CD by Monika Stadler
£14.99, Extraplatte
label.
Review by Hawthorn
This is Monika Stadler’s most recent CD. Her music has been a recent discovery for me and it's been a revelation! Monika plays the concert harp, but this is the harp as I haven’t heard it
before, with a very different sound to my previous idea of the instrument. Her
playing is confident and delicate, with Jazz influences. Her connection to
nature shines through in the music, as illustrated by the track titles. Many
are related to water - “flowing” and “reflections on water”, for example;
others reflect the seasons as in “snow falls silently on my imaginary garden”
and "last days of summer”.
The CD consists of 16 tracks, all composed
and arranged by Monika. They vary in length, from just over a minute to a
little less than five, none being very long. On nine of the tracks she plays
unaccompanied, on others she is joined by other musicians playing a range of
instruments including the violin, guitar, cymbals, Indian mandal, bamboo bells,
and drum. She sings on two, a high, floating, unique voice.
The music is reflective and exploratory,
confidently taking its time. It reminded me of the work of the Japanese
composer, Takemitsu. It is also beautiful and emotional.
One of my favourite tracks is “Wassertropfen”
(or “drops of water”), on which Monika is joined by Harald Petersdorfer on
guitar and synthesiser – the sound here is layered and hypnotic. Another that I
particularly like is “Garden, Japanese style”, where Monika plays on her own –
this really stretches my idea of what a harp can do. At times, Monika seems to
be plucking individual strings, producing single pure notes at a time – a very
different effect to the usual more pretty sounds that I associate with the
harp.
I’ve very much enjoyed this CD and heartily
recommend it.
Further info: www.harp.at
Available from Amazon.co.uk
