KUNIKO - cantus - Classical Ear

This is my first exposure to Kuniko Kato's extraordinary percussive and arranging talents - and a thoroughly enjoyable experience it is, too. The majority of the disc is devoted to music by Arvo Pärt in arrangements by Kuniko herself. Over the years, the sparse minimalism of his music has lent itself to some interesting and diverse arrangements, but these are certainly some of the most hypnotic and deftly skilled re-workings on disc. Particularly haunting are Spiegel im Spiegel and Fratres, where the hollow timbre of the marimba lends itself to the meditative sound-world of these pieces. Less effective, perhaps, is the brave, but slightly congested sounding Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten. A brilliant realisation of Steve Reich's New York Counterpoint and the trance-like Purl Ground by Hywel Davies complete this highly rewarding disc. The recording, as we have come to expect from Linn Records, is first class.