MUSIC NEWS
OCTOBER 1998
fluxeuropa is pleased to receive
material for review. The postal address is:
BM BOX 4392, London WC1N 3XX, ENGLAND.
SYNTH-MEDIAEVAL
ATARAXIA
Historiae
(1998 CRUEL MOON INTERNATIONAL)
Strong tunes and vocals characterise this latest
release from the Italian trio, Ataraxia, on the CMI imprint,
Cruel Moon International. Although associated with the dark-folk/neogothic scene,
Ataraxia's style and inspiration are heavily mediaeval and baroque, and their latest album
is based exclusively on mediaeval ballads.
Historiae contains 6 studio songs and 3 live
songs recorded in a mediaeval court including the sprightly and, indeed, frisky 'Tempus
est iocundum' from the Carmina Burana collection of mediaeval manuscripts. (The title is
mangled on the promo cover and CMI's publicity handout but many will recognise it from
Carl Orff's operetta as well as in early music versions like the one by the New London
Consort/Philip Pickett on their Carmina Burana Volume I.)
The operatic but dark-edged voice of Francesca
Nicoli endows Ataraxia with an unmistakable identity whilst
Vittorio Vandelli (classic, acoustic, electric and synth guitars
and drum-machine) and Giovanni Pagliari (keyboards, synth, piano and
pipe-organ) contribute towards a musical synthesis at once ancient and modern.
RIK
