This is the documentary recording of the Russian ensemble
Sa Zna performing a game piece in Germany with German and Swiss artists. "Oberland" is a term referring to a mythical territory at the top of the world, somewhere between Switzerland and Russia; it also refers to the place of secrets. "The Secrets" is a Russian children's game that pits one child against another in placing a precious object under glass inside the earth. The object of the contest is for players to discover their opponents' secrets before their own secrets are discovered.
Sa Zna, infamous for their ability to create amazing music from the barest resources, cooperated with half a dozen other Europeans to create as many secrets as possible, in order to uncover them in the same work. The result is a freewheeling, mysterious, dark, and sometimes funny aural game, whereby hidden selves are buried and revealed in phrasing, tonalities, economy, and excess. No instrumentation is listed on the package and, therefore, while trumpets and saxophones can be identified, little else can be determined without close -- closer, closer still -- listening to the proceedings as they evolve ever so slowly over an hour. Soprano saxophones shimmer in and out of the opaque soundscape with rounded, bell-like tones as percussion instruments play glissandi in the foreground, creating a whispering language for the secrets to hide in, only to turn into a roar later when they are exposed as ideas and emotions -- nothing more or less than that. But it's enough and, as free improvisation, its subtlety and restraint are remarkable, given that there are over a dozen people performing the same ritual. This is a visionary work that gives the evidence of how egoless collaborations can be.
Into Oberland cannot be described -- only heard and believed.
Sa Zna does it again. ~ Thom Jurek