Thomas Buckner | Edyta Fil | Ilia Belorukov | Alexey Lapin | Juho Laitinen
Bewitched Concert
Part I: Epilogue (20:54)
Part II: Dedication (09:48)
Part III: Transfiguration (09:09)
int002
SOLD OUT at Intonema
Нашим вторым шагом стал диск Bewitched Concert от интернационального квинтета Томаса Бакнера (США), Эдиты Фил (Польша), Ильи Белорукова, Алексея Лапина (оба – Россия) и Юхо Лайтинена (Финляндия). Это запись концерта, состоявшегося 6 ноября 2009-го года в петербургской Галерее Экспериментального Звука. Спонтанно возникший состав, ни о чём не договариваясь, сыграл музыку, по форме напоминающей скорее академическую музыку, элементами которой являются свободная импровизация, акустический дрон и сонорика.
"Osäkerheten smög allt kallare genom kroppen, när jag började med ett par nya ryska album. Flöjtisten Edyta Fil, saxofonisten Ilia Belorukov, pianisten Alexey Lapin och cellisten Juho Laitinen hör knappast till vardagsvarorna (Bewitched Concert/Intonema). Min första reaktion var, att detta lät väldigt eklektiskt.
Men jag bestämde mig för att inte lyssna som vanligt. Det blev roligare då. Med ens hördes musiken mer städad, där den böljade fram och åter i sina känslostormar. Då sångaren Thomas Buckner kom in lät det som kammarmusik breddad av hjärta och mycket smärta. Alla håller sig till instrumentens regler, men det känns som de inte räckte för någon av dem. De vet inte vad de ska ta sig till med sina känslor. Det är en kvalitet att så öppet bli utsatt för övertalningsförsök; och stilla vädjan."
(Thomas Millroth, Sound of Music)
"Second album publié par le label russe Intonema, Bewitched Concert regroupe cinq musiciens issus de divers pays: les russes Ilia Belorukov (saxophone alto) et Alexey Lapin (piano droit), l'américain Thomas Buckner (voix), la polonaise Edyta Fil (flûte) et le finlandais Juho Laitinen (violoncelle et voix). Un quintet international enregistré lors d'une performance live en 2009.
Cette performance en trois parties est aussi étrange que les origines des musiciens. Ce "concert ensorcelé" utilise certes des instruments acoustiques et des techniques traditionnelles, mais il y a un quelque chose d'inquiétant et de dérangeant qui plane tout au long de ces quarante minutes. Alors que le piano et quelquefois le violoncelle créent des boucles ou des drones lancinants et continus, chacun des trois autres musiciens intervient de manière plutôt erratique et aléatoire, courte, non-développée, et incongrue. Il se dégage parfois la même atmosphère que dans certaines pièces de Webern, quand l'apparente autonomie des instruments finit par former un univers froid mais envoutant, austère tout en étant hospitalier. Sauf qu'ici, chacun des instrumentistes paraît posséder son propre vocabulaire et sa propre histoire, ce qui renforce l'impression d'autonomie. Piano et violoncelle sont certainement les principaux instruments qui participent à l'ensorcellement des auditeurs, grâce aux patterns sauvages et aux glissandos interminables, mais il ne faut pas oublier les exercices vocaux de Buckner qui tanguent entre le lyrisme et l'envoutement, entre un chant aux techniques élaborées ou primitives. Entre musique de transe et musique savante occidentale proche du sérialisme, chacun tente d'approfondir cette suite initiatique d'éléments "non-idiomatiques", issus de la tradition de l'improvisation libre: courtes phrases acérés et spontanées au saxophone, flûtes énergiques et sauvages, etc.
Un voyage étrange qui ne refuse rien, ni rythmes, ni mélodies, sans toutefois les développer excessivement, mais qui sait surtout s'aventurer sur des terrains périlleux où des techniques musicales sont confrontées et assemblées selon une inspiration mystique. Une écoute attentive pour une formation instrumentale franchement éclectique, où chaque histoire et chaque approche musicale semblent parvenir à se rejoindre pour une performance plus ensorcelante qu'ensorcelée. Car l'étrangeté de cette musique, malgré son aspect parfois dérangeant parce que dérangé peut-être, n'est pas sans envouter l'auditeur... une fois acceptée l'improbabilité de cette musique. Un concert bizarre mais original, et plutôt frais."
(Julien Heraud, Improv Sphere)
"This is a really bewitched concert. Five musicians meet under one roof to present to you aboriginal sound rituals.They call forth dangerous demons who take you away into perilous labyrinths. A listener goes backstage on Earth's mechanics just like a young man in Dostoevsky's 'The dream of a ridiculous man' cruising over his own dream and stumbling across essential arches.
One of the best improv records this year."
