Jean-Louis Matinier and Marco Ambrosini’s Inventio, released by ECM on Monday 19 May, is a highly unusual work in terms of instrumentation as this is an accordion and nyckelharpa album, the nyckelharpa a traditional Swedish string instrument used in folk music performed within this duo by the Italian-born Ambrosini, a specialist in early music. Largely the French-born former Orchestre National de Jazz member Matinier’s own compositions, rich in structure, contemplative in mood, the album also includes music by JS Bach (the Inventio in the title references Bach’s ‘Invention No. 4’), the 17th century Bohemian composer Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber, and ‘Qui Est Homo’ by Pergolesi. A classical work essentially it’s nonetheless remarkable how much the borders of improvisation, composition and arranging melt in such a musical situation.

There’s a glimpse of the duo performing together in the video above 

_{updated 20 May}