Danish String Quartet: Keel Road (CD Review)

by Karl Nehring

Turlough O’Carolan: Mabel Kelly; Danish traditional/Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen: Pericondine/Fair Isle Jig; Ale Carr: Stormpolskan; Danish traditional: Skomager Har Jeg Været; Sørensen: Once a Shoemaker; English traditional: Lovely Joan; O’Carolan: Carolan's Quarrel With The Landlady; Faroese traditional: Regin Smiður; O’Carolan: Captain O'Kane; Fredrik Schøyen Sjölin: Kjølhalling; O’Carolan: Planxty Kelly; English traditional: As I Walked Out; Danish traditional: Marie Louise; Fredrik Schøyen Sjölin, Sørensen: The Chat: Sørensen Gale Warning; Norwegian traditional: Når Mitt Øye, Trett Av Møye. Danish String Quartet (Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen, violin, clog fiddle, harmonium, spinet, voice, whistle; Frederik Øland, violin, voice, whistle; Asbjørn Nørgaard, viola, voice, whistle; Fredrik Schøyen Sjölin, violoncello, bass, voice, whistle) with Nikolaj Busk, piano; Ale Carr, cittern. ECM New Series 2785 487 5884

For the past several years the Danish String Quartet had been engaged in recording a series of five albums for ECM in which they paired the late Beethoven string quartets with Bach fugues plus complementary works by other composers. We reviewed the final two volumes in what ECM termed their Prism series: Volume IV, which in addition to Bach’s Fugue in G minor from the Well-Tempered Clavier (in an arrangement by Viennese composer Emanuel Aloys Förster) paired Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 15 with Mendelssohn’s String Quartet No. 2 (please see our review from 2022 here); and Volume V, which looked both forward and backward from Beethoven’s time, in a program that finds his final string quartet surrounded with works by Bach and Webern (you can find our 2023 review here).

 

Keel Road is something different. Back in 2017, the Danish String Quartet released an album on ECM titled Last Leaf, a program of music based around northern European folk and traditional sources. After their multi-year, five-album deep dive into Bach, late Beethoven, and their connections to other composers, the four Danes have once again returned to music with deep roots in folk and traditional sources. As they explain: “We set out on a musical journey that traverses the North Sea -- for centuries, the main communication channel of Northern Europe, the highway and the internet of bygone eras. And even though known for its swift upsurges and strong gales, brave sailors would again and again travel the keel road, enabling a continuous exchange of goods, culture and music. The musical keel road of this album will take us from Denmark and Norway to shores far away: to the Faroe Islands, to Ireland and England. While folk music represents local traditions and local stories, it is also the music of everywhere and everyone. At the end of the day, our stories and our music remain closely connected.”

 

You know it is going to be a lively, melodic, and downright fun album when you look over the list of compositions and see several by Turlough O’Carolan (1670-1738), the legendary harpist from Ireland’s County Meath. Unusual among the itinerant harpists of his day, O’Carolan drew influence not only from local tradition but also from then-contemporary European composers including Vivaldi and Corelli, intuitively seeking his own blend of form and folk spontaneity. Back in my old $ensible Sound days, I reviewed a few albums that featured music by O’Carolan, and I always found myself with a big smile on my face. I daresay that same reaction will come to those who hear his tunes as arranged for string quartet and played in such a lively manner as they are here. And that’s that appealing thing about Keel Road – the sense of spontaneity and joy that the musicians bring to these tunes. In addition to the more traditional compositions on the program, Keel Road interweaves compositions by DSQ members Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen and Fredrik Schøyen Sjölin that also convey a folk spirit in keeping with the overall mood. A brief excerpt from a field recording of the Danish traditional En Skomager Har Jeg Været (“A cobbler I was”) precedes Sørensen’s reflective tune Once a Shoemaker. Guest musicians Ale Carr (cittern) and Nikolaj Busk (piano), of the folk trio Dreamers’ Circus join the DSQ for a performance of Carr’s Stormpolskan.

 

As the Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa Holiday season approaches, many of us might find ourselves looking for appropriate gifts for those friends with an appreciation for music. The Keel Road CD should appeal to a wide variety of musical tastes: classical, folk, and world music to name a few. Heck, I’ll bet even a lot of children would like it. (And hey, don’t forget the Deadheads on your list…)  Highly recommended.