It seems like it's been a hard and dark week for obvious reasons, and clearly everybody's lives are affected so much by Corona - we hope all our readers can stay as safe as possible. I guess we look at things in particular from a musical perspective, and with festivals being cancelled, live tours postponed it's a hard time for musicians, and it must be pretty strange for artists who are releasing new singles and albums, against a backdrop where everything feels a little surreal.
Frans Bak has inadvertently has found the right tone for the current world situation, with a gorgeous but melancholy composition entitled 'Parting', which is released today. It was original written as a funeral song for a play at the National Theatre, but in particular arranged to be performed with the cellist Live Johannsson. Of course there is no better instrument to provide a sad soundscape to a funeral song than a cello, and the track demonstrates this perfectly.
The opening of 'Parting' is straight forward enough I guess, although the piano has an elegant poise and he generates so much musical expression in just those first few notes. However it's the cello that sets the tone so dramatically and in a searing, heartfelt and melancholy manner, and the 1st time hearing it I just felt the need to sit and contemplate what I was hearing. It's simply the most beautiful moving piece, and the performances by piano, violin and cello are really stunning. I guess it reminds me a little of Max Richter, and some of his equally gorgeous compositions such as 'On the Nature of Daylight'.
Frans Bak is a renowned composer, who was responsible for the music in the TV series 'The Killing' and has over 30 years of experience composing for TV and Film. He releases his own album simply entitled 'Piano' on April 17th, and the day before he is due to play a concert at St Pancreas Old Church in London. We really hope that can go ahead safely, or alternatively moved easily to another date.