Erased Tapes present ‘Fallen Trees’ – the new album by singular
talent and literal force of nature Lubomyr Melnyk – known as
‘the prophet of the piano’ due to his lifelong devotion to
his instrument.
The album release coincides with Melnyk’s 70th birthday, but
despite the autumnal hint in its title, there’s little
suggestion of him slowing down. Having received critical acclaim
and co-headlining the prestigious Royal Festival Hall as part
of the ErasedTapes 10th anniversary celebrations, after many
years his audience is now both global and growing. The
composer is finally gaining a momentum in his career that
matches the vibrant, highly active energy of his playing.
Cascades of notes, canyons and rivers of sound: there’s
something about his music that channels the natural world at
its most awe-inspiring. In ‘Fallen Trees’ the connection with
the environment continues, taking its cue from a long rail
journey Melnyk made through Europe. Glancing out of the window
as the train passed through a dark forest, he was struck by
the sight of trees that had recently been felled. “They were
glorious,”he says. “Even
though they’d been killed, they weren’t dead. There was
something sorrowful there, but also hopeful.” That sense of
sadness touched by optimism infuses the album, too: rarely has
Melnyk made music so shot through with melancholy and regret,
but which sounds so rapt, even radiant.
Drawing comparisons with Steve Reich and the post-rock group Godspeed You, Black Emperor!, Pitchfork praised his 2015 album ‘Rivers And Streams’ for it’s “sustained concentration andecstatic energy”. That energy is present in ‘Fallen Trees’ too, but at points the tone is quieter, the mood darker and more wistful. At points elsewhere on the album, despite being routed in the wonders of the natural world, there’s a kaleidoscopic quality in the fractal flurry of notes and the broad spectrum of colour they summon.
Drawing comparisons with Steve Reich and the post-rock group Godspeed You, Black Emperor!, Pitchfork praised his 2015 album ‘Rivers And Streams’ for it’s “sustained concentration andecstatic energy”. That energy is present in ‘Fallen Trees’ too, but at points the tone is quieter, the mood darker and more wistful. At points elsewhere on the album, despite being routed in the wonders of the natural world, there’s a kaleidoscopic quality in the fractal flurry of notes and the broad spectrum of colour they summon.