(Nicholay Syrov, Dumpster Diving Blog)
Нашим вторым шагом стал диск Bewitched Concert от интернационального квинтета Томаса Бакнера (США), Эдиты Фил (Польша), Ильи Белорукова, Алексея Лапина (оба – Россия) и Юхо Лайтинена (Финляндия). Это запись концерта, состоявшегося 6 ноября 2009-го года в петербургской Галерее Экспериментального Звука. Спонтанно возникший состав, ни о чём не договариваясь, сыграл музыку, по форме напоминающей скорее академическую музыку, элементами которой являются свободная импровизация, акустический дрон и сонорика.
«Создается, быть может, обманчивое впечатление, что эту музыку можно без особых ухищрений записать конвенциональной нотацией и – при большом желании - даже сыграть с нот. Пожалуй, на это же способно только Deep Listening Полин Оливерос (если она не использует электронику). Хотя Илья Белоруков описывает атмосферу концерта как академичную и очень спокойную, по форме вспоминается разве что первая часть Второй симфонии Витольда Лютославского Hésitant, когда не замечаешь, что оказываешься втянут в круговорот на самом деле очень быстрой музыки. Даже еще более быстрой – такой, что звуковые события как гранулы в компьютерной музыке сливаются в один неповторимый по характеру тембр.» (Дмитрий Ухов, из аннотации к диску)
The second step we took was the album Bewitched Concert by international quintet Thomas Buckner (USA), Edyta Fil (Poland), Ilia Belorukov, Alexey Lapin (both Russia) and Juho Laitinen (Finland). This is a record of a concert that took place at the Experimental Sound Gallery on November 6th, 2009. Spontaneously arising cast nothing negotiating played music rather reminiscent of academic music with some adds of free improvisation elements and acoustic drone.
“It may feel strange but everything that played and sung on this album is very natural for instruments and voice – despite cello solo in Epilogue (performed with extravagant technique of string over-pressing which reminds Pierre Henri’s classical Variations for a Door and a Sigh) and Buckner’s shaman roaring. It makes a deceptive impression that this music can be easily notated by conventional way and if having a great desire – even can be performed according to that notation. Perhaps, only Deep Listening founded by Buckner’s compatriot (and probably a friend) Pauline Oliveros, sounds comparatively similar. Ilia Belorukov describes the concert atmosphere as “academic” and quite calm though, the performance form reminds the first movement of Witold Lutosławski’s Second symphony Hésitant – when you listen to it you can’t trace that it invisibly involves you into a vortex of very fast music in which all sound events – like granules in the computer music - merge in one unique timbre.” (Dmitry Ukhov, from CD booklet)
The second step we took was the album Bewitched Concert by international quintet Thomas Buckner (USA), Edyta Fil (Poland), Ilia Belorukov, Alexey Lapin (both Russia) and Juho Laitinen (Finland). This is a record of a concert that took place at the Experimental Sound Gallery on November 6th, 2009. Spontaneously arising cast nothing negotiating played music rather reminiscent of academic music with some adds of free improvisation elements and acoustic drone.
“It may feel strange but everything that played and sung on this album is very natural for instruments and voice – despite cello solo in Epilogue (performed with extravagant technique of string over-pressing which reminds Pierre Henri’s classical Variations for a Door and a Sigh) and Buckner’s shaman roaring. It makes a deceptive impression that this music can be easily notated by conventional way and if having a great desire – even can be performed according to that notation. Perhaps, only Deep Listening founded by Buckner’s compatriot (and probably a friend) Pauline Oliveros, sounds comparatively similar. Ilia Belorukov describes the concert atmosphere as “academic” and quite calm though, the performance form reminds the first movement of Witold Lutosławski’s Second symphony Hésitant – when you listen to it you can’t trace that it invisibly involves you into a vortex of very fast music in which all sound events – like granules in the computer music - merge in one unique timbre.” (Dmitry Ukhov, from CD booklet)
Thomas Buckner: voice
Edyta Fil: flute
Ilia Belorukov: alto saxophone, objects
Alexey Lapin: upright piano
Juho Laitinen: cello, voice
Reviews:
"Bewitched Concert", recorded live at the Experimental Sound Gallery in Saint-Petersburg, is the second position in the Intinema catalogue. It is notable for the participation of the super-group including the New York avcandarge vocalist,
Thomas Buckner, and the Russian ledend of free jazz piano, Alexey Lapin. There is also a Polish accent here: classically trained in Warsaw and Strassbourg, Edyta Fil plays wonderfully on flute. The set starts with the 21 minutes long "Epilogue". This a very characteristic piece of music for Ilia Belorukov: I have a tendency to term it: minimalistic kind free improvised music. Minimalistic -- because indeed it has this typical repetitive structures, kind of because there are no explosions and blasts and over-blowns here, even though the music is as a whole is very expressive. Of course, there are many elements here of the contemporary classical avantgarde in fact classical training of Thomas Buckner and others is present in the music and can be heard all of the time. For me it is a masterpiece of this kind of music. "Dedication" last less than 10 minutes, but is my favorite for the absolutely stunning flute work in the second part. The set ends with "Transfiguration", which is also phenomenal I dig this time the saxophone parts and Alexey's piano. But, everybody is just great."
