A Hymn for Ancient Land

Album review

"The slang name that men gave to ears is leaves; that's their way of saying that trees can hear music", wrote Prévert. Their naked branches stretch out over the cover of A Hymn For Ancient Land, a graceful rather than storming return for Jim Ghedi, who means to take root, and prove Jacques right. Traditional and unadorned folk: the music of this 26-year-old from Sheffield surprises with a strange maturity. More sober than Home Is Where I Exist, Now To Live And Die (2015) and less mystical than the original score written for Sketches Of Brunei c.1978, its seven tracks are fed on strings (six- or twelve-string guitars, double-bass, harp, violin) and aired out by the odd piano or brass section. It is a surprise to encounter Ghedi's deep voice on Banks Of Mulroy Bay. Emotion quickly gives way to dependency. Out in the wilds of Derbyshire, the young man's lonely ballads well up from the countryside; these brilliantly-arranged compositions breathe the country's frugal and powerful beauty. Not ancient, not present, not future. But a heritage that stands outside age. Without ever having ventured there, the tumbledown edges and pale sunlight of the Moss Valley become visible. And our pulses slow down. Magnificent. © CS/Qobuz