Review of Gesualdo & Gerung by Hans-Jürgen Gerung, Gerung-Arts & Music, 2018
https://www.edition-gerung.de/
What links there may be between Gesualdo da Venosa and the German guitarist Hans-Jürgen Gerung, contemporary composer, student of the Italian composer Sylvano Bussotti? Apparently nothing at all. Five hundred years are not few, but we know that in music, in the art the passing of time can have a relative importance. Gesualdo had a great influence on his contemporary music scene and, since the twentieth century, has inspired several modern composers. His musical creations haven’t ceased to fascinate even a century like ours that shows worrisome similarities with the Renaissance from the conomical, political and social point of view.
This record is the first of the new independent label Gerung-Arts & Music and presents an unusual mix of music: two pieces by Gesualdo: the Gagliarda del Principe and the Canzon del Principe interspersed with the three movements piece “tapping two”, composed and performed by Gerung himself.
The juxtaposition of Gesualdo’s sweet melodies with a contemporary piece designed and composed for the guitarist Sergio Sorrentino, originally for electric guitar and effects and here performed with the classical guitar, could be perplexing. But this is not. An accurate listening reveals to us many more “sonic” similarities than we could originally think. Thanks to the interpreter and his guitar that manage to create timbres that perfectly match for all three tracks: in this way the music seems to “move” one encounter to the other, the temporal differences become thinner and for the miracle of this Art “time warp” Gerung lies alongside Gesualdo and the differences between musical genres disappear. This Gesualdo & Gerung is a rather short EP, but in its high emotional density it’s able to reveal in a short time a huge amount of details and information. Change your point of view.
NeuGuitars 