The Prepared Piano and
Room to Expand summed up their purposes in their titles, with the former demonstrating
Hauschka's finesse with the prepared piano (a piano with objects placed between its strings or on its dampers and hammers) and the latter, prepared piano expanded with strings and electronics. In its own way,
Ferndorf also conveys its purpose with its title; named after
Hauschka (aka
Volker Bertelmann)'s hometown, this set of pieces goes beyond the cleverness of his previous albums, digging into childhood nostalgia and other more complex emotions while retaining
Hauschka's essentially playful approach. Unlike
The Prepared Piano and
Room to Expand, only about half of
Ferndorf's tracks were improvised -- but even these tracks show how much
Hauschka's range has expanded. "Blue Bicycle" is as delicately lovely as anything else in
Hauschka's repertoire, but there is a unique urgency in its rippling piano that suggests spinning spokes and rushing air; "Neuschnee," on the other hand, has a languid, end-of-the-day calm.
Insa Schirmer and
Donsa Djember's cellos add richness to "Morgenrot," a piece inspired by the red dawn peeking through
Bertelmann's window when he was a boy, and intertwine lazily on "Alma." As good as the improvised tracks are, the composed tracks make
Ferndorf some of
Hauschka's most accomplished music. "Rode Null" showcases the album's propulsive, percussive sound with
Schirmer's driving playing and
Sabine Baron's brisk violin. The prepared piano's sounds come to the fore on "Freibad," its metallic rattling underscoring the chilly quality of the strings and
Bernhard Voelz's trombone, and on the excellent "Barfuss Durch Gras," melding its rustling with electronics into a taut, sparkling mesh of sound. "Heimat" and "Eltern"'s hesitant beauty exemplify how happily technique and emotion reside together on this album -- though the influences of
Michael Nyman,
Philip Glass and
Steve Reich still loom large in
Hauschka's music,
Ferndorf's appeal is closest to the work of
Bertelmann's FatCat labelmate
Max Richter:
Richter and
Hauschka both have a remarkable talent for honing in on the sweet spot where classical, avant-garde, electronic and pop music meet.