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| photo by Krzysztof Penarski |
I've written about Ircha's debut cd "Larks Uprising" (with Joe McPhee) that was recorded during the Tzadik Festival in Poznan. While the music on the cd had close to none elements of jewish tradition to it, Ircha's connection to this heritage was strong from the very beginning, as they seamlessly forge improvisation, modern composition and some of the oldest jewish melodies. The concert in Krakow took time during the jewish New Year period.
The clarinet quartet (with occasional duduk or fujara in the mix) sounds full and complete and quite unique. And the sense of structure and direction is absolutely compelling, they pass the fragrant melodies between each other as they form a soloist - choir roles, or a double duo (as they assume different roles they walk and set the formations on the stage), creating on the spot almost transparent arrangements in the way a 4-voice vocal ensemble or a string quartet would be set. With a rhythmic line in the bass clarinet, a repetitive chord structures, a clear line of ancient melody soaring over, transforming into an succession of everchanging minimalistic melodic and harmonic patterns.
