Till the End of Time

In the years before he joined the roster of ECM proper, Stephan Micus documented a smattering of formative expeditions on the German label’s JAPO imprint. Despite being early in chronology, they reveal a depth of consideration and preparation that speaks of many lifetimes before. Over its 36-minute duration, Till The End Of Time reveals hidden dialects in instruments as varied as the dulcimer-like table harp, bowed zither, kortholt (a crumhorn cousin of the Renaissance), and classical guitar. And while their intermingling yields utterly descriptive music, the nature of what they describe is, as ever, up to the listener to imagine.