Out of the Tyrolean Conservatory in Innsbruck, we have The Knoedel ensemble – a nine-piece group who all play acoustic instruments. The concept of leader Christof Dienz – sometime before 2000 – was to bring folk music to the world, but played in a very contemporary fashion. All his recruits had a background in folk, and seemed ideally suited to realising this vision. After a spree of international concerts, the group broke up, only to re-emerge 17 years later with a small change of name, to perform film score and theatre commissions and realise an album for this Austrian label col legno.
They’re here today with Wunderrad (col legno WWE 20461), a suite in 12 parts which seems to have been inspired by the life and work of Simon Stampfer, a historical mathematician, who invented the stroboscopic disk (and thus established a principle which fed into the use of stop-motion cinema). Through their lively and accessible chamber music, The Knoedel hope to convey a sense of wonder in the face of scientific achievements – which takes us up into space in a rocket ship and sends us back to earth in the middle of a desert. The players – on guitar, harp, strings, woodwinds, brass and percussion – are incredibly nimble and light-fingered, performing technical miracles of their own on these fast runs and dense but delicate compositions by Dienz. Nothing objectionable here, but I still grumble – it’s too user-friendly for me, as if calculated to appeal to an audience of listeners who don’t really like classical music. The opening moments, with their vaguely pleasing mixed chords, made me think of a watered-down version of Gil Evans, but that brief interlude turned out to be untypical of the remainder.
There’s a booklet of notes by the composer where he shares his notions in prose form, confirming the very visual-narrative dimensions and associative impressions which he intends to convey with these pieces. (31/10/2023)