Over a period of five years, Swiss directors Norbert Wiedmer and Peter Guyer documented the activity of legendary producer
Manfred Eicher, the founder and driving force behind
ECM Records, whose advocacy of progressive jazz and of classical composers like
Arvo Pärt,
Meredith Monk,
Valentin Silvestrov, and
György Kurtág changed the landscape of contemporary music in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. The film Sounds and Silence: Travels with Manfred Eicher was released in 2009 and this 2011 soundtrack album is made up largely of tracks taken from previously released
ECM albums that
Eicher produced, some from as early as 1980. Most of the pieces are low-key and understated and feature chamber ensembles, although there are several piano tracks and several featuring orchestra or chorus. The album has a mix of selections from
ECM's classical and jazz repertoire, and from the label's specialty, the many pieces that lie somewhere in between the two. The artists include pianist
Keith Jarrett, saxophonists
Jan Garbarek and
Gianluigi Trovesi, violist
Kim Kashkashian, the duo of bandoneon player
Dino Saluzzi and cellist
Anja Lechner, and the
Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir led by
Tonu Kaljuste. The album offers a good sampling of
ECM's offerings (although it steers clear of the more avant-garde music) and should whet listeners' appetites for seeking out the releases from which these tracks were taken. ~ Stephen Eddins