Midweek Music Break: Simone Dinnerstein and Tift Merritt, “Only in Songs/Night and Dreams”

[Photo: Simone Dinnerstein and Tift Merritt]

As far as I’ve been able to tell, this duo first met following a concert by classical pianist Dinnerstein. Country-ish singer-songwriter Merritt wrote of that experience:

I talked with Simone the day after I saw her play an intimate concert in New York City. Her father, painter Simon Dinnerstein, talked with me for a moment after this show. He had caught me trying to wipe tears off my face while Simone played. It was such a pleasure to meet such a tremendously talented, disciplined, thoughtful musician. “I’m going to practice much more,” is what I told myself after we talked.

Later in 2008, the British magazine Gramophone brought them together again, nominally assigning Merritt to interview Dinnerstein about “Second Album Syndrome” (4MB PDF). (The interview seems to me much more like an extended, who’s-interviewing-whom back-and-forth.) Says the article’s intro:

As Merritt interviewed Dinnerstein and they shared their experiences, they immediately hit it off. Both are passionate about music, are around the same age, given to genuine self-reflection, and share a common friendship and fanship with the starry country singer and songwriter Lucinda Williams. By the end of the evening, they were already chatting about the possibility of a musical collaboration. Americana Bach, anyone?

By January, 2011, they were sharing a stage in concert at Duke University and talking about an upcoming album (the one which they just released this week). Later that year, Dinnerstein took a turn as “guest DJ” on NPR:

“I tend to be introspective,” she says. “I tend to like music that is sensitive, slow and I like stuff that’s kind of dreamy.”

Dinnerstein’s also drawn to musicians who pursue her own aesthetic, especially those rhythmically free ones who are not afraid to tug on the musical line — expanding or contracting it — as a means of expression.

Among the music she chose for that program was Merritt’s “Feel of the Moon.” (With Judy Collins’s “Suzanne,” the only non-classical selection.)

Now, finally, we’ve got the (first?) product of all that mutual admiration: their collaborative effort, Night.

It may seem a curious mixture, on the surface. Merritt’s own compositions are scattered among a handful of pure-classical pieces, as well as a couple of original songs by others. In the video below, the duo perform the first two songs from the album: one of the Merritt-penned numbers, and Schubert’s “Nacht und Träume” (“Night and Dreams,” here sung in an English-language translation).

Curious mixture or not: the instruments these two wield (not by any means excepting Merritt’s sweetly penetrating voice) are things of powerful beauty.

In all honesty, until a few days ago I’d never even heard of either performer. Jules, over at 7-Imp, just casually mentioned in a post that she looked forward to a new CD coming out this week — she didn’t name the artist or the album, just provided a link. Because I trust Jules’s musical tastes, I clicked right on through to that article at the NPR site. I’m so glad I did; thanks (again), Jules!

I was rushed at the time, though, and had a chance to listen only to the duo’s version of the traditional “Wayfaring Stranger”:

[Below, click Play button to begin Wayfaring Stranger. While audio is playing, volume control appears at left — a row of little vertical bars. This clip is 3:38 long.]

From the first notes, I pretty much knew I’d be buying the whole album.

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Bonus: For almost five years, Merritt has hosted a podcast of interviews for radio station KRTS, in Marfa TX. (That link takes you to the iTunes page for the series.) The program, called Marfa Spark, or just The Spark, puts Merritt together with people who work in various art forms (musicians, artists, broadcasters, photographers…). From a note at The Spark‘s site:

I speak with an artist, regardless of genre, about how they make their work and their lives. How is meaning is made of making things? What does it look like to be an artist over a lifetime? What kind of wisdom is necessary? What is learned from the working?…

After five years of The Spark episodes, I have found that my guests, all making their own distinct work and way, encounter so many of the same shadows and joys, but are often off doing their own thing and don’t realize what all they have in common. Their lives are as unique and inspired and carefully hewn as the work they love to make. I make this collection of conversations with these incredibly creative characters — pioneers of sorts — because I have such a wonderful time stumbling upon them, losing myself in their work, and then asking them for tea. Like proof of life off the map, they comfort me, inspire me, make me brave and send me back to the world with a little wisdom garnered for making my own handmade string of paper days.

(Isn’t that great?)

In July 2008, sometime after first speaking with Dinnerstein, Merritt invited her to The Spark. Here’s that interview, nearly a half-hour in length:

[Below, click Play button to begin The Spark: interview with Simone Dinnerstein. While audio is playing, volume control appears at left — a row of little vertical bars. This clip is 27:35 long.]