Goldmund: The Malady Of Excellence (CD, Type, July 2008)

In which Keith Kenniff plays some pretty tunes on the piano, and charms this listener's socks off.

Nobody could accuse this of being over-complicated. Goldmund is a solo piano project, and the tunes are quite simple and played without a great deal of flourish. At a casual listen, they could be mistaken for grade 3 piano exam assignments. In fact, I think there is a little more to the harmonies and rhythms than it first seems. But what really makes this record is the, er, recording. The piano seems to have been miked up very closely, so you can hear not just the notes but also the thud of the hammer hittings the strings, and the scrape of the fingers hitting the strings. It has a powerfully intimate effect. I really feel like I'm sitting next to, or possibly inside or underneath, the instrument. It's not going to trouble the reputation of Sviatoslav Richter, but it's very lovely.

I bought this from Boomkat. They describe it as Home Listening / Modern Classical / Ambient.

Comments