Groven/Kleive: Harmorgan Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.5

Groven/Kleive: Harmorgan Blu-ray Movie Review

The Odd Couple.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman April 11, 2011

It almost sounds like the improbable set up to a Borscht Belt joke, doesn’t it? An organist and a harmonica player walk into a church. . .. There are probably all sorts of punchlines available, none of which are appropriate to a family site like this one. And yet, that patently odd pairing of instruments is what you get on this fascinating new audiophile release from Norwegian label 2L, a niche label which seems poised to exploit every distinctive musician in Norway. Luckily, there seems to be a lot of distinctive musicians in Norway, as 2L’s rather impressive list of releases has aptly proven. But nothing has come close to being as unusual as this uniting of organist Iver Kleive with harmonica virtuoso Sigmund Groven in a program which includes a series of Groven and Kleive originals as well as some new arrangements of warhorses by none other than Johann Sebastian Bach and Georg Friedrich Handel. It might seem incredible at first glance and/or listen to think of pairing up the world’s largest instrument with one of its smallest. First of all, what about balance? Second of all, how can a harmonica possibly compete, color-wise, with the panoply of choices an organ presents? That second question is probably the most troubling, at least from a timbre aspect, that this recording raises up. But as for the first, the impeccable engineering that 2L releases always offer makes sure that Groven’s contributions are never overshadowed by the frankly overwhelming sound of Kleive’s organ.

The harmonica has often been seen as the unwanted stepchild of music, utilized mostly by folk and rock artists like Bob Dylan. And yet there have been a number of really amazing virtuosos on the instrument through the years, mining genres from classical to pop to jazz. Chief among these has no doubt been Toots Thielemans, the Belgian player whose incredible mastery of the chromatic harmonica has made him possibly the most in demand player of the instrument for the past half century-plus. Thielemans is able to coax an incredible variety of sounds and nuanced musings out of his “mouth organ,” and his playing has been featured on any number of iconic recordings, not to mention a host of famous soundtracks (Midnight Cowboy). Thielemans also wrote the jazz standard “Bluesette,” which he recorded and made into an international hit of monumental proportions. Sigmund Groven hasn’t quite ascended to the starry heights that Thielemans has, but he has amassed a considerable international reputation, which is summed up rather nicely by this quote from the inimitable Sir George Martin: “In the right hands the harmonica can be an instrument of great beauty and sophistication. Sigmund Groven, like Tommy Reilly and Larry Adler before him, makes full use of the wide range and tonal expressions that the harmonica is capable of. His musicianship is superb, and he now unquestionably reigns supreme as one of the finest exponents of the harmonica in the world.”

While there’s certainly more than a bit of novelty to this pairing, that may also ultimately be what at least partially hobbles this release. As amazingly variegated as the sounds that Kleive can cull from his huge, digitally enhanced, organ are, no amount of tinkering can ultimately substantially alter the sound of Groven’s harmonica. Therefore there’s a certain sameness to this program, despite a variety of compositional approaches in the original material. Some of the classical material is frankly not exceptionally well suited for this kind of duo, especially with regard to the harmonica’s rather mournful and melancholy ambience. Therefore, the two Sicilian movements, one each by Bach and Handel, are what fare best here, due both to the slower, more stately, tempi, as well as the musical character itself. While there’s certainly nothing wrong in adapting a Bach Flute Sonata (in this case BMV 1031) or a Recorder Sonata (in this case HWV 369) for another instrument (and of course Bach himself did this all of the time), it can’t be denied that the character of the harmonica is not especially well suited for some of this material.

The original material here is fairly wide in feeling and approach. While it might be loosely considered to fall within a “classical” framework, it features repeated motives and washes of sound that really are more redolent of the neo-classicism or indeed even the rock of some of the ambient, minimalist composers like Brian Eno or Philip Glass. There’s also a proto-pop sound to a lot of Kleive’s work especially, with folk-like chord changes providing the foundation from some impressively large scale musical structures. There is in other words no real bracing modernism in any of these pieces, which may in fact recommend this title to any number of listeners tired of the sturm und drang of so much modern music.

