Halvcirkel - Vida

A Closer Listen

After a decade of reinventing other composers’ works, Danish string quartet Halvcirkel is stepping out with an album of all-original sounds.  Vida, named after a Swedish summer home, is cozy and welcoming, its warmth derived from the quartet’s desire to “braid” their individual parts so that no player dominates.

The first taste of the album, the video for “We Like Our Friends,” dances in shape and color.  The track itself begins with a passage of breath, a pause before the plunge.  Passages and images loop, repeat and accumulate.  Crumpled paper can be seen in the background, a nod to discarded drafts.  The many-fingered paint suggests hands and bows.  The music draws down, then gently resurges before the end, reflecting the difficulty of saying goodbye.

It’s obvious that Halvirkel likes its friends; the quartet also likes its influences, and proudly cites Terry Riley as its mentor.  Their “non-hierarchal” approach reflects Riley’s influence, as do their repetitions; but their main melodic lines, such as the sea shanty that emerges midway through “København,” are wholly their own.  This burst of life represents the flight of imagination; the remainder of the album honors hope fulfilled.  Notably, “vida” is the Spanish word for life.

Playful pizzicatos dot “Good Medicine,” the combination of title and tone suggesting that joy is good for the soul.  Other pieces pay homage to the seasons, from the frigid Icelandic winter to the scent of spring to a beloved summer home.  As the seasons also correlate with the cycles of life, the very name Halvcirkel (semi-circle) offers hope to the listener caught in a season of despair.  “Nidingen”s tonal contrasts are “intended to convey a feeling of personal stability while surrounded by chaos,” while “Heiður Himinn” casts a net of calm.

Halcirkel’s greatest asset is its ability to draw from multiple disciplines; the album travels from drone to tango, while retaining an essential cohesion.  The opening track was written in lockdown, while the penultimate piece is “a meditation on sleep and death,” but there’s a lot of living to be done in-between, and Halvcirkel doesn’t want to miss a single moment.  (Richard Allen)