Oktopus is a super klezmer/fanfare group from Montreal, made up of extremely talented musicians such as Guillaume Martineau on piano, Gabriel Paquin-Buki on clarinet, Francis Pigeon on trumpet, Simon Jolicoeur on trombone and Julie Rivest on violin, amongst others. Joining the core ensemble for this album are Emie Rioux-Roussel (piano), Janna Kate (voice) and Dutch violinist Rosanne Philippens, who took advantage of her visit to Montreal and a concert with the OSM to make a diversion to the studio to record a folk piece (Kállai kettős, popularised by David Oistrakh) with the group.
Brahms, Balkans & Bagels is a little marvel of fusion between several classical sources (the 3rd movement of Brahms’ 3rd symphony, Mahler’s 1st and 5th symphonies, Dvořák, Liszt, Saint-Saëns), klezmer, a little jazz and above all lots and lots of originality and fun. The classical melodies twirl (or sometimes lull) with a vital energy carried by the technical excellence of the artists, who build a musical communion that is both surgical in its precision and organic in its discursive ease.
Some highlights (which in no way detract from the quality of the other pieces) are worth noting: Mahler Goes Meshuge (Mahler goes mad), with its obvious links between the composer’s Titan Symphony and the street music of his native Vienna; Balkanale, a truculent version of the Bacchanale from Saint-Saëns’s opera Samson et Dalila; Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2, carried here by an impressively truthful Guillaume Martineau, who is at once a great Romantic virtuoso, a flamboyant gypsy, a jazz improviser and a touch Bugs-Bunny-esque accompanist. Fabulous; Reel de Beatrice, a lovely fusion of Quebec trad music and klezmer; and finally, the powerfully poignant Wiegala, a melody composed by a Jewish nurse who asked to be deported with the children she was caring for to Auschwitz. It is said that she sang this song to them as they entered the gas chamber… In the version performed here by Janna Kate, the emotional power of the moment is felt through the vulnerable voice of the Austrian-born singer. The final bars, held by the trumpet motif from the first movement of Mahler’s 5th Symphony, are unforgettable. The video of this version (see above) won the People’s Choice Award at the Bubbe Awards for the best video of a Jewish song, a distinction awarded each year by the Institute of Jewish Music in Brazil. A huge bravo.
Brahms, Balkans & Bagels is an album you’ll want to listen to again and again, such is its relevance and impressive quality.