(Maciej Lewenstein, Facebook)
"Bewitched Concert was recorded by an international quintet at the Experimental Sound Gallery on November 6th, 2009. The original concept was to record the concert in two sets—the first featuring a flute solo by Edyta Fil, and the second, a group improvisation with Fil, pianist Alexey Lapin and saxophonist Ilia Belorukov. Plans changed when singer Thomas Buckner and cellist Juho Laitinen appeared at the venue. They were invited to join in and took part in the second set.
Review from Julian Cowley
(The Wire, Issue: #338, April 2012)
"Intonema propone, con la sua seconda uscita, "Bewitched Concert", un quintetto composto dal baritono statunitense Thomas Buckner (collaboratore di Robert Ashley, Roscoe Mitchell, Annea Lockwood e Phil Niblock), il flautista e compositore polacco Edyta Fil, il pianista, compositore e ingegnere del suono Alexey Lapin (responsabile anche della registrazione in oggetto), russo come Ilia Belorukov (sax contralto), e il violoncellista finlandese Juho Laitinen.
Scrivevo per altre colonne di questo disco giusto a ridosso, o quasi, di una serie di concerti londinesi che mi hanno fatto sentire il bisogno di pormi una serie di domande, fortunatamente sostanziate da discussioni con musicisti intelligenti e consapevoli (per quanto 'esterni' al mio ambito di osservazione stilistico, e scelti così non per caso ma per quei casi della vita che passano sotto il nome di 'chakra aperti'), mi è parso a caldo come un ottimo correttivo dei rischi insiti nel galleggiare esclusivamente nel 'non idiomatico' (non un rischio necessariamente locale, ma che salta all'occhio dopo cinque o sei concerti e un festival in un mese).
Anche successive ricerche, stavolta mirate, di esibizioni dal vivo, mi hanno permesso di verificare come alcune delle collaborazioni più interessanti potrebbero venire proprio da contaminazioni come questa, ovviamente col tempo. Proprio per questo motivo, il fissare una registrazione come questa su supporto in una edizione limitata di 300 copie possa essere una operazione interessante.
Le tre traccie del lavoro, molto eterogenee per lunghezza, struttura e atmosfere, vedono gli interventi solisti emergere da un dialogo di gruppo dilatato e denso. Nulla di nuovo e orginale rispetto a quanto viene prodotto in ambito impro/avant negli ultimi trent'anni, ma anche se manca la scintilla che faccia ricordare la musica per altro dalla sua struttura e costruzione, si tratta comunque di una ottima indicazione di metodo operativo.
Coniugare tensioni e stimoli diversi per non chiudersi in una visione a senso unico della musica (seppur sperimentale) è un'ottima ricetta contro una tensione eccessivamente centripeta volta a sviluppare il proprio lessico musicale in una unica direzione stilistica, tanto quanto dalla tendenza a considerare qualsiasi suono 'non idiomatico' come un suono 'giusto' (ricordate il vecchio calembour godardiano, 'ce n'est pas une image juste, c'est juste une image?) di per sé, a rischio quindi non solo di non comunicare con personalità artistiche differenti dalla propria ma anche, e sopratutto, di non sviluppare un proprio individuale linguaggio.
Passati tre mesi dal primo ascolto di questo album, l'unico appunto che potrei fare ai suoi autori (difficile però giudicare un incontro registrato come 'definitivo' in questo ambito, e "l'edizione limitata" sembra pertanto una scelta significativa) è quello di cercare di mescolare di più le carte. Ora, è vero che in passato abbiamo assistito a ogni possibile (postmoderna) unione di soggettività artistiche, è però anche vero che scegliere di esprimersi in un unico linguaggio tendente al 'contemporaneo' rischia, a lungo andare, di essere un comodo rifugio. Fermo restando che ogni progetto discografico ha valore di per sé, e che una lettura, diciamo 'sintomatologica' dopo mesi di decantazione ne mostra una più che dignitosa essenza."
(Gian Paolo Galasi, Mescalina.it)
"Az Intonema első kiadványa kapcsán arról írtunk, hogy Ilia Belorukov szentpétervári szaxofonos és társai tinédzseres lendülettel dagonyáznak a zajban, végtelen tehetségű csodagyerekekként mennek neki mindannak, amit általában dzsessz-punknak hívunk. A kiadó második megjelenése már teljesen másról szól: nagyon is felnőttes minimalista szabadzenét, vagy ha akarom, kortárs komolyzenét hallunk – kérdés, honnan közelítünk.
"If you want to know what happened on november 6, 2009 at the Experimental Sound Gallery in Saint Petersburg, Russia, listen to this one. An international ensemble of improvisors was on stage for an unique improvised concert. Let me introduce them. Ilia Belorukov (alto sax, objects) is a musician from Saint-Petersburg. Operating in the fields of free improvisation, noise and electroacoustic music. He is also owner of the new Intonema label that released this concert. Alexey Lapin (upright piano), a pianist, composer and sound engineer is also from Saint-Petersburg. He has some work released on Leo and Red Toucan. Edyta Fil (flute) is from Warsaw. Here and in Strasbourg she studied flue and chamber ensemble. Although educated in classical music she is also into improvised music. The same for Juho Laitinen (cello, voice) from Finland. He is a cellist, specialized in 20th century composed music, mainstream and avant garde jazz, fado, improviser, composer, writer and teacher. In fact we are talking of two different smaller collaborations, that decided impulsively to play together for this occasion. This was done from a right intuition, as this led to some very satisfying improvisations. The classical trained voice of veteran Buckner is patching the way in most improvisations. The gradually unfolding improvisations are dominated by modern classical esthetics, which is often the case when Buckner is part of the game"
(Dolf Mulder, Vital Weekly)
"Intonema is een nieuw label, geleid door de Russische saxophonist Ilia Belorukov. Hoe divers hij aan het werk is, is te horen als we deze eerste twee uitgaven naast elkaar leggen. ‘Bewitched Concert’ is een spontane improvisatie van een internationaal gezelschap, met de Poolse fluitiste Edyta Fil, de Finse cellist Juho Laitinen, en Belorukovs landgenoot Alexey Lapin, een pianist die van zich doet spreken op een aantal recente Leo Records-cd’s. De bekendste muzikant is de Amerikaanse zanger Thomas Buckner, die zijn indrukwekkende stemgeluid al eens inzette in het bijzijn van Roscoe Mitchell. Het vijftal verkent elkaars muzikale mogelijkheden langs de esthetiek van de modern klassieke muziek. De afwezigheid van een slagwerker wordt gezien als een goede aanleiding om zelden een doorgaand ritme op te zoeken. Het is muziek die zich langzaam ontvouwt, uitgekiend met dynamiek omgaat, en aldus spanning creëert."
(Herman te Loo, Jazzflits #168)
"Bewitched Concert (INTONEMA 002) is a record of improvised music made in Saint Petersburg in late 2009: the quintet is an international one, comprising the American singer Thomas Buckner, the Polish flautist Edyta Fil, the Finnish cellist Juho Laitinen, and two Russian players Ilia Belorukov (saxophone) and Alexey Lapin (piano). Many, if not all, of these players have an academic background, and the music does indeed feel (as sleeve notes indicate) a bit more like classical avant-garde atonality than free improv. Every movement is slightly awkward and stiff, and each note has a precision and clarity that you wouldn’t always get from any European improviser who has tended to follow the free-jazz route to arrive where he is today. If that sounds like a criticism, it’s not intended as this music is actually extremely absorbing and beautiful; and the tension between improvised music generation and classical intonation and note-production keeps the performance on a knife-edge throughout. For the opening track, oddly called ‘Epilogue’, they sustain that tension for over 20 minutes through resonant string scrapes, eerie flute trills, unexpected piano notes hanging glacially in the air like icicles. Best effect of all: the near-operatic voice of Buckner making wordless and guttural plaints, which when joined by singing voice of Laitinen will make you feel you’re an intruder in a land of ghosts. Hence the title, I expect; the set does have quite a supernatural aura. Brilliant cover design which suggests an inescapable haunted forest; open the gatefold to reveal cutout shape of a man lost in the middle of it."
(Ed Pinsent, The Sound Projector)
"Bewitched Concert", recorded live at the Experimental Sound Gallery in Saint-Petersburg, is the second position in the Intinema catalogue. It is notable for the participation of the super-group including the New York avcandarge vocalist,
Thomas Buckner, and the Russian ledend of free jazz piano, Alexey Lapin. There is also a Polish accent here: classically trained in Warsaw and Strassbourg, Edyta Fil plays wonderfully on flute. The set starts with the 21 minutes long "Epilogue". This a very characteristic piece of music for Ilia Belorukov: I have a tendency to term it: minimalistic kind free improvised music. Minimalistic -- because indeed it has this typical repetitive structures, kind of because there are no explosions and blasts and over-blowns here, even though the music is as a whole is very expressive. Of course, there are many elements here of the contemporary classical avantgarde in fact classical training of Thomas Buckner and others is present in the music and can be heard all of the time. For me it is a masterpiece of this kind of music. "Dedication" last less than 10 minutes, but is my favorite for the absolutely stunning flute work in the second part. The set ends with "Transfiguration", which is also phenomenal I dig this time the saxophone parts and Alexey's piano. But, everybody is just great."