2L deserves major kudos for continuing to mine the seemingly incredibly diverse world of Norwegian music. Their releases are almost always unusual, frequently quite innovative, and without doubt some of the best recordings from a technical standpoint we've had in this still dawning Blu-ray audio era. The fact is HarmOrgan may be too idiosyncratic for a wide audience, but listeners with a more adventurous temperament might find this odd but appealing duo an "odd couple" they'd like to spend some time with.

Groven/Kleive: Harmorgan Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Yes, you did read that description right, this is supposedly an audio only Blu-ray, and for the most part it is. However, in a first for an audio 2L release, at least since I've been reviewing them for Blu-ray.com, there is a brief video extra included on the disc, namely the performance of the duo of Groven's piece "Undring." Presented via an AVC encoded 1080i transfer in 1.78:1, it offers excellent clarity and sharpness, with very well saturated color. Otherwise, the audio Blu-ray does offer an onscreen menu, if you like to see something while you're listening. This menu offers instant track toggling and the ability to toggle between the two audio options via the colored buttons on your remote control. Of course, there's really no need to even have your HDTV on if you don't want when you listen to this recording.

Groven/Kleive: Harmorgan Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

As usual, 2L has provided reference quality Blu-ray audio on this release. The duo was recorded at Uranienborg Church in September 2010 by 2L's Morten Lindberg. The recording was made with DPR microphones, Millennia Media amplifiers and SPHYNX2 converters, all connected to a PYRAMIX workstation. Utilizing DXD, a professional audio format which allows for an astounding 352.8 kHz sampling rate, the basic files were then downmixed for Blu-ray audio (as well as the accompanying SACD) to 24bit/192kHz tracks in both a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and LPCM 2.0 format. This is one 2L recording where frankly there isn't a huge difference between the surround and the stereo tracks. As clever as Kleive undeniably is with utilizing different stops on his mammoth organ, there is only so much timbral differentiation that can be achieved, and the mass of sound from that organ can only be diffused so far no matter what surround techniques are employed. The harmonica of course is so tightly focused that though 2L has indeed mixed Groven with a fair amount of spaciousness, the main sound from the instrument is resolutely anchored forward. With the onslaught of sound from the organ, hall ambience is sometimes all but swallowed up with the billowing waves emanating from that massive instrument. This actually works well with the slathered layers that Kleive likes to employ, but it can rob the final product of a bit of clarity now and then. Fidelity here is excellent, however, and dynamic range is truly impressive. All frequency ranges are handled effortlessly, from the organ's lowest pedal points to the highest reaches of the harmonica's plaintive wails.

Groven/Kleive: Harmorgan Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

As mentioned above in the Video section, for the first time ever on a 2L release (at least that I'm aware of), we have one brief Video extra, a music video of sorts for "Undring" (1080i; 3:22). There's not much here other than the two artists playing the song, but it's fun to see them in action.

As always with 2L releases, an SACD copy of the program is included with the Blu-ray.

Groven/Kleive: Harmorgan Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Sigmund Groven and Iver Kleive have known each other and collaborated for decades, and that easy rapport is palpable throughout this concert. This is inarguably one of the most idiosyncratic releases yet from niche label 2L, which is saying quite a bit. There's a certain sameness to this program which can't be overcome, simply because we're getting only two instruments and the bulk of the original material is set in the same sort of proto-folk vocabulary. That said, this is a fascinating recording which really exploits the possibilities for contemporary harmonica performance, and Groven is certainly up to the task. If Kleive's organ work is a little more typical, that's not completely unexpected, as the organ has long been the accompaniment instrument of choice for any number of classical composers. Hearing these two instruments together, however, is a study in rather atypical musical waters, and as such, it will either intrigue or confound, depending upon your particular sensibilities. One way or the other, this is yet another stunning recording from 2L, a label which continues to offer some of the best audio Blu-rays available. Recommended.