Perhaps in an effort to avoid confusion with the 16th century German composer/organist who shares his name, the Hassler under scrutiny herein attaches his instrument as an instructive postscript. Common ground still exists in the occasional pipe organ parallels of his sound and the Baroque patina that tints some of his compositions. Hassler’s bushy facial foliage and ruddy features also work as handy hints to his solo accordion approach. There’s high drama in his musical musings, as on the tellingly-titled “Akkordplosion”, but cheap bombast never factors in. Call and response colloquies and a full array of split tones and effects thread through his improvisations. The percussive rattle of buttons, bellows-born drones and self contained counterpoint, even Hassler’s raspy voice, itself imbued with an endearing Joe Maneri-like quality- all are employed in the service of erecting an immersive musical environment that effectively shuts out distractions. The understanding that at no point is Hassler taking himself too seriously aids in this regard. The music, though highly personalized, also serves as a means of audience identification and stress release.
Tracks tick by in steady procession, many of them merging together to create a medley-like structure to the set. They range from interstitial snippets to the extended title suite which occupies over a quarter of an hour. Tango and other melodic and rhythmic fragments regularly roll by. Polka is fair game too, along with revolving mutations of other folk forms that bubble up and recede amidst more texture-oriented stretches. Hassler manages to braid everything together into a convincing whole, encircling a spectrum that runs from beer hall to recital hall. He proves that two need not be all that removed and that the accordion is the ideal emissary between them. In the final sum, consideration of larger context seems largely incidental to Hassler’s world. Even so, the past couple years have been unusually generous in terms of solo accordion recitals with innovators like Guy Kluscevsek and Ute Völker embracing the format. Hassler’s entry certainly deserves consideration and inclusion within that esteemed congress.
~ Derek Taylor
Posted by derek on June 20, 2008 8:49 AMHe played in Hans Kennel's Harbarigani, playing clarinets as well that was an interesting project. I liked the brass project better, though.
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