(Maciej Lewenstein, Facebook)
"Bewitched Concert was recorded by an international quintet at the Experimental Sound Gallery on November 6th, 2009. The original concept was to record the concert in two sets—the first featuring a flute solo by Edyta Fil, and the second, a group improvisation with Fil, pianist Alexey Lapin and saxophonist Ilia Belorukov. Plans changed when singer Thomas Buckner and cellist Juho Laitinen appeared at the venue. They were invited to join in and took part in the second set.
Buckner sat at the back of the hall for "Part I: Epilogue," but his rich baritone carries through. The power in his voice is resolute as he forges a kinship with the instruments and adds a pertinent dimension to the improvisation, particularly when he sings alongside a convoluted saxophone. The music has an initially spare and ethereal air cast in tandem by Fila and Belorukov, a floating amalgam of linearity that is punctuated by strings before the piano actually gets down to interspersing some notes. But the atmosphere is soon transformed as the improvisations become organic and surge captivatingly with the final lure coming from the classical embrace of the cello.
The other improvisations rack up some interesting group interplay. Bruckner is the anchor on the first, singing in a stark corridor framed by fragmentary group interplay. Belorukov and Fil break out to bring their free-lowing innovations into sharper focus, with Lapin and Latinen lending structure.
The empathy in the band and the ability of the members to extrapolate ideas, even with the last-minute inclusion of Buckner and Laitinen, sustains interest all the way."
Review from Julian Cowley
(The Wire, Issue: #338, April 2012)
"Intonema propone, con la sua seconda uscita, "Bewitched Concert", un quintetto composto dal baritono statunitense Thomas Buckner (collaboratore di Robert Ashley, Roscoe Mitchell, Annea Lockwood e Phil Niblock), il flautista e compositore polacco Edyta Fil, il pianista, compositore e ingegnere del suono Alexey Lapin (responsabile anche della registrazione in oggetto), russo come Ilia Belorukov (sax contralto), e il violoncellista finlandese Juho Laitinen.
Scrivevo per altre colonne di questo disco giusto a ridosso, o quasi, di una serie di concerti londinesi che mi hanno fatto sentire il bisogno di pormi una serie di domande, fortunatamente sostanziate da discussioni con musicisti intelligenti e consapevoli (per quanto 'esterni' al mio ambito di osservazione stilistico, e scelti così non per caso ma per quei casi della vita che passano sotto il nome di 'chakra aperti'), mi è parso a caldo come un ottimo correttivo dei rischi insiti nel galleggiare esclusivamente nel 'non idiomatico' (non un rischio necessariamente locale, ma che salta all'occhio dopo cinque o sei concerti e un festival in un mese).
Anche successive ricerche, stavolta mirate, di esibizioni dal vivo, mi hanno permesso di verificare come alcune delle collaborazioni più interessanti potrebbero venire proprio da contaminazioni come questa, ovviamente col tempo. Proprio per questo motivo, il fissare una registrazione come questa su supporto in una edizione limitata di 300 copie possa essere una operazione interessante.
Le tre traccie del lavoro, molto eterogenee per lunghezza, struttura e atmosfere, vedono gli interventi solisti emergere da un dialogo di gruppo dilatato e denso. Nulla di nuovo e orginale rispetto a quanto viene prodotto in ambito impro/avant negli ultimi trent'anni, ma anche se manca la scintilla che faccia ricordare la musica per altro dalla sua struttura e costruzione, si tratta comunque di una ottima indicazione di metodo operativo.
Coniugare tensioni e stimoli diversi per non chiudersi in una visione a senso unico della musica (seppur sperimentale) è un'ottima ricetta contro una tensione eccessivamente centripeta volta a sviluppare il proprio lessico musicale in una unica direzione stilistica, tanto quanto dalla tendenza a considerare qualsiasi suono 'non idiomatico' come un suono 'giusto' (ricordate il vecchio calembour godardiano, 'ce n'est pas une image juste, c'est juste une image?) di per sé, a rischio quindi non solo di non comunicare con personalità artistiche differenti dalla propria ma anche, e sopratutto, di non sviluppare un proprio individuale linguaggio.
Passati tre mesi dal primo ascolto di questo album, l'unico appunto che potrei fare ai suoi autori (difficile però giudicare un incontro registrato come 'definitivo' in questo ambito, e "l'edizione limitata" sembra pertanto una scelta significativa) è quello di cercare di mescolare di più le carte. Ora, è vero che in passato abbiamo assistito a ogni possibile (postmoderna) unione di soggettività artistiche, è però anche vero che scegliere di esprimersi in un unico linguaggio tendente al 'contemporaneo' rischia, a lungo andare, di essere un comodo rifugio. Fermo restando che ogni progetto discografico ha valore di per sé, e che una lettura, diciamo 'sintomatologica' dopo mesi di decantazione ne mostra una più che dignitosa essenza."
