I’ve noticed we received a number of records made with the Hardanger fiddle over the years…this traditional Norwegian instrument may be undergoing some form of renaissance or rediscovery, perhaps even as a more as-yet undetermined plan to affirm a sense of uniquely Norwegian identity during these troubled times. So far, few players have impressed us as much as Sarah-Jane Summers and her uncanny Kalopsia record from 2019 – one takeaway was that she was so compelled by the “call” of the Hardanger that she left her native Scotland to go and live in Norway.
With today’s record, Silver Dawn (RELATIVE PITCH RECORDS RPRSS029) by Zosha Warpeha, a new benchmark might just have been set. An intensely personal record, all solo, all acoustic, Silver Dawn has a conviction behind it that is remarkable, delivering much emotional truth, and has a simplicity bordering on the severe. All these qualities are highly welcome in this domain, might I add. For another thing, this is I think the first time I learn one of the unique properties of the instrument – it has five bowed strings and a further five “sympathetic” strings, which “vibrate sympathetically” when the bowed tones activate them. The results do sound amazing – and while we’re a long way from American Minimalism with this release, just think what Tony Conrad could have done with such an instrument.
Well, I should point out for those who relish the technical detail that Zosha Warpeha plays a Hardanger d’amore, which is not quite the same thing as a traditional Norwegian hardingfele and may have some family ties to the viola d’amore, a baroque instrument dating from the 17th century. At this point you may be poised to bring Pierre-Yves Martel into the conversation, an improviser who has made good with his viol de gamba over the years, but Zosha is very much following her own path. For one thing, she spent two years in Norway to study the instrument and its traditions – she made good use of a Fulbright scholarship – and far from being a dry academic experience, it involved face-to-face meetings with musicians and teachers, who evidently conveyed a lot more than just musical information. There seems to have been a meaningful exchange of memories, traditions, and other intangibles that you can only get from meeting another person in the flesh (you know, all those things we’re apparently trying to eradicate with our online lives and smartphones).
It may have something to do with music being able to say something about the natural word. I shan’t say that this Norway trip was a pilgrimage for her, but on her return to New York, Zosha Warpeha was able to develop her unique improvisatory practice, partly informed by poetry and traditions, and a near-spiritual longing to enter a trance state, to find a place of stillness. To use her own expression, “In my playing, I seek a clear mind.” The better to realise her aims, she did it in a room near the Ashokan Reservoir in New York state, with nothing else for company but four walls and wooden panels illuminated by the sun. As a process, that is utterly commendable; at a time when every laptopper and improviser is so dead-set on networking and spreading their name on social media in the overcrowded and highly competitive world of experimental music, here’s an artist who recognises the importance of solitude, to hear her inner voice, and clear out all the distractions of modern life. The results, made plain on this beautiful and direct plain-spoken record, are quite astonishing. Very high recommendation for this wonderful recording. (19/03/2024)