Rachel Yonan: ‘Kiss On Wood’

I was re-watching “About Time,” one of my favorite little British films, a few days ago, and was charmed all over again by the way it made me laugh, as well as the way it made me think about family and love. It’s one of those rare films that blends humor, heartache, and a touch of magic without ever feeling forced. Richard Curtis, who created “Love Actually,” and “Notting Hill,” wrote and directed it. Bill Nighy and a great cast shine in it.

So, what has that to do with DSD Discoveries? Arvo Part’s Spiegel im Spiegel, in an arrangement for cello and piano is featured in a very meaningful part of the film. The piece was originally composed for violin and piano, and premiered in 1978. It seems to work beautifully in many different arrangements, including solo piano and even solo guitar. 

Rachel Yonan’s album, Kiss on Wood, features a viola with the piano (Kwan Yi). The album explores themes of light and darkness through works by two pieces by Arvo Part– Spiegel im Spiegel (Mirror in Mirror) and Fratres (Brotherhood, as well as Kiss on Wood by James Macmillan, and Robert Schumann’s Marchenbilder (Fairy Tale Pictures). The Schumann may predate the others by well over a century, but these works all work together to express emotions that words alone simply can’t. This is haunting, beautiful music, beautifully played and recorded– and highly recommended.

You might be interested in these for different arrangements of Arvo Part’s Spiegel im Spiegel: