Kein schöner Land Manfred Leuchter & Ian Melrose

• 1 Kein schöner Land, Prologue 00:52
• 2 Mekong 04:35
• 3 Caro Mia 06:24
• 4 Der grimmige Tod 03:10
• 5 Gut Gesell 02:27
• 6 Lille Skurken Min 04:17
• 7 Ramallah 05:37
• 8 Skye Boat Song 04:55
• 9 Caduceus 05:01
• 10 Lament 02:42
• 11 Goldberg Aria 02:35
• 12 Goldberg Var. Nr. 1 02:08
• 13 The Last Fallen Leaf 03:28
• 14 Winter 05:22
• 15 Kein schöner Land, Epilogue 01:02
• Total Runtime 54:35

Info for Kein schöner Land

Manfred Leuchter and Ian Melrose who -in their critically acclaimed debut album “Vis à Vis”- showed how wonderfully accordion and guitar can interact and complement each other. This new album “Kein Schöner Land” is a musical journey, it is about travelling, experiencing the world and thereby learning more about oneself and one’s own homeland. Goethe once said: Travelling is like a game: you win and you lose, mostly in an unexpected way.
Leuchter and Melrose have “played the game” and present their experiences musically in a further fascinating selection of stunning instrumentals. The cinematic expansiveness of “Mekong”, a languid hypnotic piece inspired by Manfred’s journey through Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, contrasts with the mischievous virtuosity of Ian’s playful “Lille Skurken Min”, about a Norwegian dog; the powerfully disturbing dramatic tension of “Ramallah” - about the astonishingly positive Weltanschaung of the Palestinian people despite their often hopeless everyday situation - is juxtaposed against the uniquely impressionistic interpretation of the Scottish traditional “Skye Boat Song”; the sublime and breathtaking beauty of the joined pieces - Ian’s composition “Lament” and Manfred’s rendition of the “Aria” from the Goldberg Variations- span an ethereal bridge from the West of Scotland to the 17th century Leipzig of J.S. Bach. The title piece “Kein schöner Land”, two different versions of which open and close this CD, is a well-known German folk song, basically stating that “no land is more beautiful” than one’s own homeland. Meanwhile I know.

Sit back and enjoy this journey, this intoxicating mix of creativity, sounds and moods presented by these two master musicians, whose playing together has become an almost telepathic communication - a sublime synthesis of pure music. Two strong characters from different genres, a meeting of equals.

Manfred Leuchter, Accordion
Ian Melrose, Fingerstyle Guitar

Manfred Leuchter - Accordion
is without doubt one of the most established (ethno-) jazz- and world-music accordion virtuosos in Europe. In recent years he has given euphorically-received tours all over the world with his quintet, managed hugely successful CD productions and has been part of very diverse and exciting musical projects. Not only in the purely musical sense a world-traveller, Manfred Leuchter has developed his very own musical concept between occident and orient, collecting many impressions and forming them – with tolerance and open-mindedness - into his unique world style, in which he artistically and playfully combines elements from very diverse (music-) cultures.

„ ....He is a storyteller, as sensitive as Sheherezade, as frightening as Cicero – a virtuoso, who elevates the accordion to the status of a Stradivari …..” Limburgs Dagblad (D) “Wonderful! That was the unanimous comment of the Chenaiites, who had the great fortune to hear Manfred Leuchter and his team.” The New Indian Express (India)

Ian Melrose - Gitarre, Low Whistle, Gesang
from Ayr in the Southwest of Scotland, belongs to the cream of Europe's acoustic guitarists. He is also an internationally acclaimed composer and arranger. He has been lead guitarist with Clannad (World Tour, Grammy Award winning CD "Landmarks"), and plays alsoin Kelpie, Talking Water and The Island Tapes. The Duggan brothers of Clannad hired him as producer, arranger and guitarist for their album “Rubicon”. As a solo guitarist he has played many of the worlds major festivals, including the Montreal Jazz festival (CAN) and Celtic Connections (Scotland). His solo CDs, "Wolves", "Between the Sighs", „A Scottish Legacy“ and most recently “A Shot in the Dark” (Acoustic Music Records), have gained him rave reviews in the international music press. He is official endorser for DR strings and Avalon guitars.

„ ... a top-class guitarist ... brilliant fingerpicker“ The Times (GB) „ ...one of the best Celtic-influenced fingerpickers on the scene today“ Acoustic Guitar (USA)

Booklet for Kein schöner Land