A four-disc set of
works by the popular composer, Ludovico
Einaudi, released as a limited edition
set by Sony BMG. Two of these discs
are for solo piano (performed by the
composer), one for harp, and the final
one for the more ambitious and exciting
combination of piano and duduk, string
quartet, guitar or double bass.
I started with the
two piano ones – I Giorni and
Le Onde, which contained a mixture
of some of his better known pieces (Le
Onde) and many that were to me completely
unfamiliar. The first thing one could
say is that these works are seriously
"same-y" and extremely uninspiring.
Some are uplifting, comforting and soothing,
some more depressing and melancholic,
and a very few head towards fierce and
angry. Yet all are in exactly the same
sound-world, scene-setting film-y type
of music – mood music, I suppose - completely
lacking in variation or inspiration.
There isn’t really much of a melody
even in each of the pieces – they are
deeply monotonous, with gently shifting
harmonies, more pleasant sounds than
music. All are deeply somniferous and
dreary.
After the first CD
I was almost drifting into a contented
coma-like state, yet at the end of the
second piano disc I had re-awoken and
was beginning to get deeply frustrated
with the tedium and with the lack of
invention of such mindless sounds. By
the third CD (Stanze, with the
harp – but exactly the same sound-world
as the piano disc), I had devised a
game. Putting the disc on my PC, I dragged
the fast-forward bar a few inches further
along on my screen, and discovered that
seemingly wherever I dragged the bar,
and however further forward I went in
the track, the music at the new point
blended seamlessly on from the old point,
demonstrating so perfectly the complete
lack of variation within tracks. A little
development possibly, slightly more
built-up chords, but still exactly the
same notes and sounds continually throughout
- quite incredible!
The fourth disc, Eden
Roc, deeply excited me. Different
instruments! New sounds! Some vestiges
of life and animation! Yet the eponymous
Eden Roc track, actually beautifully
folk-y in air (could have been a folk
melody), and more pop-y than the rest
of the music, was the only truly lively
and upbeat track on the disc. To be
fair, there was more variety and interest
on Eden Roc – the works with
duduk were more atmospheric and appealing,
and the Ultimo fuochi track was
slightly more energetic and spirited,
albeit subjected to the same unrelenting
developmental treatment that each piece
suffered.
Extremely simple, unpretentious
and unaffected, this is very easy listening
that requires no intellect or sense
of musical appreciation. Just sit back,
switch off, prepare to be numbed and
sent into a deep slumbering state of
relaxation, and enjoy the pretty sounds.
Em Marshall
.
