Reviews of
"Marzipan: Stories with Music"

 

Finn Bille and Rick Davis: Marzipan, Stories with Music
by Fred Gosbee of the duo Castlebay, Round Pond, Maine

Marzipan is a collaboration of storyteller and poet Finn Bille and hammered dulcimer player Rick Davis, who both live and work in Chattanooga.

Bille was born in Denmark, and emigrated to the United States when he was eleven years old.  Two of the stories on the CD are episodes from his young life in Denmark.  While the setting of these stories is exotic (to Americans, anyway) the themes are universal.  When I Was Ten is a story of sibling rivalry; Marzipan is a story of five year old Finn encountering the magic of Christmas and the economic realities of gift giving.  Davis provides introductions and occasional subtle underscoring for these.  Dances From Childhood is a dulcimer solo medley of the familiar tunes used in these two stories.

If the rest of the CD were along these lines, it would still be a fine recording, but the third story on the CD, Recycled Poetry, is a masterpiece.  The purported subject is writer's block, but as the story develops, there is a wonderful blurring of reality and fantasy, something akin to Lewis Carol's Alice in Wonderland.  Bille's description of the inside of the recycling plant is so vivid that the unlikely activity he describes there seems totally feasible.

Recycled Poetry is a true collaboration.  Davis provides accompaniment throughout the story, using his mastery of the hammered dulcimer to provide both musical counterpoint to the words and sound effects that reinforce various scenes.  The storytelling and the accompaniment are perfectly balanced in this piece. The music never overshadows the story, but instead adds a wonderful dimension and energy to the piece.

As I listened to Recycled Poetry there were many places where I laughed out loud - sometimes with the words and sometimes with the music.  This story can bear repeated listenings.

The last piece on the CD, Recycled Music, is Davis on the dulcimer playing some of the original themes used for the story.  It is interesting to hear how what comes across as sound effects during the story is able to work as music on the solo track.  

I am a musician and storyteller myself.  As a storyteller, I  was impressed by both the content and the structure of Bille's stories.  As a musician, I applaud the skill that Davis shows in supporting the stories without becoming a distraction.

Hats off to Finn Bille and Rick Davis!

 

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