(Gian Paolo Galasi, Mescalina.it)
"Az Intonema első kiadványa kapcsán arról írtunk, hogy Ilia Belorukov szentpétervári szaxofonos és társai tinédzseres lendülettel dagonyáznak a zajban, végtelen tehetségű csodagyerekekként mennek neki mindannak, amit általában dzsessz-punknak hívunk. A kiadó második megjelenése már teljesen másról szól: nagyon is felnőttes minimalista szabadzenét, vagy ha akarom, kortárs komolyzenét hallunk – kérdés, honnan közelítünk.
A spontán szerveződött nemzetközi kvintett tagjai a ma zenéjének legkülönbözőbb irányaiból érkeztek: Thomas Buckner, a konvencionális vokális technikákat elvető amerikai énekes-hangperformer baritonjával az elmúlt negyven évben kamara és nagyzenekarokban, dzsesszprodukciókban működött közre – kétségtelen tehát, ő a zenekar nagy öregje, a kvintett legtapasztaltabb tagja. A fiatalok, Edyta Fil lengyel fuvolás, Ilia Belorukov szaxofonos és Alexey Lapin zongorista (ők ketten oroszok), és Juho Laitinen finn csellista zenei érdeklődése már jóval szerteágazóbb, hiszen a klasszikus és modern komolyzenétől a szabaddzsesszen és a portugál fadon át a zajos heavy metálig számtalan zenei stílusban alkotnak.
A lemez fülszövege szerint a formáció olyannyira hirtelen és valószínűtlenül szerveződött, hogy eredetileg a szentpétervári Experimental Sound Gallery-ben tartott kétrészes koncert első felében Edyta Fil szóló fuvolára írt kompozíciókat, a másodikban pedig Fil, Belorukov és Lapin rövid, közös improvizációkat játszott volna. Ekkor tűnt fel a színen Buckner és Laitinen, akik borítottak mindent, és végül egy negyven perces rögtönzött műsort adtak a lengyel-orosz trióval közösen. Akinek bármi kétsége van az alkalmi kvintett fellépésének sikere felől, vessen egy pillantást az album címére: Elvarázsolt koncert. És tényleg az, a varázslat akkor este kétségtelenül működött.
A rögzített fellépés körülményei tehát több, mint rendhagyóak – nem csak a zenét, de magát az együttest is a pillanat, az alkalom szülte. Ez persze érződik is. A három részből álló rögtönzött darabnak sok-sok tétova, merev és esetlen pillanata van, de a produkció ettől olyan nagyon emberi és izgalmas. Mintha bármelyik pillanatban szétesne, kudarcba fulladna az összjáték, mégis mindig van valaki, aki visszarántja vagy átlendíti a zenét a holtponton. Az öt játékos mintha borotvaélen táncolna, lélegzetvisszafojtva hallgatjuk a drámával teli zenét, de a mutatvány végül sikerül, az intuíció beigazolódik, a varázslat működik.
Akusztikus hangszereket hallunk, amiket hagyományos módon szólaltatnak meg a játékosok. Nincs elektronika, nincsenek vágások, csak egy naturális hangfolyam. A cselló és a pianínó mélyről zúgó, drone-szerű alapot ad; miközben a fuvola, az alt szaxofon és Thomas Buckner hangjai teljes kiszámíthatatlansággal bukkannak fel és tűnnek el. A hangszeresek a produkcióból közel azonos arányban vállalnak részt, mindegyiküknek önálló szókészlete, saját története van – öt egyenrangú, autonóm, kifogástalan zenei képzelőerővel megáldott zenész játékát halljuk.
A 2009 novemberében rögzített Bewitched Concert egy furcsa, de tagadhatatlanul eredeti és kalandos utazás, amit talán valamiféle misztikus ihlet vezethetett. A résztvevők nem utasítottak vissza semmit, egymás irányába nyitottan álltak színpadra, és bátran vállalták a kockázatot, szülessen bármilyen minőség is a közös zenélésből. Módfelett példás hozzáállás.
A Bewitched Concert a második izgalmas anyag egy most indult lemezkiadótól. Ahogy mondani szokták: eddig jó, kettőből kettő. Belorukov Szegeden elárulta, hogy az Intonema következő kiadványa Birgit Ulher német trombitás és Heddy Boubaker francia szaxofonos duójának legújabb munkája lesz. Ez az első két megjelenéshez képest megint nagyon más. Egyelőre nem tudom biztosan, hogy mit gondoljak a label és Ilia következetességéről, és azt sem, hogy egyáltalán van-e értelme ilyesmiről gondolkodni. Elvégre a változatosság gyönyörködtet."
