Organ Music from the Film deUSYNLIGE (Troubled Water) by Erik Poppe – Iver Kleive, pipe organ of the Bergen Cathedral – 2L multichannel 66SACD, 36:34 ***½:
A highly unusual pipe organ SACD, to be sure. The art film Troubled Water is available on both Blu-ray and DVD, and this organ music is actually one of the main characters in it, interacting with the drama and influencing the other characters. Organist Kleive, who also wrote two of the selections, has a background in both classical church music and jazz. He describes himself as an improvising musician who likes to alternate between classical, pop, folk and jazz. He has made over 200 recordings as a studio musician, was pianist with the Norwegian Radio Orchestra, and played solo synthesizer with the Oslo Philharmonic under Mariss Jansons.
Simon & Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water” is the main theme here, presented both at the opening of the album and in a seven-minute version at the conclusion. There is a short Sinfonia by Vivaldi, and what appear to be some Norwegian folk song melodies. The organ has a very rich and varied series of registrations and the acoustic impression of the giant cathedral is very well captured by the 2L 5.1 surround field. But a bit short timewise. I was reminded of an LP of years ago – Peter Power – which also consists pop and jazz played on a large cathedral pipe organ. Now I’d like to see the film.
TrackList:
Bridge Over Troubled Water
Toccata
Sinfonia Al Santo Sepolcro (Vivaldi)
Velt Alle Dine Veie
Om Nogen Til Ondt Meg Lokke Vil-Intro
Allegro
Sarah
Om Nogen Til Ondt Meg Lokke Vil
O Bli Hos Meg
Bridge Over Troubled Water – Extended
– John Sunier
