitar hero John Renbourn) inverts the melody to "Scarborough Fair" and explores a whole new world of variations on that familiar theme; the sweet and melancholy "So Long Michael" (dedicated to the late Michael Hedges) comes from no single tradition in particular, but is a gentle soul cry inspired by the untimely death of a genius. Like most of Bensusan's work, this album can function as background music, but it would be a shame not to pay attention to the wit of his ideas and the grace of his playing.

(source:AllMusicGuide)

"Pierre Bensusan is the most creative energy in the world of steel string guitar by far." William Piburn (Fingerstyle Guitar Magazine-USA)

"Intuite stands as the finest, most artistic and passionate example of anything composed and recorded on the instrument. I am amazed at every phrase, every turn, every nuance. But then again, consider the source! I couldn't mean that more..." John Schroeter/Fingerstyle Guitar Mag. (USA)

Distinctions: AFIM Award for Best Acoustic Instrumental Album (USA) - Guitar Album of the Year ROOTS (UK) - Album of the Week JOURNAL DE MONTREAL (Canada) - Best Albums GUITARIST MAGAZINE (UK) - Ein wahres Juwel OWL AM SONNTAG (Germany) - Bravo!!! TRAD MAG (France)

Abstract fingerprints under the brushes of Claude Monet...

Clogs "Lullaby For Sue" (Brassland, 2003)

Artist: Clogs
Album: "Lullaby For Sue"
Release Date: September 12, 2003
Label: Brassland
Genre: Neo-Classical, Chamber-Jazz, Instrumental, World-Fusion
Mood: Sophisticated, Organic, Elegant, Eccentric
Reminds Of: Esmerine, Dirty Three, The Kronos Quartet
What People Think: AcousticGuitarCentral, SFGate, ClogsMusic
Definitely Worth Buying: Amazon, CdUniverse

Tracklist
1. No.6
2. Who's Down Now
3. Turtle Soup
4. Scratched By The Briar Patch
5. No.4
6. Swarms
7. No.1
8. Gentler We
9. Lullaby For Sue
10. No.3
11. Limp Waltz

This Australian/US band's second full-length album shows that there are more varied ways around instrumental classical post-rock (or whatever the term is to be in future) than are dreamt of by the likes of Godspeed You Black Emperor. Admittedly there's a moment or two where random sampled voices cut across the arrangements, but if the Australian-accented folks are meant to be some sort of critical focus, it's not apparent. Instead of obsessive structured sound, Clogs, led by violist Padma Newsome, embraces subtlety, variety and sometimes elusive melodies. Without seeming completely like an improvised effort, Lullaby for Sue sounds very much like it could have been created on the spot; the four main players freely able to allow for space and silence as much as adding their own particular parts. When there's an increase in energy, as the low-key growl of "Who's Down Now" shows at its start and end both, Bryce Dessner's guitar sounds almost like a strange signal; it's often contrasted with equally calmer moments. "Swarms" is probably where the band gets its most intense, building up to a tightly wound high point before settling down again, but Dessner's guitar is acoustic and the general feeling is dramatic but not epic. The fact that the quartet can effortlessly work with inspirations from all over the place -- "Turtle Soup" has hints of gamelan and other non-Western music -- is a further plus given how many other acts stick firmly in a European tradition. Rachel Elliott's bassoon and recorder efforts, most notably her work on the former, add both a mournful air and sometimes a bit of gentle playfulness, as can be heard on "No. 1" particularly well, while Newsome's one vocal turn on "Gentler We" is an enjoyable, unexpected surprise.

(source: AllMusicGuide)

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