Danish String Quartet - Last Leaf

The Guardian 60

(ECM)

With their first folk album, Wood Works, the Danish String Quartet set themselves apart from most cases of classical-musicians-going-folky. Clearly they weren’t faking their polskas; leader Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen also plays with folk trio Dreamers’ Circus, and cellist Fredrik Schøyen Sjölin contributes several fine self-penned tunes to the quartet’s latest collection of Nordic folk material. Melodically it is a beautiful set, ranging from traditional Faroese ballads to bittersweet waltzes, and there’s no question the band can play: the sound is lissom, polished, flawless. But all the glossiness doesn’t sit quite right. The arrangements go in for rousing harmonies, silky textures and big builds, which sanitises the character of the tunes and straightens out the kinks. They hurtle through reels, playing fast because they can. I’d take slower with more swing any day.