Partir
Elina Duni (vocals/piano/guitar/frame drum)
The end of Elina Duni’s decadelong romance with pianist Colin Vallon also broke their musical partnership in her quartet (like Vallon’s trio, an ECM act). Duni answered these ruptures with this...
Partir
Elina Duni (vocals/piano/guitar/frame drum)
Purchase product
The end of Elina Duni’s decadelong romance with pianist Colin Vallon also broke their musical partnership in her quartet (like Vallon’s trio, an ECM act). Duni answered these ruptures with this...
About
Songs of love, loss and leaving. After two highly acclaimed albums with her jazz quartet, Elina Duni issues her most intimate recording to date. The entirely solo Partir(Departure) features the Tirana-born vocalist, accompanied by her own piano, guitar and frame drum, interpreting songs from very diverse sources.
From folk songs and chansons to songs of singer-songwriters. Here we find traditional music from Albania, Kosovo, Armenia, Macedonia, Switzerland and Arab-Andalusia as well as Jacques Brel's "Je ne sais pas", Alain Oulman's "Meu Amor", Domenico Modugno's "Amara Terra Mia", Elina's own "Let Us Dive In" and more.
Twelve songs altogether, sung in nine languages: Albanian, German, French, English, Italian, Portuguese, Armenian, Yiddish and Arabic. Duni's uniquely-expressive voice and pared-down arrangements locate a common thread of longing that runs through the material.
'Partir' was recorded at Studios La Buissone in the South of France in July 2017 and produced by Manfred Eicher.
Contents and tracklist
- Elina Duni (voice), Elina Duni (guitar)
- Recorded: 2017-07-17
- Recording Venue: La Buissonne, Pernes-les-Fontaines
- Elina Duni (voice), Elina Duni (piano)
- Recorded: 2017-07-17
- Recording Venue: La Buissonne, Pernes-les-Fontaines
- Elina Duni (voice), Elina Duni (guitar)
- Recorded: 2017-07-17
- Recording Venue: La Buissonne, Pernes-les-Fontaines
- Elina Duni (voice), Elina Duni (percussion)
- Recorded: 2017-07-17
- Recording Venue: La Buissonne, Pernes-les-Fontaines
- Elina Duni (voice), Elina Duni (piano)
- Recorded: 2017-07-17
- Recording Venue: La Buissonne, Pernes-les-Fontaines
- Elina Duni (voice), Elina Duni (guitar)
- Recorded: 2017-07-17
- Recording Venue: La Buissonne, Pernes-les-Fontaines
- Elina Duni (voice), Elina Duni (piano)
- Recorded: 2017-07-17
- Recording Venue: La Buissonne, Pernes-les-Fontaines
- Elina Duni (voice)
- Recorded: 2017-07-17
- Recording Venue: La Buissonne, Pernes-les-Fontaines
- Elina Duni (voice), Elina Duni (percussion)
- Recorded: 2017-07-17
- Recording Venue: La Buissonne, Pernes-les-Fontaines
- Elina Duni (voice), Elina Duni (guitar)
- Recorded: 2017-07-17
- Recording Venue: La Buissonne, Pernes-les-Fontaines
- Elina Duni (voice), Elina Duni (piano)
- Recorded: 2017-07-17
- Recording Venue: La Buissonne, Pernes-les-Fontaines
- Elina Duni (voice)
- Recorded: 2017-07-17
- Recording Venue: La Buissonne, Pernes-les-Fontaines
Awards and reviews
August 2018
The end of Elina Duni’s decadelong romance with pianist Colin Vallon also broke their musical partnership in her quartet (like Vallon’s trio, an ECM act). Duni answered these ruptures with this solo album about exile and loss. Her own move aged 10 from Albania to Switzerland makes the theme autobiographical, and urgent in a Europe shaken to its ethical foundations by refugees. A repertoire including Jacques Brel, Yiddish, Arab, Albanian, Kosovan and Swiss folk songs is sung in nine languages, emphasising the historic universality of being wrenched apart.
July 2018
Duni made her mark with supple contralto, expressive grace, refreshing originals and earthy folk themes. Partir makes a stark departure — solo and self-accompanied, themed on exile and loss — with roots in performances alongside her mother, Bessa Myftiu, reading poems focused on exodus and travail. As she sings in nine languages, her approach effortlessly embellishes folk themes with subtly improvised touches in minor keys.
