Nice reviews of Ice Quartet UK tour
photo by Laurence Harvey
REVIEW: TERJE ISUNGSET’S ICE QUARTET AT RNCM IS ‘BEAUTIFUL, EERIE AND OTHERWORLDLY’
Immerse yourself in the magical fusion of nature and music as Terje Isungset's Ice Quartet enchants the Royal Northern College of Music, creating an ethereal soundscape that transcends the boundaries of conventional performances.
It was absolutely impossible not to be moved by the music, using unique methods to create percussive sounds, with eerie but strangely familiar timbres, the crunch of foot steps on snow, the ice horn ringing reminiscent of animal calls painting a strange and bleak landscape in the Winter scenes.
All in all, this was a night of music so different, beautiful and mesmerising it will live long in the memory of those who were there.
Eerily beautiful, haunting, otherworldly yet so comforting, it was a fantastic evening and if the quartet come back to Manchester, you have to go and see it to believe it.
Review of Terje Isungset Ice Quartet at The Anvil, Basingstoke
The Terje Isungset Ice Quartet are a Norwegian band unlike anything I’ve ever seen, or heard, before. Probably stylistically uncategorisable, they play instruments made of polar ice and a form of music that seeks to evoke the natural world.
The sound is ethereal and evocative, with such a minimalistic, generic quality that you begin to ponder the very origins of music itself. It’s at once simple yet technically complex, challenging yet easy listening, with more traditionally melodic interludes provided by Terje playing ice xylophone or tubular ice bells, and the sweet, steepling Enja-like voice of the band’s elfin songstress. And throughout all this, the instruments melt and drip, themselves a metaphor for the global warming Terje is keen to highlight.
Their last number was called Ocean Memories, a piece written specifically for Greenpeace, a fitting end to a remarkable concert that entertained whilst highlighting polar climate changes. And, thanks to those long, eerie bass notes, no ships were wrecked in Basingstoke on Saturday night.
Other comments from our tour:
"It was a wonderful performance – a visual and musical feast. There was so much theatricality in the unveiling of the various ice instruments, and in Terje’s ice horn “moments” Very accomplished musicians and composers – the harpist and singer had also composed a couple of the numbers. The clarity of the sound mix was perfect and I loved some of the effect woven into the mix – as well as running water, there was a blue whale and a snoring polar bear and cubs! " - UK programmer
"It was an extraordinarily profound and moving musical experience. If the audience seemed unusually quiet it was because we were mesmerised." - Audience comment
"It really was an exceptional evening. We were so impressed by the commitment of the musicians and technicians. The whole concept is wildly innovative and imaginative. It gave a fascinating insight into the Norwegian culture and its relationship with the natural world. Technically it was extraordinary and the music beautiful." - Audience comment
"Thanks so much for bringing this to the area. Such importance for so many reasons. Very inspiring." - Audience comment