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Jochen Vogel : Stille Wasser (D,2006)***'
Jochen Vogel as a harpist was a musician in various groups and projects like a world music group Moka Efti from 1989 until 1997, in the improvisational harp-trio called Trio Modal since 1992, many musical projects solo or with others, first of all some World musicians like in the Classical-World-Music-Project „Zwischenwelten" in 1992, a project in 2001 with story-teller Christine Uhde and Iranian percussionist Behnam Samani, and a recording with Turkish flautist Murat Cakmaz in 2004, besides other stage music projects. In 2002 he has recorded with people like Tato Gomez, Charlie Mariano, Thijs van Leer as well as rock band Fischer Z. Since 1989 until 1997 he won several prizes for Celtic harp in Bretagne (F), Türingen (D) and Vlissingen (NL).
I contacted Jochen Vogel after I heard him on his myspace site, how he combined harp with his own vocals, with a song in German, called “Zwischenzeit”, which I liked ready for the idea of it. Unfortunately the particular track is not included on the album I have from him, and is still unreleased.
This most recent solo album is focussed entirely on the harp, more specifically, a metal string Cláirseach Celtic or Irish harp, a type which, according to his website, seems to have become almost out of use some 200 years ago, - it was the harp of the Irish and Scottish bards for at least 800 years until its last player, Dennis Hempson, died in 1807 at the age of 112. His own type of Cláirseach is the "Sirr Harp", a slightly modified copy of an 18th century Irish harp, designed in collaboration with and made by the German harp-maker Frank Sievert. Different from the few other performers, he tries to give the instrument a new life with more recently written and self penned pieces, and opens up the technique of playing while keeping the pieces melodic and entirely accessible, because the fundamental instrument shows so easily its tonal qualities. The harp has chromatic qualities, which means that each note is embedded with overtones of the surrounding notes, in a much more harmonious way than a piano ever can be. While his own compositions can still be considered as tunes, which are rather melodic, he also adds a few unusual additional arrangements, mostly with a slightly different use of the harp. I thought at first to hear somewhere some other droning instrument somewhere as well, but, Jochen said to me that "all the sounds are from the harp and played live, no overdubs. The sound is pretty close to the acoustic sound of the harp, recorded with two large-membrane microphones and the built in harp-pickup for a little extra bass." Eleven of the pieces/tunes are self written, but there also is a late 17th century piece by Cornelius Lyons, an Irish piece from the 11th century, and more modern pieces by Remy Chauvet, Tommy Potts and also, Charlie Mariano. The CD comes over as a perfect collection with a Celtic harp flavour like we used to hear, but reveals also a vision and a distinctive individuality.
