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Jenzig is the first thing we heard from Forseti, the neofolk project of German Andreas Ritter. This short album was originally released as a 10", but is now also available as a CD, with a pretty linen cover and a beautiful booklet with atmospheric black and white nature photographs and the lyrics, which are often melancholic and related to nature, reminding me of the Nature Romanticism of poets like Wilhelm Müller (die Winterreise). Compared to later work by Forseti, Jenzig is like an uncut diamond. Andreas' talent for writing beautiful songs with good melodies and lyrics is certainly audible, but a little polishing was appropriate here and there.
On this album, we already hear the broad variation of instruments that is characteristic of Forseti. All tracks are based on acoustic guitar and vocals, and are supplemented by, among others, flute, percussion, accordion, melodica, piano, cello, violin and horn. The album starts with the beautiful, catchy "Gesang der Jünglinge", a varied song that is well built up, and that can compare to the project's later material. This track is followed by the serene and short "Am Abend", of which the lyrics were written by Uwe Nolte (Orplid). "Heilige Welt" is still one of the highlights of the album for me. The song starts calmly, with vocals and a catchy guitar line, after which comes the flute, and then suddenly a twist with guitar chords and percussion. After a gentle intermezzo, the song is built up once again in similar fashion, with guitar, violin, percussion and accordion. The lyrics - about spirituality in living nature, the cycle of life, and the elements - are also very appealing. "Abschied" is a short, stately track, with vocals, accordion and percussion. "Wolfszeit" is a song that sadly is less impressive, and really mostly because of the not-so-well-succeeded female vocals that accompany Andreas. Apart from that, by the way, this is a nice, calm track, with subtle accents on piano. "Erlkönig" (a poem by J.W. von Goethe) is very good again, with a conspicuous guitar melody and a whispery voice that accompanies Andreas. This track is also fleshed out with other instrumets, and has a great development. "Jenzig" is a calm song borne by violin, flute and vocals, with some accents of other instruments. "Jenzig II" is the (also) calm follow-up, and it is an atmospheric closing track.
The tracks on Jenzig are all well-composed, and compared to many contemporary neofolk projects, this is an excellent debut of a high level. Compared to Forseti's later material, however, it doesn't leave as big an impression. Of course, this is a good thing, because it shows that a project like Forseti has kept improving with each release. Fans of the project will probably already own this, and if not, they really should. General lovers of varied neofolk would do good to get this album, in any case.
D.M.K.
On this album, we already hear the broad variation of instruments that is characteristic of Forseti. All tracks are based on acoustic guitar and vocals, and are supplemented by, among others, flute, percussion, accordion, melodica, piano, cello, violin and horn. The album starts with the beautiful, catchy "Gesang der Jünglinge", a varied song that is well built up, and that can compare to the project's later material. This track is followed by the serene and short "Am Abend", of which the lyrics were written by Uwe Nolte (Orplid). "Heilige Welt" is still one of the highlights of the album for me. The song starts calmly, with vocals and a catchy guitar line, after which comes the flute, and then suddenly a twist with guitar chords and percussion. After a gentle intermezzo, the song is built up once again in similar fashion, with guitar, violin, percussion and accordion. The lyrics - about spirituality in living nature, the cycle of life, and the elements - are also very appealing. "Abschied" is a short, stately track, with vocals, accordion and percussion. "Wolfszeit" is a song that sadly is less impressive, and really mostly because of the not-so-well-succeeded female vocals that accompany Andreas. Apart from that, by the way, this is a nice, calm track, with subtle accents on piano. "Erlkönig" (a poem by J.W. von Goethe) is very good again, with a conspicuous guitar melody and a whispery voice that accompanies Andreas. This track is also fleshed out with other instrumets, and has a great development. "Jenzig" is a calm song borne by violin, flute and vocals, with some accents of other instruments. "Jenzig II" is the (also) calm follow-up, and it is an atmospheric closing track.
The tracks on Jenzig are all well-composed, and compared to many contemporary neofolk projects, this is an excellent debut of a high level. Compared to Forseti's later material, however, it doesn't leave as big an impression. Of course, this is a good thing, because it shows that a project like Forseti has kept improving with each release. Fans of the project will probably already own this, and if not, they really should. General lovers of varied neofolk would do good to get this album, in any case.
D.M.K.