Fran & Flora / Precious Collection

I was minding my own business over Zoom, watching a lunchtime concert at Yiddish New York or some such during the pandemic when my mind was blown by an English duo, Fran & Flora. This was not traditional klezmer, and it was wonderful! I haven't yet had a chance to writed about that first album, "Furled," but just in time for this season's reviews in a brand new venture into experimental Yiddish folk with "Precious Collection." This second album release by Francesca Ter-Berg (cello/vox) and Flora Curzon (violin/vox) "draws inspiration from archival recordings, recovered manuscripts and studying with traditional masters, infusing source material with drones, loops, free improvisation and electronics to create a 'border-defying' aesthetic." This is the my favorite kind of my favorite music.

Blending voice, their instruments, and electronics, the duo explores the music and sound, joyously. (Okay, in these fraught times, joy is becoming something of an obsession for me.) From the opening drops of vocal, "Nudity," to the swirling "Flowers for Inocence, in between and to the end, this is a critical facet of Yiddish culture in the 21st century.

Experimentation doesn't mean that we lose track of the origin. "New beginnings," is a clear exploration of klezmer. So is "Nign." Just differently imagined. Likewise for the song "Fishelekh Gefinen" or "Feygele." And then the songs continue, morphing. This album is for those who love traditional music and can't stop asking, "well, what if we looked at it a bit differently?" It's okay to dance a "Dobriden," (and the two play marvellously) but it's also okay to extend the repertoire in non-dance directions. I feel that rush that comes when you see something that you didn't know existed, but seems obvious and necessary once seen, or heard. What if you stretch the time signature this way, or take the notes that way? It's still a Dobriden, but more. And, that's part of the magic of this album. We never stray so far from tradition that it feels alien; rather, it feels as though we have new and better ears with which to hear. In a sense, that is what the penultimate track on the release, "Hold me close" seems to be about, especially when paired with a special "Sholem Aleichem," to close.

Reviewed by Ari Davidow, 28 December 2024 .

Songs

1. Nudity 2:17
2. Romanian Fantasies ii 4:55
3. New Beginnings 5:31
4. Fishelekh Gefinen 3:42
5. Nign 3:38
6. Kick Up in 9 2:07
7. Dobriden - Hamanul 5:10
8. Feygele—Little Bird 2:28
9. Flowers for Innocence 3:19
10. Yikhes—Lineage (Doina iv) 6:27
11. Hold Me Close 4:16
12. Sholem Aleichem 2:07

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