Jakob Ullmann's A Catalogue of Sounds is a strong contender for my all-time favorite album. This richly detailed 73 minutes piece (performed by violin, viola, cello and ensemble)showcases the impact of absolute subtlety, resetting the ear of the listener to be attuned to the most minuscule gradations and shifts.

While remaining infinitesimally quiet throughout, there is no feeling of limitation ; the variation in texture is so great that nothing ever seems missing or reduced. I've heard several people say that they had forgotten by the end just how quiet overall the piece really is – their perception had recentered itself over the course of listening. The playing is dry and delicate and the recording is exceptional. No detail is lost. Every sound is placed with utmost precision to achieve the total effect which, for me, can only be described as monumentality in tininess.

Jakob Ullmann, A Catalogue of Sounds (extrait). Courtesy of Edition RZ.

CD : Jakob Ullmann : A Catalogue of Sounds 1995-1997 (Edition RZ)
Edition : 2005.
CD : 01/ A Catalogue of Sounds
Vanessa Rossetto © Le son du grisli

Vanessa Rossetto est peintre et musicienne. Dogs in English Porcelain est son dernier disque produit à ce jour.