‘Winterreise’ is a soundtrack album with a difference, in that it was recorded to accompany a series of still photographs of the same title, exhibited in 2011 in Tokyo and Frankfurt. Still, it holds up perfectly well when removed from its initial context and is an accomplished piece of ambient abstraction.
The dominant frequencies are soft and often almost subliminal, with occasional incidentals – rolling piano, clicks, crackles and pops and fizzy, fuzzy drones, and the title track which introduces the album is entirely representative.
Airy strings breeze across the subtle squelches and slow pulsing glitchiness of ‘DREI SCHNEEWALZER: Teil III’ and ‘STREUUNG: Teil IV’, delicate as a butterfly or a hummingbird. A slow glitch groove weaves through the resonant hum of ‘GAUß’SCHE LANDAUFNAHME: Teil I’, while elsewhere, a low percussion rumbles steadily in the distance, changing the mood. It’s all about detail and nuance, and at times scuttling bleeps jitter and fidget, blurring the edges and shaping the atmosphere, while at others – as on ‘Ein Winterband in der Bowman Suite’ – there’s a distinct bounce that brings light and levity to the work.
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Background music it may be, but with its changes in mood and texture, ‘Winterreise’ certainly isn’t bland.
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