Unfurl

Flora Curzon (violin) and Francesca Ter-Berg (cello) demonstrate a symbiotic musical relationship in this at times remarkable debut album. The duo are part of London's experimental folk and jazz scene, working with artists such as Talvin Singh, Sam Lee & Friends and Portico Quartet. Their own particular jam is music from south-eastern Europe and beyond: from Romania, Greece and Armenia. Theirs is not a passing interest, however; Curzon and Ter-Berg have studied with masters of the music traditions of these regions. A clue to their immersion in this music is the singing on Unfurl, which is in Romanian and Yiddish and sounds idiomatic. ‘La Obreja’ (the title refers to a town in western Transylvania), a solo vocal, sounds timeless and pure. ‘Mayn Rue Platz’, an arrangement of a piece in Yiddish, is shone through a prism of electronics. But the string playing here is equally notable. ‘Romanian Fantasies’ is a simple duet of passionate violin tune and plucked cello accompaniment. On ‘Nubar Nubar’, the roles invert; a haunting, embellished cello melody is supported by low plucked lines on the violin, both instruments emerging out of the chimes of rustic bells.