Ensemble Nikel – Ensemble Nikel, Radio Works. Bandcamp.

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 August 2024

The album opens with Aiguilles, from 2022, by French composer Sylvain Marty. It begins with a low bell-like sounding gesture, which masks the entrance of a fragile-sounding, high-pitched tone and a back-and-forth gliding gesture, creating a complex sonority, which ends abruptly with a sharp percussive sound. This sonority is presented several times with varying duration. Gradually each element acquires a life of its own and the piece unfolds. The sonic elements presented at the beginning begin to unravel, their initial boundaries are blurred and what started as a sequential presentation of a combined sonority becomes a compelling texture with multiple layers. Marty’s treatment of the instruments does not limit itself to conventional performance techniques, and the combined sounds he creates are not easily identifiable as coming from one of the instruments of the ensemble. Sylvain Marty has a background in philosophy and is also improviser. His background impacts his compositional approach by informing the development of the musical materials at the micro level and the overall structure, conceptual framework and form at the macro level. The quality of the studio recording captures the sonic nuance and richness intended by the composer. The closeness of the sounds to the listener facilitated by the studio recording creates a sense of immersiveness.