State Of The Serenade | Franui | solo

Or: What We've Done So Far

The whole songbook of the 19th century – Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, and Mahler – in unique takes by Musicbanda Franui. With “Ständchen der Dinge” – a clever pun of a title that references the serenades at hand but also intimates a summary of the ensemble’s last 25 years’ worth of work – Franui present everything from funeral marches to dance-hall music to romantic Lieder. The band makes each piece their own and presents it in their unique blend of instrumental forces. In their employ: String instruments as we come across them in folk music: zither, dulcimer, and folk harp. Throw in violins, double bass, accordion, plenty of brass and some woodwinds. The ensemble is the musical equivalent of a transformer station: It takes in – and discharges – classical, folk, jazz, and contemporary music in stride. It lovingly celebrates the classical paragons, shakes them up, fills them in, de- and reconstructs them in all their beauty. The borders between genres blur; as do those between improvisation, interpretations, arrangement, and (re-) composition.