Magnus Granberg — Night Will Fade And Fall Apart
Night Will Fade And Fall Apart is a new(ish) two-CD set from Stockholm-based improviser/composer Magnus Granberg. On the first disc we have a forty-three-minute piece for a modern ensemble, and on the second disc, solo playing (aside from a vibraphone & piano track) of elements from the larger work. As its title suggest the work here feels both nocturnal and shadowy, with the pace of the main piece shifting as it progresses from decidedly active and mid-paced, to lullingly layered, and moodily pulled out
Night Will Fade and Fall Apart was commissioned by Thanatosis Produktion in late 2020, and was specifically written for the newly formed Tya Ensemble- which features Josefin Runsteen- Volin, My Hell Green-cello, Fin Loxbo- guitar, Anna Christenssson, John Eriksson- Vibraphone and Percussion, and Ryan Packard- Percussion.
The piece takes as its points of departure a tiny handful of songs from two very different times and places: Tres gentil cuer and En l’amoureux vergier by the French, late medieval composer Solage as well as My Foolish Heart, a popular song (and subsequent jazz standard) from the late 1940s by Victor Young and Ned Washington from whose lyrics the piece also borrows its title, albeit in a slightly modified manner. The rhythmic materials of the piece are all extracted from the songs of Solage and treated in different ways, whereas the harmonic materials are loosely derived from My Foolish Heart.
The first CD track runs at the forty-three minutes and forty-six-second mark- and this is for the whole Ensemble. It begins with a blend of mid-paced chiming ‘n’ darting vibe and light percussion; this is edged by a constant slicing string tone. Initially, I’m getting the vibe of a mid-paced instrumental Tom Waits, when he’s at the more junkyard jazz end of his sound. As we progress more layers are gentle and carefully added to the brew- be it shadowy ‘n’ furtive percussive shudders, eerier rattles, string creaks ‘n’ slurred slides, gong strikes ‘n’ mournful wails. One really does get the feeling of shadows stretching and deepening as the dusk presses into the night. By around the fifteen-minute mark, the pace seems to slow and pulled out- with detail knocks, simmers, whistles and eerier stretched-out creak’s ‘n’ drags- all bringing to mind a hazed twilight stop on a deserted railway station platform. By around the mid-way point, the pace has picked up from its almost crawling to a stop lull with a blend of tight fiddle ‘n’ grate, and vibe dart. But as we move towards the twenty-eighty-minute things start layer, and slow up once again. The remained of the track sort of glides and drifts along like a junkyard spectre searching for a place to rest- at points you feel it may crawl to a complete stop, yet it never does…just slowly but surely edging on.
On the second disc are five tracks- all but one of these is a solo instrumental take on elements from the large piece. These go from "Night Will Fade and Fall Apart (for Percussion)", with its mix of slow bounding drums and slicing/ noisily simmering percussion haze. Onto the stark and spaced tones of "Night Will Fade and Fall Apart (for Guitar)". Finishing off with the longest track on this disc "Night Will Fade and Fall Apart (for Piano and Vibraphone)"- which comes in at the thirty-one and a bit mark, and finds the plaintive and barren tones of each instrument striking out an even and solemn path, just apart.
After being a fan of Mr Granberg’s output over the last few years I was of course excited when this double-set release appeared. And I’ll have to say, unlike much of his output, both discs took some time to both sink in and click with me- and bizarrely it was the second disc I preferred for a long time, with the final track being my favourite moment- but on the last few plays through the main longer track has fully clicked with me- so I now I equally enjoy both discs. So, for that reason, I’d say that maybe Night Will Fade And Fall Apart is for your more seasoned Granberg listener. To check out for yourself