This rightly memorable classic composed by Tomaso Albinoni you’ll no doubt know from countless TV shows, and movies like Rollerball, Flashdance and more recently Manchester by the Sea.
This version, performed by Art Tawanghar, and featuring Negar Nick playing the Azari Kamanche, is a decidedly different one. Apparently, it’s the first time the piece has been performed on any kind of Kamanche, and is also the first time it’s been performed in 432Hz. Why 432Hz? It is said to to be the ‘natural frequency of the universe’, and further that it has cosmic healing powers and attracts an audience. Fair enough!
Negar Nick certainly does a wonderful job on the lyrical phrasing here, and it’s fascinating to hear such a familiar tune played in this way, and on such a unique instrumental voice.
The piece’s distinct melancholy, gleaned largely from the sonorous string parts is now augmented with fluttering piano and the plaintive strains of the Azari Kamanche which inevitably lends the piece a slightly eastern flavour – and, further, the very human essence behind the instrument’s performance and capture has, I feel, been accentuated in the mix. This is particularly obvious in the broken down section about halfway through, where some simple percussion accentuates the dynamic spaces before the highly recognisable plod of bass string pizzicato picks up to drive the main theme ever on.
As arrangements of classic pieces go, this is, by definition, a unique one, and it’s always satisfying when the quality of the piece is matched by the ambition of the arrangement.
Find other compositions on Art’s Soundcloud page.
