アエクオラ - 現代アイスランドの作品集

「ミステリー・ソナタ」はザカリー・カレッティンとミナ・ガイッチによるデュオ。これまでソロで活動してきた2人は、現代作品やクラシック以外の作品を紹介する際にこのデュオ名を用いています。ここではアイスランドの音楽文化と伝統にインスピレーションを受けた4人の作曲家の作品を演奏、どれも神秘的、かつモダンな響きを湛えています。
ナクソス・ジャパン

The Latinate title Aequora ("flat surfaces") comes from the opening work on the album by composer Maria Huld Markan Sigfusdottir for violin, piano, and electronics, and all the other music is likewise newly commissioned from Icelandic composers. It is the only work on the album that contains an electronic element, yet it works as an introduction; the electronics lay down a basic mood that the piano and especially the violin interact with in various ways. If one had to choose a single word for the classification of this release, one might pick minimalist, but each work has its own perspective on that tradition. Listeners may see the name Mystery Sonata and wonder whether there is any connection to the solo violin music of Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber, but it is simply a new name being used by violinist Zachary Carrettin and pianist Mina Gajić, who have performed together in the past and can stretch out a meditative idea over some minutes without signs of stress. The individual pieces have several novel twists. Consider the two-movement Notre Dame of Pall Ragnar Palsson, where the movements are titled "La tour nord" and "La tour sud" ("The North Tower" and "The South Tower"), respectively. One wonders whether there are listeners who know the two towers well enough to distinguish the pair with no further guidance (the booklet contains none), but nevertheless, the works attune one to what is going on here. These composers may be known to those who follow the contemporary Iceland scene, but most, with the possible exception of Anna Thorvaldsdottir, are going to be new to listeners. That is just one good reason to check the album out; another is the crystal clear sound from Sono Luminus, catching Carrettins delicate work in his highest register. ~ James Manheim