Nostalghia: Song for Tarkovsky (Slip)

Francois Couturier - Nostalghia: Song for Tarkovsky (Slip)

Nostalghia: Song for Tarkovsky (Slip)
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Music CD Cover

Artist: Francois Couturier
Edition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 2006-10-10
Music Label: Ecm Records
Soundtracks:
  1. La Sacrifice
  2. Crepusculaire
  3. Nostalghia
  4. Solaris I
  5. Miroir
  6. Solaris II
  7. Andrei
  8. Ivan
  9. Stalker
  10. Le Temps Scelle
  11. Toliu
  12. L'Eternal Retour

Free Music Notes for Nostalghia: Song for Tarkovsky (Slip)

Free Music Review: sound and image
Hit: 5 Stars

Even before the advent of sound in motion pictures, there has been an inescapable tie between the two forms of expression. When films were still silent, musical accompaniment was provided `live' in the theatre, when possible, by a pianist - and often this musician employed other sound effects to augment the images playing out of the screen, thus embedding them more deeply in the minds of the audience members. Sound recording coupled with cinema took this relationship much further - most of us, no doubt, connect certain pieces of music with the films in which they were utilized...even if it's on a subconscious level.

Two releases from the esteemed German label ECM Records (the other being Eleni Karaindrou's ELEGY OF THE UPROOTING), out this week, give wonderful examples of the ways in which sound and image complement each other - and urge each other on to new paths, ideas and goals.

François Couturier is a French pianist whose work with oud master Anouar Brahem (another artist on ECM's roster) first caught my attention. On NOSTALGHIA: SONG FOR TARKOVSKY, Couturier presents twelve works that, rather than being `scenic' music, are intended by the composer to represent or echo `...a specific emotion linked to the universe of this director - to his films, of course, but also to some of his favourite actors or composers'. To this end, while the titles of some pieces refer to specific Tarkovsky films, others bear dedications to actors Anatoli Solonitsyn and Erland Josephson (both of whom worked on multiple Tarkovsky projects), the great cinematographer Sven Nykvist (who contributed his amazing talents to THE SACRIFICE), Italian writer Tonino Guerra (who co-wrote, with Tarkovsky, the screenplay to NOSTALGHIA), electronic composer Eduard Artimiev (who contributed music for SOLARIS, MIRROR and STALKER), as well as musical references to Bach and Pergolesi.

Accompanying Couturier on this outing are three exceptional musicians. Accordionist Jean-Louis Matinier is another veteran of the Anouar Brahem trio - he has also worked with Louis Sclavis. His playing is sensitive to both the spirit and body of the compositions. Jean-Marc Larché plays soprano saxophone - he's another veteran of work with Brahem, as well as with the celebrated French big-band Orchestre National de Jazz. Rounding out the group is cellist Anja Lechner - a long-time member of the widely respected Rosamunde Quartett.

As one who admires - `reveres' is probably a more apt word - Andrei Tarkovsky as a genius of filmmaking, I approach any `tribute' to his work with high expectations. This recording didn't disappoint me in the least. Couturier has captured an indescribable essence of spirit and mood from the films - and thoughts - of the great Russian director. Instead of merely echoing what Tarkovsky has placed before the viewers in his inimitable way, this CD reflects beautifully the ways in which the films have touched the soul of the composer. In his brief notes, Couturier says, `Andrei Tarkovsky is my favourite filmmaker...I have seen all of his films over and over again...They are long poems, hypnotic in their slowness, and pervaded with spirituality.'

The same can be said of the compositions presented here. With the exception of two group improvisations (`Solaris' and `Solaris II') and the duo improvisation `Ivan', this music is meticulously constructed - and all of it is masterfully performed. The instruments interact so naturally that at times they seem like extensions of each other - a sure sign of musicians who are operating as a living, breathing unit. There is delicacy as well as power portrayed in the various selections - and there is, even in the more free-form pieces, an elegiac quality similar in spirit to that which haunts all of Tarkovsky's films. Just as his films reveal more and more with repeated viewings, the music on this release will open deeper levels for the listener to experience each time it is heard.

As the album background information on ECM's website says, the meaning of `nostalghia' is central to understanding the heart that beats at the centre of the director's work. Rather than simply conveying the literal translation of `nostalgia', or even the deeper Russian meaning of `longing for one's homeland', it goes on to quote Tarkovsky as saying that the word was meant to indicate a `global yearning for the wholeness of existence'.

It is at this point (for one) where the film works of Tarkovsky and Angelopoulos (for many of whose films Eleni Karaindrou, whom I mentioned earlier, composed music) gently touch - neither is derivative of the other, but there is a yearning for `something more' expressed by both in their art. The spirit sees what could be, and longs for it - it's what drives us to reach for more, to become what we know we can be as human beings, as searching souls.

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