A Closer Listen
We’ve been impressed at the versatility of harpists over the past year, from the ambient appeal of Mary Lattimore to the experimentalism of Kety Fusco to the remixes of Lara Somogyi. This year, Lavinia Meijer follows three seasonal EPs with the 18-track Winter, and as fans of winter music, we’re glad she selected this season for an expanded release.
Winter has a trifold appeal. First and foremost, it’s a gorgeous album that sounds like winter, with peaceful tones reminiscent of Christmas (Benjamin Britten’s “Corpus Christi Carol”) and snow (Franz Schubert’s “A Winter Interlude”). Second, the album provides the opportunity to hear the work of modern composers in fresh settings. Max Richter’s “The Departure” (taken from The Leftovers) was originally a piano piece with dueling tempos; now extended (although not as much as the 34-minute fan edit), Meijer preserves the tone while adding darker, bass-like timbres. Nils Frahm’s poignant “Over There, It’s Raining” is brighter here, with its intimate, up-close miking preserved. Lambert’s tender “As Ballad” retains its tenderness but gains warmth. Ólafur Arnalds’ “Lag fyrir ömmu (Song for grandma)” expands into stringed comfort in its closing minute; in Meijer’s version the Alma Quartet takes the reins in the second half, providing one of the album’s most uplifting segments.
The third appeal is the opportunity to hear Meijer as composer. The three-part “Open Window” was the starting point for Winter, a metaphorical blossom born during the pandemic, relaying the isolation of winter, the longing for connection, the dreaming, and the eventual reuniting. As part one quickens and fills, one feels the reverie of family gatherings, the time around the hearth. The second movement is even more personal, based on a folk song from the artist’s native Korea. The gentle conclusion wraps the set in a cozy flannel blanket, the high-pitched notes like flakes borne upward in the wind. “Tomorrowday,” the set’s strongest piece, is marked by intense quickenings and a sense of forward progress. A poem in the liner notes provides some context: “The music in my head knocked on the glass, begging for it to unlock, and air to flow. Then, through the snow, spring reached out a hand.”
We know that spring is coming; we know the warmth will return. But Meijer’s music encourages us to enjoy the season we’re in: to gather around the fire, to watch the flakes fall, and to toast the cold contrast. (Richard Allen)
Tue Jan 30 00:01:10 GMT 2024