Paul Giger - Ignis (2000)

Swiss violin virtuoso Paul Giger's 2000 release, Ignis, marks in many ways a departure from his other recorded work. Recorded in 1998 as a collaboration with the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, the pieces on Ignis form a body of old-world sacred music with an avant-garde sensibility. Of the five pieces featured, only one is an original Giger composition, the others being adaptations of found melodies and arrangements of medieval compositions. Most striking is his re-recording of "Karma Shadub"; originally released as a solo violin piece on his 1992 release, Alpstein, it is here transformed into a homophonic choral arrangement with a violin accompaniment that is both lilting and soaring, adding passion and energy to the solemn choral backdrop.