Mistune: Violin and Tanpura
Rongotai Records (73 mins)
In Mistune, Chris Prosser continues to explore his fascination with alternate tunings on the violin, this time paired with a five-string Indian tambura drone, played by Susan Thomson. The 15 semi-improvised pieces featured on the album all utilise a different tuning, which allows Prosser to ruminate on the sonorities and dissonances offered by each.
With the focus on sound and atmosphere, it is hard to describe a style that the music inhabits. Some of the ornaments and embellishments are similar to those in Karnatic music, and Prosser’s playing technique is obviously heavily informed by Western classical, but, unlikely as it sounds, it most often put me in mind of Scandinavian fiddle playing. There is a spacious, contemplative and sometimes sad ambience here that often permeates the Nordic styles. In fact, the Norwegian Hardanger fiddle, with its many sympathetic strings, would have suited this project perfectly.
It’s an interesting album to listen to. It can take a bit of time to acclimatise to the artist’s vision, but it is compelling, even if the experiments don’t perfectly resound. Mistune feels like a real labour of love, intended primarily for Prosser's own ears. But maybe they can tingle yours too.