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Over a period of five years, Swiss filmmakers Norbert Wiedmer and Peter Guyer followed producer Manfred Eicher and the artists of ECM around the world. In footage from Estonia, Tunisia, Germany, France, Denmark, Greece, Argentina and elsewhere, their documentary movie 'Sounds and Silence' has captured aspects of the music-making process at ECM, and provided glimpses of unique players and composers at work. Amongst the artists included are Arvo Pärt, Eleni Karaindrou, Dino Saluzzi and Anja Lechner, Anouar Brahem, Gianluigi Trovesi and Gianni Coscia, Marilyn Mazur, Nik Bärtsch's Ronin, Kim Kashkashian, Jan Garbarek and others.
The film has already notched up a number of notable successes. It received its premiere at Locarno's Piazza Grande in front of an audience of 7,000 spectators in August 2009 and has since gone on to tour the world's festivals, including the Melbourne International Film Festival, the Viennale, San Francisco's SFJazz series, Estonia's Pimedate Ööde Filmifestival, the Hofer Filmtage and more. Sounds and Silence won the Berner Film Prize 2009, was nominated for the Schweizer Film Prize, and has collected some ecstatic reviews. As ORF (Österreichischer Rundfunk) summed it up: "The magic of ECM, in a rich, exciting, musical road movie."
Bonus material includes scenes from Manu Katché's recording of Playground in New York.
Time Out, (Geoff Andrew), August 25-31, 2011
(4 stars) Anyone interested in the consistently rewarding music available on the ECM label is sure to enjoy this.
(4 stars) Every gig, every venue, every studio appears to be imbued with an impossibly atmospheric ambience...beautifully shot piece of film.
Fascinating film...the English subtitles are extremely good and the film is visually very beautiful indeed.
(4 stars) Every gig, every venue, every studio appears to be imbued with an impossibly atmospheric ambience...beautifully shot piece of film.
Fascinating film...the English subtitles are extremely good and the film is visually very beautiful indeed.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Blu-ray
ECM have been producing great music of consistently high quality for many years now and it's certainly worthy of a documentary like this. It's certainly also worth getting this on Blu Ray disc, as the Dolby 5.1 surround mix greatly enhances the experience.
The documentary follows Manfred Eicher as he travels the world, getting involved in producing music for ECM - from their base in Munich, to Greece, Estonia,Argentina, Italy, Denmark, North Africa - in fact I lost count of all the different places which are intercut. But through all this diversity, there is a consistency to the music, which must be down to Eicher's ever-present involvement.
The music all has a certain seriousness and intensity - virtuoso playing, which is not about showing off, but rather about making a beautiful sound. Every recording is given time and great attention to detail. You can hear this very clearly in the recording and I was very impressed with the 5.1 mix. So, when Arvo Part is listening to his new work - you can hear the wonderful reverberation of the acoustic - all around you.
The sound quality of each recording is obviously very important to Eicher and he explains how he changed from being a bass player, to somebody who was very good at listening. You can see the many hours of effort that go into finding the perfect venue - like the stunning outdoor amphitheatre in Greece - and the perfect recorded sound, from the best equipment available.
I enjoyed all the music and the visuals enhanced this with shots of nature and travel interspersed with the live action of the musicians playing. It all made me want to hear more of each artist and more of this kind of music in surround sound. There are only a few extras, but I realy liked the short film of Manu Katche and his group, which again had excellent sound.
I think that anybody who enjoys the kind of music that ECM put out, will find this documentary fascinating and it is also a good "taster" or introduction to their style of music. If you know about Jan Garbarek and Arvo Part already, then you will have some idea of this and I felt their music benefited from being heard in surround sound - the immersive nature of it.
This is also an interesting documentary for anybody who wants to know what a music "producer" actually does - from this evidence, it seems that Manfred Eicher might well have many people's dream job!
The documentary follows Manfred Eicher as he travels the world, getting involved in producing music for ECM - from their base in Munich, to Greece, Estonia,Argentina, Italy, Denmark, North Africa - in fact I lost count of all the different places which are intercut. But through all this diversity, there is a consistency to the music, which must be down to Eicher's ever-present involvement.
The music all has a certain seriousness and intensity - virtuoso playing, which is not about showing off, but rather about making a beautiful sound. Every recording is given time and great attention to detail. You can hear this very clearly in the recording and I was very impressed with the 5.1 mix. So, when Arvo Part is listening to his new work - you can hear the wonderful reverberation of the acoustic - all around you.
