Quadrat:sch - Stubenmusic (2011)

Alpine chamber music! Across the boundaries of time and space. Feat. Zeena Parkins

Stubenmusic. The »Stube« is the parlor or best room in a farmhouse, usually paneled in wood, a place where people go to have a rest, to celebrate, to mourn, and to make music. Alexandra Dienz, Christof Dienz, Barbara Romen and Gunter Schneider guide us into a friendly and sophisticated version of this multi-purpose meeting place.

On the first encounter the players, equipped with traditional folk music instruments, present us with enchantingly agree- able, startlingly beautiful tunes, before moving on, by applying some gentle twists and turns, to creating entirely new formations of sound. This return to the traditional and its careful extension into the present is approached dif- ferently on each of the two CDs. The first CD comprises song-like pieces in various interpretations, while on the second CD the focus is skillfully shifted from structures to sounds. 

The musicians delve deep into the nature of their instruments, exploring their potential as sound-generating bodies, leading us from seemingly familiar models to free musical moods. Deep-reaching roots are carefully unearthed, grafted, and propagated, with great intelligence and devotion: the result is pure delight. (dienz)