Reviews
Oh no! Not another spinet duo! :-) I guess the basic sound is midway between a piano and a harpsichord not that you'll hear the spinet's "normal sound very often here. But there are remnants of that metallic, buzzing twang in the rustles, rubbings and plucks encountered herein. Much of the music is active and skittering, but the duo manages to exercise restraint at the same time, creating a strong sense of consciousness of the moment and surroundings, something evidenced on the occasions when they pause and allow the sounds to linger and dissipate. It's astringent and full at once, no mean feat. They go astray every so often, scratching about for a minute or two to no great effect, but by and large this is a surprisingly effective recording. Whoda thunk?
This record is the final one from the last batch Creative Sources sent me (see previous entries). Schiller and Danzeisen play the spinett – an old keyboard instrument in the same family as the harpsichord – or rather, they use the spinett as a resounding body. They scratch, pat, hit, and use various preparations on the wood and the strings – it could have been a grand piano, or even a doublebass. Two long improvisations that left me cold. Either these pieces lack development and quickly run out of ideas, or I’m really not receptive to this kind of thing this morning