The sound quality of each recording is obviously very important to Eicher and he explains how he changed from being a bass player, to somebody who was very good at listening. You can see the many hours of effort that go into finding the perfect venue - like the stunning outdoor amphitheatre in Greece - and the perfect recorded sound, from the best equipment available.
I enjoyed all the music and the visuals enhanced this with shots of nature and travel interspersed with the live action of the musicians playing. It all made me want to hear more of each artist and more of this kind of music in surround sound. There are only a few extras, but I realy liked the short film of Manu Katche and his group, which again had excellent sound.
I think that anybody who enjoys the kind of music that ECM put out, will find this documentary fascinating and it is also a good "taster" or introduction to their style of music. If you know about Jan Garbarek and Arvo Part already, then you will have some idea of this and I felt their music benefited from being heard in surround sound - the immersive nature of it.
This is also an interesting documentary for anybody who wants to know what a music "producer" actually does - from this evidence, it seems that Manfred Eicher might well have many people's dream job!
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
5 reviews
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
jazzman
30 Oct 2011
Format:DVD
Beautiful documentary film about the extraordinary man and genius
behind ECM Records (the coolest music label on the planet), Manfred
Eicher. As with so many others, I got into ECM back in the early 70's
and became a totally addicted ECM vinyl freak - I could not buy these
things fast enough. I have since converted 90% of THAT collection to
cd and continue to add newer ECM releases when I can. I realized early
on what a fabulous label ECM is, and that an incredible vision and mind
was behind it. It's not everyday one gets to see a true LIVING genius
at work - "Sounds and Silence" gives us a glimpse of Manfred Eicher at
work in the more RECENT years of ECM over a five year time span. Those
looking for a film about him and his label from the early years and beyond
(with all those ECM artists we all know and love so well) will not find it
here, although I would love to see a true BIOGRAPHICAL film made about
Eicher and ECM - hopefully this will happen sometime. Regardless. "Sounds
and Silence" is a haunting and gorgeous film of which anybody who is fa-
miliar with ECM and Eicher should see. I have well over 500 ECM items
in my collection. A few of the artists presented on this DVD were totally
new to me - I already have several orders in for their cd's. ECM has been
a VERY important part of my life and inspiration for a LONG time - "The
Most Beautiful Sound Next To Silence." Thanks, Manfred.
behind ECM Records (the coolest music label on the planet), Manfred
Eicher. As with so many others, I got into ECM back in the early 70's
and became a totally addicted ECM vinyl freak - I could not buy these
things fast enough. I have since converted 90% of THAT collection to
cd and continue to add newer ECM releases when I can. I realized early
on what a fabulous label ECM is, and that an incredible vision and mind
was behind it. It's not everyday one gets to see a true LIVING genius
at work - "Sounds and Silence" gives us a glimpse of Manfred Eicher at
work in the more RECENT years of ECM over a five year time span. Those
looking for a film about him and his label from the early years and beyond
(with all those ECM artists we all know and love so well) will not find it
here, although I would love to see a true BIOGRAPHICAL film made about
Eicher and ECM - hopefully this will happen sometime. Regardless. "Sounds
and Silence" is a haunting and gorgeous film of which anybody who is fa-
miliar with ECM and Eicher should see. I have well over 500 ECM items
in my collection. A few of the artists presented on this DVD were totally
new to me - I already have several orders in for their cd's. ECM has been
a VERY important part of my life and inspiration for a LONG time - "The
Most Beautiful Sound Next To Silence." Thanks, Manfred.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
One of the best videos I saw in 2011.
29 Dec 2011
Format:Blu-ray|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is easily one of the best videos that I watched in 2011. It sounds *so good*! Watching the Arvo Part rehearsals/recording sessions is fantastic. Gianni Coscia and Gianluigi Trovesi are hilarious. Just watching all these people (Manfred Eicher included) is breathtaking.
Can you tell that I love this video?
Can you tell that I love this video?
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
A must view
25 Nov 2011
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
If you enjoy ECM recordings, this is a must view. Eicher's musical philosophy is on full display here. It is clear that his contributions to the recorded performances are every bit as significant as the artists' original conceptions. And the artists have little trouble accepting that. Nik Bartsch's Ronin is the most concrete examples. Eicher patiently explains his suggestions and the band members completely get it as soon as they hear it. It's a great documentary.
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