See moreFrench violinist Dominique Pifarély - last heard on ECM a decade ago on Stefano Battaglia's 'Re: Pasolini' - returns to the label with an outstanding solo violin recital, drawn from performances at the Auditorium Saint-Germain in Poitiers and Cave Dimière in Argenteuil.
The music is totally improvised - apart from a free interpretation of the jazz standard "My Foolish Heart" by Victor Young, incorporating inspired elaboration on its beautiful melody - and it roves through a range of moods and atmospheres, textures and tone colours, dynamically and unpredictably.
'Time Before and Time After' borrows its generic title from TS Eliot's poem 'Burnt Norton', and almost all the pieces in this highly inventive recital are named for poets and poetry, with dedications to Mahmoud Darwish, Fernando Pessoa, André du Bouchet, Henri Michaux, Paul Celan, Juan Gelman, and Bernard Noël. The literary references are, however, afterthoughts. "I'm a big reader of poetry and my idea was that the album could resemble a collection of poems. After the recordings were made, I thought about relating a particular piece to this or that poet, and used a few words from each as titles for the improvisations."
Dominique Pifarély, born 1957 in Bègles, is a pioneering improvising violinist, with an inclusive idea of music-making. In his early career he was in demand as a straight jazz player, but soon began playing progressive forms of the music in Mike Westbrook's band and the Vienna Art Orchestra. In the 1990s he co-led a quartet with Louis Sclavis, and recorded in duo with François Couturier, so it's good to have a contemporary account of his creativity with this remarkable solo violin album.
Personnel: Dominique Pifarély (violin)