Vivat Vivere

Pablo Golder (diatonic accordion) and Baltazar Montanaro (baritone violin) have been playing together for a decade, touring and recording three albums. Golder is interested in the traditions of both his Italian birthplace and his Belgian home, while Montanaro's heritage is a blend of Hungarian and French (Occitan). The resultant melody mélange pulls from these roots, along with a peppering of original material. Montanaro also sings on a few of the tunes.

The results are spirited and flamboyant, displaying joyfulness and melancholy in turn, the pair thinking like a full chamber ensemble. Golder spends half his time fingering wandering bass lines, while flitting around with his other hand in the high-note realms. ‘Griffon’ has sparse violin flecks with trilling accordion, before ‘La Guerre Des Boules’ kicks in, with its coruscating sawing and spidery bass patterns. Whenever the spirits droop, there's usually a curative celebration ahead. A Gypsy-ish vocal livens up ‘Fabiola’, with its suitably dervish violin solo, then ‘Emile’ makes for a much gentler traipse. Golder shapes clipped, pumping phrases, while Montanaro's violin dances around nimbly. ‘Alice’, too, has a Gypsy strut to it, with finely poised moves before Montanaro sweeps in with a romantic café bar vocal.