(Laszlo Juhasz, Improv.hu)
"If you want to know what happened on november 6, 2009 at the Experimental Sound Gallery in Saint Petersburg, Russia, listen to this one. An international ensemble of improvisors was on stage for an unique improvised concert. Let me introduce them. Ilia Belorukov (alto sax, objects) is a musician from Saint-Petersburg. Operating in the fields of free improvisation, noise and electroacoustic music. He is also owner of the new Intonema label that released this concert. Alexey Lapin (upright piano), a pianist, composer and sound engineer is also from Saint-Petersburg. He has some work released on Leo and Red Toucan. Edyta Fil (flute) is from Warsaw. Here and in Strasbourg she studied flue and chamber ensemble. Although educated in classical music she is also into improvised music. The same for Juho Laitinen (cello, voice) from Finland. He is a cellist, specialized in 20th century composed music, mainstream and avant garde jazz, fado, improviser, composer, writer and teacher. In fact we are talking of two different smaller collaborations, that decided impulsively to play together for this occasion. This was done from a right intuition, as this led to some very satisfying improvisations. The classical trained voice of veteran Buckner is patching the way in most improvisations. The gradually unfolding improvisations are dominated by modern classical esthetics, which is often the case when Buckner is part of the game"
(Dolf Mulder, Vital Weekly)
"Intonema is een nieuw label, geleid door de Russische saxophonist Ilia Belorukov. Hoe divers hij aan het werk is, is te horen als we deze eerste twee uitgaven naast elkaar leggen. ‘Bewitched Concert’ is een spontane improvisatie van een internationaal gezelschap, met de Poolse fluitiste Edyta Fil, de Finse cellist Juho Laitinen, en Belorukovs landgenoot Alexey Lapin, een pianist die van zich doet spreken op een aantal recente Leo Records-cd’s. De bekendste muzikant is de Amerikaanse zanger Thomas Buckner, die zijn indrukwekkende stemgeluid al eens inzette in het bijzijn van Roscoe Mitchell. Het vijftal verkent elkaars muzikale mogelijkheden langs de esthetiek van de modern klassieke muziek. De afwezigheid van een slagwerker wordt gezien als een goede aanleiding om zelden een doorgaand ritme op te zoeken. Het is muziek die zich langzaam ontvouwt, uitgekiend met dynamiek omgaat, en aldus spanning creëert."
(Herman te Loo, Jazzflits #168)
"Bewitched Concert (INTONEMA 002) is a record of improvised music made in Saint Petersburg in late 2009: the quintet is an international one, comprising the American singer Thomas Buckner, the Polish flautist Edyta Fil, the Finnish cellist Juho Laitinen, and two Russian players Ilia Belorukov (saxophone) and Alexey Lapin (piano). Many, if not all, of these players have an academic background, and the music does indeed feel (as sleeve notes indicate) a bit more like classical avant-garde atonality than free improv. Every movement is slightly awkward and stiff, and each note has a precision and clarity that you wouldn’t always get from any European improviser who has tended to follow the free-jazz route to arrive where he is today. If that sounds like a criticism, it’s not intended as this music is actually extremely absorbing and beautiful; and the tension between improvised music generation and classical intonation and note-production keeps the performance on a knife-edge throughout. For the opening track, oddly called ‘Epilogue’, they sustain that tension for over 20 minutes through resonant string scrapes, eerie flute trills, unexpected piano notes hanging glacially in the air like icicles. Best effect of all: the near-operatic voice of Buckner making wordless and guttural plaints, which when joined by singing voice of Laitinen will make you feel you’re an intruder in a land of ghosts. Hence the title, I expect; the set does have quite a supernatural aura. Brilliant cover design which suggests an inescapable haunted forest; open the gatefold to reveal cutout shape of a man lost in the middle of it."
(Ed Pinsent, The Sound Projector)
"Ilia Belorukov's Intonema released at the same time with Wozzek also Bewitched Concert, a 40 minutes improvisation reminiscent of contemporary music by a 'spontaneous' and international quintet composed by singer Thomas Buckner, flutist and composer Edyta Fil, pianist, composer and sound engineer Alexey Lapin, cellist Juho Laitinen and Belorukov himself on alto saxophone and objects.
While Dmitry Ukhov in the liner notes mentions Pauline Oliveros and her Deep Listening music, and also Witold Lutoslawski's Hesitant second symphony, we can take note of a work perfectly balanced between contemporary music and improvisation, in which the backgrounds of every musician are perfectly recognizable. It's not that common today listening to young performers (Thomas Buckner is the only one to have more than 40 years of career on his shoulders), coming from different backgrounds even if with a slight balance on contemporary music, still using as means of expressions devices related to recognizable , while stirred, idioms and looking for a coherent structure. So the record - as the other two in this article - can be also taken as an important clue in order to avoid for free improvisation the risk of involution as, apart from single musicians, happened to sound art at least in the last ten years."
