Thomas Larcher: The Living Mountain Sarah Aristidou, Aaron Pilsan, Luka Juhart, Alisa Weilerstein, Munich Chamber Orchestra, Clemens Schuldt, Andrè Schuen, Daniel Heide

• Thomas Larcher (b. 1963): The Living Mountain:
• 1 Larcher: The Living Mountain: I. Introduzione 00:28
• 2 Larcher: The Living Mountain: II. At first, mad to recover the tang of height 02:22
• 3 Larcher: The Living Mountain: III. As I reach the highest part of my dark moor 02:14
• 4 Larcher: The Living Mountain: IV. In September dawns I hardly breathe 02:59
• 5 Larcher: The Living Mountain: V. Once on a night of such clear silence 03:58
• 6 Larcher: The Living Mountain: VI. Further up is all snow 02:37
• Ouroboros:
• 7 Larcher: Ouroboros: I. Allegretto 09:24
• 8 Larcher: Ouroboros: II. Allegro infuriato 02:49
• 9 Larcher: Ouroboros: III. Adagio ma non troppo 06:22
• Unerzählt:
• 10 Larcher: Unerzählt: I. Plinius sagt 01:50
• 11 Larcher: Unerzählt: II. Die roten Flecken 02:30
• 12 Larcher: Unerzählt: III. Wenn die Blitze herabfuhren 02:25
• 13 Larcher: Unerzählt: IV. Gleich einem Hund 01:04
• 14 Larcher: Unerzählt: V. Am 8. Mai 1927 02:56
• 15 Larcher: Unerzählt: VI. Mitten im Schlaf 01:12
• 16 Larcher: Unerzählt: VII. Venezianisches Wachspräparat 01:00
• 17 Larcher: Unerzählt: VIII. Es heißt daß Napoleon 02:10
• 18 Larcher: Unerzählt: IX. Aus dem Vorderschiff des Gehirns 01:25
• 19 Larcher: Unerzählt: X. Blaues Gras 00:52
• 20 Larcher: Unerzählt: XI. Zuletzt werden bloß soviel überbleiben 03:49
• 21 Larcher: Unerzählt: XII. So glitt ich lautlos 01:05
• 22 Larcher: Unerzählt: XIII. So wird wenn der Sehnerv zerreißt 01:34
• Total Runtime 57:05

Info for Thomas Larcher: The Living Mountain

Austrian composer Thomas Larcher’s new album features premiere recordings of three strongly contrasting works.

The Living Mountain, composed 2019-20, draws inspiration from Scottish poet and nature writer Nan Shepherd’s book of the same name. Having grown up in Tyrol and familiar with mountain landscapes, Larcher was taken by Shepherd’s unique approach to the topic in her memoir, and “how completely different it is from all the other literature touching upon this subject. There’s a particularly palpable connection between her introspection and the nature that surrounds her, the microscopic details that are elaborated in that context. Being able to identify with her writing as much as I did, reading the book turned into my own introspective journey and immediately sparked the musical connotations that I elaborate in my piece”.

In the piece, motifs are bound to thunderous percussive crescendos and insistent note repetitions that frame the powerful and evocative vocal performance of Sarah Aristidou. Besides the relation to Nan Shepherd’s text, Larcher’s piece also draws from a series of photographs by Dutch photographer Awoiska van der Molen – landscape pictures taken in the mountains of Tyrol that were first published alongside the premiere of Larcher’s piece in 2022. Van der Molen and the composer felt a deep affinity with each other’s work from the start – work “characterized by the slowness of analogue composing and photography as well as constraint through erasing and concealing of content.”

The act of concealment, of leaving things unsaid, is the keyword of Larcher’s setting of German author W.G. Sebald’s Unerzählt (composed 2019-20). A song cycle performed by baritone Andrè Schuen and pianist Daniel Heide, Unerzählt is composed of thirteen sparsely designed miniatures that underscore Schuen’s expressive range. Unerzählt presents its miniatures in a very pure and concentrated way, with their enigmatic appeal leaving much freedom for interpretation.

On Ouroboros, an instrumental work in three movements for violoncello and orchestra, cellist Alisa Weilerstein draws compelling lines against the backdrop of the Munich Chamber Orchestra’s cluster harmonies and the pointillist accompaniment of pianist Aaron Pilsan. The second movement, Allegro infuriato, true to its tempo indication, is a storm of sonic fury.

Sarah Aristidou, soprano
Alisa Weilerstein, violoncello
Aaron Pilsan, piano
Luka Juhart, accordion
Andrè Schuen, baritone
Daniel Heide, piano
Münchener Kammerorchester
Clemens Schuldt, conductor

No biography found.

This album contains no booklet.