Artist: Ataraxia Title: Oil on Canvas Label: Ultra Mail Productions
Genre: Neoclassical / Folk
01 Fengari (from "Kremasta Nera"- 2007)
02 The bay is white in silent light (from V. Vandelli "A day of warm rain in heaven"- 2004)
03 Pastorale (from "Simphonia Sine Nomine"- 1994)
04 Zelia (from "La Malédiction d'Ondine"- 1995/2007)
05 Mon Ame Sorcière (from "Sueños"- 2001)
06 La reine des hommes aux yeux verts (from "Paris Spleen"- 2006)
07 Blood of cherries (from "Saphir"- 2004)
08 Daytia (from "Lost Atlantis"- 1999)
09 Dulcamara (from "Concerto N. 6"- 1996)
10 Flée et Fabian (from "Nosce Te Ispum" - 1991/2008)
11 Eaudelamer (from "Mon Seul désir"- 2002)
12 Temenos (rare track - 2007)
13 The Ocean Green (from V. Vandelli "A day of warm rain in heaven"- 2004)
14 Rashan (exclusive new track- 2008)
A little genuflection for Ataraxia, please, whose tenure of refined classically-influenced folk draws nears the end of two decades since their demo release in 1991. Ultra-Mail Prod chose to aureate the already-gilded and sumptuous feast that is Ataraxia with a spread that would stutter any gourmand. ‘Oil on Canvas’ is perfect garnish to the group’s oeuvre, one displaying for taste the eras since their inception and further tantalises with the addition of a sneak peak at a future menu.
Secreted in elegant casing are two morsels to devour, one a digipak with a side order to the main course of a luscious hardcover book (with its own inserts). The product is nothing less than for those with large wallets and tastes, or small wallets and addictions. The slipcase is rigid, matted with textured soft charcoal paper over card, embossed in silver print a stylized black-letter A.
The digipak is not just any old serving, but a slab of thick card, gate-folded and glazed with gloss and the photography of Mick Mercer’s haunting statuettes. Within, tasteful typography menus offer a short appreciation to music, gift from the Muses.
The book, a square-bound plate of ninety-six pages is split evenly tween lyrics by Francesca Nicoli for each of the songs and photography from three artists to match the music’s mood. A thick and glossy dustcover wraps the hardbound tome, that sans-cover has identical gloss to the book’s card surface. Divided into three sections to match the photographers, these “Visions” match thematically Ataraxia’s music. Raffaella Graziosi delves into a dilapidated manor whose decay becomes beauty to further enhance magnificent architecture, his lens skewed in old angles and depth of focus. Mick Mercer (of Gothic Rock fame) provides a collection of oddities, masked mummers in austere robes and crowned hats, set among picturesque garden settings – a frozen masquerade of stone and plaster. Lastly, Livio Bedeschi’s camera samples in soft glow the animated world, flora and fauna, vineyards and imagery of Italy and also provides sepia portraits of Francesca, Vittorio, Giovanni, Riccardo, at rear of the book. The lyrics are set opposite the full colour works on the heavy-stock gloss paper, in five languages.
Additional material is hidden in the rear of the book in the form of three photographs prints from Mick Mercers series of frozen figures, almost trapped in ash as if by volcano.
Musically, there is only one track that may not have been sampled by Ataraxia aficionados, the last number, “Rashan” on this ornate collection, yet this coterie has been selected from the choicest and some of the more rare samples of their back catalogue. Leading off with the pastoral, “Fengari”, the dulcet accompaniment of forests is perfect accompaniment to the paean Francesca and Vittorio perform. The driving core of Ataraxia showcases the airy and baroque virtuosity of the twain that hints of beauty and subtle, yet sweet melancholy. Ataraxia has mastered the rubato, that freedom of tempo and with deft dynamics to separate them from the vast pool of folk acts in Europe.
To further inveigle, two tracks from Vittorio’s solo album, ‘A day of warm rain in heaven’ are included also featuring the orotund vocals of Francesca. Expansive is the musical provender on offer in Oil on Canvas, from the ornamented instrumented duets of guitar and vocals to more orchestrated pieces steeped in subtle percussion and keyboards of all types. Some of the choicest tracks are those post-2000, that clearly show that it is not only wine that ages particularly well when kept and with the last track ‘Rashan’, Ataraxia offer further proof of unique timbre and serene antiquity. It is a chatoyant composition of Eastern sinuosity as steel strings curlicue to the bravura of Francesca’s vocals, here dark and deep and whispered, punctuated with ritualised timpani and chanting.
For the fan, for the uninitiated, Oil on Canvas is a sublime spread that will satiate to no end. The euphonic arrangements are perfectly complimented as never before with the packaging. If you have not yet purchased this you’d best invest and retire with delectable Chianti Classico or a Super Tuscan of high calibre; the album requires at least that benison.
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