CD + booklet – Bruit

This is a very interesting release from Bruit, an association known for its engagement with contemporary experimentation. The source material of this work is four string quartets supposedly composed by the mysterious Frieda Bertelsohn Martholdy (1878 – 1907). Indeed, Martholdy is so mysterious that the only information about her can be found on Bruit’s Bandcamp page. The Baldrian Quartett features Kai Fagaschinski (clarinet), Jonas Kocher (accordion), Gaudenz Badrutt and Christof Kurzmann (electronics). Although they mostly focus on a classical repertoire, they are comfortable moving from the past to more contemporary music. These musicians are dealing with sounds that, at the end of the 19th century, would have been incomprehensible and removed from any formal practice. In doing so, they introduce a retrofuture dimension to the field of chamber music. Ultimately, this is an attempt to imagine the future in a past already long gone. Gustav Mahler once said that ‘Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire’. From this perspective, the Quartett aims have been accomplished. Texts from Georgette Oberwies, Inge Salesianer and Franz von Brandenburg describe the difficult upbringing of this young musician are included within the 16-page booklet that accompanies the CD. However, the cover, whose design imitates the classical music label Deutsche Grammophon, creates suspicion surrounding the project’s backstory. A quick online search is all that is needed to discover the fiction truly at work here – a fiction that does not appear to have any clear satirical motives, but rather one that creatively engages with time and art.

 

Baldrian Quartett – Frieda Bertelsohn Martholdy (1878 – 1907): Streichquartette – Entschlummern sollst Du, sollst entschlummern