Patricia Draeger’s band ‘Paralpin’ brings together a number of
musicians who are steeped in the traditions of Swiss folk music,
but who have played in a huge range of musical contexts – jazz,
classical, world music and pop. Here they bring their talents
to bear on music from an old collection of traditional melodies
and songs as well as on original compositions. The results, recorded
live at a concert as part of the ‘Alpentöne’ Festival, are delightfully
entertaining, full of unexpected twists and turns.
I have, above, listed the old collection
of Swiss-German folksongs just as it is referred to in the
CD booklet. But I think there must be an error here. The relevant
book is surely that put together by the poet Otto von Greyerz,
born in 1863, and published as In Röseligarte
in 1908. But let’s not worry about such details, which matter
much less than what is made of some of the book’s contents
on this new CD. The material taken from von Greyerz’ collection
is treated in a free, but not disrespectful, fashion. New
melodies develop from the old ones, improvisation is allowed
to flourish. Stand-out tracks include ‘Ich habe meis Müetli
fast alles verloren’ which begins quietly on unaccompanied
marimba, to which accordion and clarinet make later contributions;
almost hypnotic in its slow instrumental interplay, the clarinet
of Daniel Häusler makes some particularly beautiful contributions
before the piece returns to the solo marimba of Marc Draeger.
On ‘Gueti Nacht mis Liebeli’ the work of bassist Christoph
Mächler and drummer Marc Halbheer is outstanding, their subtle,
spring rhythms carrying forward without difficulty some quite
complex instrumental textures above them. ‘Mis Lieb isch gar
wilt inne’ frames what sounds almost like free improvisation
with some decorously neat rehearsals of the original tune.
On ‘Schönster Abestärn’ a delicate unpretentious vocal by
Patricia Draeger complements the elegance of the instrumental
work.
The same variety and inventiveness characterises
the original tracks. ‘Joliduli’ is joyous near-jazz and ‘Nimbus’
mixes compulsively foot-tapping passages, with quieter episodes
deeply rooted in Swiss traditions. ‘Aufzug’ alludes to the
traditions of yodelling and other Swiss traditions, while
reinventing them playfully and wittily; ‘Egosuissemousse’
boasts insistent rhythms, dazzling accordion playing, superlative
drumming, impassioned clarinet work and a wild conclusion.
When, in her booklet notes, Patricia Draeger
writes of this recording that “the joy of the musicians in
playing and experimenting together is obvious” it might seem
like nothing more than the usual polite compliment to be found
in such a context. But it is very definitely true – there
is a powerful sense of joyous involvement on every track of
this CD, a joy I had little trouble in sharing as a mere listener.
Glyn Pursglove
AVAILABILITY
MGB Records (Migros-Genossenschafts-Bund)
http://www.musikszene-schweiz.ch
http://www.musiques-suisses.ch/
Paralpin: Patricia
Draeger (accordion, flute, vocal); Sergej Simbirev (accordeon, schweizerörgeli,
vocal); Daniel Häusler (clarinet, bass-clarinet, vocal); Marc Draeger
(vibraphone, marimbaphone, percussion, vocal); Christoph Mächler (double
bass, electric bass, jew’s harp, vocal); Marc Halbheer (percussion, vocal)
