Jazz meets chamber music

At the request of the baroque ensemble Capella Jenensis, Julie Campiche, the harpist and composer from western Switzerland, wrote music for a meeting between her quartet and the formation from the German city of Jena a good five years ago. With the release of the CD Transitions this collaboration now finds a well-deserved continuation. The aim of the eight musicians is to confront chamber music with electronic music, but also to bring together familiar elements from jazz and classical music. To this end, Campiche presents three pieces from its own pen as well as works by the Franco-Flemish Renaissance composer Jacques Arcadelt (1507-1568) and the French viola da gamba virtuoso Marin Marais (1656-1728).

The set, which deliberately blurs the boundaries between baroque music and jazz, is captivating not least because of its clever use of the available sound resources: although the musicians use instruments as diverse as the recorder, soprano saxophone, harpsichord and percussion, the result is fluid and skillful. While pieces such as the graceful Perche Al Viso - Part I or the one that relies on finely chiseled rhythms parenthesis know how to beguile primarily through a subtle togetherness, show themselves Aquarius or H-Cab curious, keen to experiment and in constant exchange between past and present. It is exciting, playful, full of nuances and always wonderfully free-spirited. As a result, the album likes to take a few turns - the sparkling is followed by quiet dissonances and the elegant by the intricate. In the process, a sonic opulence develops that is never sought after and always knows how to captivate. This is undoubtedly also thanks to the clever direction of band leader Julie Campiche.

The fact is that Transitions is tantamount to a quiet yet spectacular sound experience that only gradually reveals its many facets.

Julie Campiche Quartet & Capella Jenensis: Transitions. nWog Records nwog063