★★★★★
“A world of extreme fragility and introspection … Altmann exerts a powerful tug on the listener throughout this work … Holy Fools reaches a state of perpetual emotional suspension … distilled … intriguing … gorgeously played by Benaud Trio”
-Graham Strahle, The Australian
★★★★
“Altmann conveys the sense of time stopping… sensual… uneasy… poignant ambience… Schubertian melancholia… husky cello and shimmering dew drops of piano… sensitive, refined performances”
-Limelight
"Exudes austerity and calm... executed with immense care... a delicate, quietly uplifting evocation... gently insistent... marked by fragility, reserve, and deliberation... superior musicianship"
-Textura
"Larmoyant cello gestures, tentative piano touches... thoughtful, subdued sounds, pure melancholy... Altmann knows how to capture this with excellence... strong, compelling"
-Nieuwe Noten
"A fresh mix of minimalism, romanticism, and pop-rock phrasing... shows that '3 chords and off you go' doesn't only work for punk music but also classical"
-Vital Weekly
One-composer records have somehow slipped out of fashion, but the chance to delve more deeply into the psyche of a single composer is a special indulgence for both performer and listener. Luke Altmann's music first graced our music stands in 2007, when we performed the slow and achingly beautiful ‘Prelude to New York’ at Manchester Lane in Melbourne. The piece’s honest conviction, simplicity and deep expression stayed with us.
The slightly oxymoronic title of our album references the literary paradox of the wise or holy fool who, contrary to outward appearances speaks a profound truth.
The Sunne Rising is a wordless setting of John Donne’s metaphorical and sensual poem of the same name. High and Sovereign Lady! hails Dulcinea del Toboso, the fictional object of Don Quixote’s considerable passions and a symbol of ridiculous devotion to admirable ideals. Continuing the Quixotic theme, Holy Fools reflects on the pursuits of those outsiders whose convictions may be at odds with most, but whose disarming persistence and naivety triumph. An even more personal utterance is Prelude to New York, inspired by a close friend of great conviction departing on an idealistic quest.
Whilst a publicist might label this album ‘chamber chill’ that would be short changing the emotional content of the music. A better description for the curious might be the spacious calm of Arvo Pärt touching the melodic wandering and resignation of Schubert.
Lachlan Bramble,
Benaud Trio, February 2020
credits
released April 1, 2020
All music by Luke Altmann
Lachlan Bramble - violin
Ewen Bramble - cello
Amir Farid - piano
All tracks recorded at ABC Studio 520 Adelaide, 2017 and 2018.
Session produced by Jakub Gaudasinski and engineered by Tom Henry.
Edited, mixed and mastered by Alex Stinson.
CD design by Sam Songailo, Photography by Denis Smith.
Gustave Dore's illustrations from Don Quixote courtesy of Project Gutenberg.
Disc illustration by Boardman Robinson from The Idiot by Dostoyevsky.
Detail on page 11 from Schubert at the Piano by Gustav Klimt
Tracks 3 and 4 commissioned and premiered by Benaud Trio with the assistance of Arts SA.
Recorded and produced with the assistance of Arts SA and the Australian Cultural Fund.
Thanks to Sarah Iredale, William and Hugo Altmann, Mark and Sue Altmann, John and Jenny Iredale, Kate Cook, Penny Iredale, Lorraine McLaughlin, Peter Fitzgerald, Grahame and Gai Dudley, Raymond Chapman Smith, Quentin SD Grant, Roberto Cavagnoli, Kasimir Burgess, Sam Songailo, Sam Collins, Denis Smith, Mike Retter, Jon Dale, Robert Macfarlane, Alex Carpenter, David Kotlowy, Nayia Cominos, Shirin Lim, Sheridan Barter, Susan Ovenden, Lara Huddleston, Zohreh Farid, Louisa Giacomini, Alex Tsiboulski
Might be one of my favorite albums. The vocals and percussions make for something which sounds at the same time very new and very ancient and I love it. Joanna Foliveli
Spellbinding ensemble songs with gently pulsing melodies, this is filmic music inspired by love, loss, & redemption. Bandcamp New & Notable Jun 13, 2021
Originally composed for the stage, this dystopian jazz suite galvanizes AI-related anxieties into powerful, unsettling explosions. Bandcamp New & Notable May 13, 2020
These almost heartbreakingly gentle felted piano compositions have the delicacy and loveliness of slow-falling snow. Bandcamp New & Notable Apr 30, 2023
This album features a diverse set of composers with an awesome performance by the All-Stars. An excellent addition to the Field Recordings Project. Murphy Adams
