Florian Weber 
Imaginary Cycle 
(ECM Records)
 

 
THIS is music for piano, brass ensemble and flute written by the German composer and pianist Florian Weber: an unusual line-up that makes for a bold and exciting sonic journey. 

Weber on piano is joined by a group including four euphonium players, a trombone quartet as well as flautist Anna-Lena Schnabel and Michel Godard on the little used tuba “serpent” instrument.

Together they perform a work that blurs the line between where improvisation ends and composition begins. The cycle is spread over four main sections: Opening, Word, Sacrifice and Blessing, all bearing ritualistic connotations.

The composer deliberately reflects on the liturgical mass as a means of organisation and community, here minimalist in dogma. 

In Prologue the composition is focused at the start of the journey on intense, flowing piano refrains from Weber. Chopin-inspired, lyrical and pictorial in intent, it gives way to the introduction of brooding dark brass, held chords that contrast with the optimism of the melodic piano lines, given room to explore different spaces and spectrums above.

But the function of the brass is not limited to accompaniment: individual sections detach and regroup throughout, answering the piano’s impulses in a mass-like call and response.

Then the tempo slows for a poetic solo piano, with Debussy-inspired French Impressionist influences to the fore, before a chorale that finds the brass section taking the lead, giving a sombre medieval mood, that transforms into a single note piano drive and new spaces imagined.

Word delves into new territory, with a single flute calling from a distant hillside where Asian lands and diffused hues move the imagination into states of contemplation. 

The recording was overseen by ECM producer Manfred Eicher, at the Sendesaal Breman concert hall in Germany, during July 2022.

Speaking ahead of the release, Weber explained his intentions: “I imagined the brass section standing on a balcony in the distance. And in a way, this was realised. The microphone set-up was adjusted accordingly, with increased distance kept between the mics and the brass, as compared to the very close up capturing of the piano. At the pre-planning stage we had imagery in mind — pictorial, figurative landscapes as gateways for musical exploration.”

Epilogue closes the album with a two-minute summary of the journey, the new lands reached and spiritual awakenings realised. The final blend of piano, brass and flute are celebrated in harmonic unison, with a vigour matched by a final flourish of melody on the piano underscored by sustained brass chords. 

A work of outstanding beauty with no compromise.