L'infinit

Francesc Sans is a much travelled Catalan player of the cornamusa, a type of gaita or bagpipes (cornemuse in French). It's an instrument mostly associated with traditional music in Mallorca, but on this, his first album under his own name, Sans makes a point of showing the wide range of contexts he plays in.

He is accompanied by vocalists and a whole range of instruments including guitars, accordion, keyboards, strings, percussion and, on several tracks, the flabiol, a recorder-like wooden flute. This array of sounds and contexts is both the strength and weakness of the record. The music itself is mostly based on simple, repetitive themes and the diverse accompaniment provides much needed variety. On the other hand, there is a baffling lack of coherence to the mix. ‘Dolors Gegants’ is a melancholic cello and piano duo until suddenly a cornamusa jig bursts in. At its best, as in ‘A les Fosques Pel Call’, the album offers an opportunity to hear the little-known cornamusa in a sympathetic setting. If only they had let it speak for itself more.