(Gian Paolo Galasi, london_resonance)
"Epilogue / Dedication / Transfiguration sont, dans l’ordre, les trois temps de cette improvisation produite par Intonema après avoir été donnée à Saint-Petersourg par Bewitched, association de Thomas Buckner (voix), Edyta Fil (flûte), Ilia Belorukov (saxophone alto et objets), Alexey Lapin (piano) et Juho Laitinen (voix et violoncelle). Si l’on pouvait craindre que la somme de deux lyrismes (celui de Buckner et celui de Lapin) entraîne le projet à sa perte, c’est une belle composition d’interventions déboîtées et fragiles que l’on développe ici. Encouragements à la flûte d’Edyta Fil."
(Guillaume Belhomme, Le Son du Grisli)
Men jag bestämde mig för att inte lyssna som vanligt. Det blev roligare då. Med ens hördes musiken mer städad, där den böljade fram och åter i sina känslostormar. Då sångaren Thomas Buckner kom in lät det som kammarmusik breddad av hjärta och mycket smärta. Alla håller sig till instrumentens regler, men det känns som de inte räckte för någon av dem. De vet inte vad de ska ta sig till med sina känslor. Det är en kvalitet att så öppet bli utsatt för övertalningsförsök; och stilla vädjan."
(Thomas Millroth, Sound of Music)
"A short record documentation a spontaneous and unplanned collaboration between three musicians from Russia (Edyta Fil on flute, Ilia Belorukov on alto sax, Alexey Lapin on upright piano), one from Finland (cellist Juho Laitinen) and one from the USA (singer Thomas Buckner). Strangely, I’ve listened to the CD twice in a row and it just won’t grasp my attention. Soundwise, it doesn’t impose. What’s going on? Is it that the music flows so naturally that it flows by unnoticed? Or that nothing remarkable actually happens?"
(François Couture, Monsieur Delire)
"Second album publié par le label russe Intonema, Bewitched Concert regroupe cinq musiciens issus de divers pays: les russes Ilia Belorukov (saxophone alto) et Alexey Lapin (piano droit), l'américain Thomas Buckner (voix), la polonaise Edyta Fil (flûte) et le finlandais Juho Laitinen (violoncelle et voix). Un quintet international enregistré lors d'une performance live en 2009.
Cette performance en trois parties est aussi étrange que les origines des musiciens. Ce "concert ensorcelé" utilise certes des instruments acoustiques et des techniques traditionnelles, mais il y a un quelque chose d'inquiétant et de dérangeant qui plane tout au long de ces quarante minutes. Alors que le piano et quelquefois le violoncelle créent des boucles ou des drones lancinants et continus, chacun des trois autres musiciens intervient de manière plutôt erratique et aléatoire, courte, non-développée, et incongrue. Il se dégage parfois la même atmosphère que dans certaines pièces de Webern, quand l'apparente autonomie des instruments finit par former un univers froid mais envoutant, austère tout en étant hospitalier. Sauf qu'ici, chacun des instrumentistes paraît posséder son propre vocabulaire et sa propre histoire, ce qui renforce l'impression d'autonomie. Piano et violoncelle sont certainement les principaux instruments qui participent à l'ensorcellement des auditeurs, grâce aux patterns sauvages et aux glissandos interminables, mais il ne faut pas oublier les exercices vocaux de Buckner qui tanguent entre le lyrisme et l'envoutement, entre un chant aux techniques élaborées ou primitives. Entre musique de transe et musique savante occidentale proche du sérialisme, chacun tente d'approfondir cette suite initiatique d'éléments "non-idiomatiques", issus de la tradition de l'improvisation libre: courtes phrases acérés et spontanées au saxophone, flûtes énergiques et sauvages, etc.
Un voyage étrange qui ne refuse rien, ni rythmes, ni mélodies, sans toutefois les développer excessivement, mais qui sait surtout s'aventurer sur des terrains périlleux où des techniques musicales sont confrontées et assemblées selon une inspiration mystique. Une écoute attentive pour une formation instrumentale franchement éclectique, où chaque histoire et chaque approche musicale semblent parvenir à se rejoindre pour une performance plus ensorcelante qu'ensorcelée. Car l'étrangeté de cette musique, malgré son aspect parfois dérangeant parce que dérangé peut-être, n'est pas sans envouter l'auditeur... une fois acceptée l'improbabilité de cette musique. Un concert bizarre mais original, et plutôt frais."
(Julien Heraud, Improv Sphere)
"This is a really bewitched concert. Five musicians meet under one roof to present to you aboriginal sound rituals.They call forth dangerous demons who take you away into perilous labyrinths. A listener goes backstage on Earth's mechanics just like a young man in Dostoevsky's 'The dream of a ridiculous man' cruising over his own dream and stumbling across essential arches.
One of the best improv records this year."
(Nicholay Syrov, Dumpster Diving Blog)