The Material Camille

Norwegian saxophonist Trygve Seim sets the poetry of Jalaluddin Rumi (1207-1273), using the inspired contemporary English-language versions of Coleman Barks and Kabir Helminski as his source texts. Trygve responds both to the musicality of the translations and to Rumi’s gifts as a storyteller and with Rumi Songs seems to have invented a new kind of Lieder with a Nordic-Oriental orientation. The line-up is strikingly unorthodox, with each of the quartet members bringing their own musical personalities to the material. Classical mezzo-soprano Tora Augestad is well-known as the leader of her own ensemble Music For A While, and for her numerous music-theatre collaborations with Christoph Mathaler. She finds an intimate tone to convey Rumi’s thoughts, underlined by the elegant arrangements and the improvisational input of Seim, Haltli and Henryson.

The Kerrville folk festival began as a 3-hour indoor concert June 1-3, 1972 in the Kerrville Municipal Auditorium, with a total attendance of 2800. The next year, midnight concerts were added on two of the days, with the attendance doubling. By 1974, the festival had grown to the point that it was moved outdoors to what is now known as the Quiet Valley Ranch. The Kerrville Folk Festival has steadily grown through the years and has expanded to an 18-day event with attendance in the 30,000 range. Given its longevity and popularity, it is a real treat that a portion of its musical heritage has been preserved in this box set. The Early Years: Kerrville Folk Festival 1972-1981 is a 10-CD limited edition box set (only 500 were pressed), with one disc each for the ten years covered. 140 songs total by 90 artists, it contains some instantly recognizable names - like Willie Nelson, Townes Van Zandt and Nanci Griffith, just to name a few - as well as artists you may never have heard of, and they all turn in stellar performances.

This new release from DUX presents two 19th-century symphonies of two Polish composers belonging to two different generations, so far almost unknown.