Once in a great while
a traditional sound rediscovers and
renews itself through the work of a
very few people. In the early and middle
20th century a single woman
by the name of Hanny Christen set about
transcribing, and cataloguing literally
thousands of folk melodies from Switzerland.
In addition to that basic transcription,
she also noted everything she could
about the instrumentation, texts of
the folk songs, and even the musicians
themselves, down to their names and
stories about them. Thanks to her work,
many Swiss groups are now rediscovering
their history and performing the traditional
dances and music of their culture.
Which is all well and
good, but to someone who isn’t Swiss
the question quickly becomes "Is
the music any good?" The musicians
of HujGroup, along with a handful of
their friends, answer with a resounding
"Yes!" This is a fun album
of traditional dances that are accessible,
fun and energetic. More than sixty songs
were selected and arranged by the musicians,
of which the best were chosen for this
album.
The traditional dance
forms from Switzerland are covered,
along with a few that managed to sneak
into the Swiss lexicon from Scotland
or Russia. The group plays with one
mind and one pulse on each track. Such
high skill helps to sell the album to
the skeptical listener. I will admit
a bias against tuba and accordion music
in general. I have even been known to
define a gentleman as someone who knows
how to play the accordion but chooses
not to. However, as amusing as this
may be, the accordion player here really
kind of rocks. I found myself tapping
my feet to the beat, and occasionally
felt the need to jump up from my chair
and waltz around the room. The tuba
solidly lays down the beat where no
drums lie, and the omnipresent clarinet
dances through the ancient melodies,
reinvigorating them with a traditional
but lively flair.
Various guest musicians
add their distinctive touch throughout.
Not all songs are without drums, and
when these Swiss timekeepers get going
the dancing becomes irresistible. The
violin and trumpet add their mark as
well, to the merriment of all. Generally
speaking the musicians are well suited
to the music and sound as if they truly
enjoy playing together.
This is truly a fun
album filled with familiar song forms
albeit with unfamiliar melodies. The
band plays as a well rehearsed and driven
unit. I started a skeptic, but will
now gladly count myself a fan. Previous
to this album, I would have thought
that the best of Switzerland came in
the form of chocolate, cheese and timepieces.
I now know and understand that Swiss
folk music is an export for treasure
as well, and feel the richer for it.
Patrick Gary
HujGroup