Released
1998
Label
Musica Maxima Magnetica
Reviewed by
Michael C. Lund
Contact
Musica Maxima
Magnetica
C. P. 2280
50100 Firenze
Italy
Last Edit/Update
26 september, 1998
Theatrum Chemicum
CLEPSYDRA
Track Listing
1. Light And Shadows
2. Brothers Of Infinity
De Tribus Impostoribus
Suite In Three Parts
3. Dividing Tides
4. Wakening Of The Beast
5. The One Who Waits
I Pianeti
Two Parts Of The Suite
6. Venere
7. Nettuno
Chronofobia
Suite In Three Parts
8. Pendulum
9. Tomar
10. Procession
11. Birth Of An Island
12. Dungeons Of Time
13. Oracle Without Answers
14. Emptiness Around
15. Dergolem
16. Sphinx Without Secret
Theatrum Chemicum is the collaborative project of Paolo Di Cioccio
and Enrico Cosimi, both of whom are highly recognized musicians, and have credits
too numerous to delve into in detail here. Let it suffice to say that Di Cioccio
has studied at the St. Cecilia Conservatory in Rome, is professor of oboe, has performed
with a number of symphony orchestras under the direction of some of the finest conductors,
and has been involved in the experimental/electronic music scene for years; Cosimi
has likewise attended Conservatory, he is archeologist and journalist, is editor of the
premiere Italian musical magazine "Fare Musica," and has composed music for a
number of films. The music they have created together for this release reflects their
extensive musical experience; Clepsydra is above all a CD that weds classical
arrangements with modern technology. It is a work that is both extraordinarily beautiful
and also challenging -- music that grows in power, when listened to extensively and with
concentration.
The CD includes two complete
Suites, part of a third, and a number of self-contained compositions. The individual
pieces are inspired by every thing from classical literature and myths to historical
events, and music as diverse as that of G. Holstz and krautrock; however, the
unifying concept of the album is that of time, and it is a theme that is present in the
titles and sound of almost every single track.
Clepsydra opens with two
pieces for which no superlatives are really sufficient, "Light And Shadow" and
"Brothers Of Infinity" are simply compositions of near perfection. Rich synth
themes, chiming crystalline sounds like the intricate workings of a clock, and serene oboe
melodies. Exquisite and graceful music that completely envelops the listener, and
powerfully evokes the sense of time as a streaming and mercurial entity.
This opening is followed by DE
TRIBUS IMPOSTORIBUS -- the first Suite of the album. Three parts constitute this
composition, which is more abstract, and much darker than the first two tracks. The Suite
is inspired by an archaic text that was suppressed by the Catholic Church, and the music
is fittingly mysterious and ominous -- painting aural images of damp catacombs and the
forgotten libraries of ancient monasteries. Fragments of oboe themes, church choirs,
squeaking hinges, and many other effects speckle this soundscape, which is dominated by
cold, soughing and wheezing atmospheres.
"Venere" and
"Nettuno" are two parts of a Suite (I PIANETI) -- originally written by Di
Cioccio, and dedicated to the classical composer Holstz. Both pieces return
to the strong melodic territory of the opening tracks, and are based in lush, layered
synth harmonies, with a treated piano theme figuring prominently in the foreground of
"Venere."
The following Suite CHRONOFOBIA
most vividly captures the theme of "time," and is a wonderful composition of
streaming synths and pulsing electronic loops. The three tracks constituting CHRONOFOBIA
("Pendulum," "Tomar" and "Procession") were inspired by the
early German wave of electronic music, but while close listening does reveal echoes of
such bands as Kraftwerk and Can, these references are
very subtle, and the Suite as such very effectively updates the musical aesthetic of its
inspiration.
CHRONOFOBIA is perhaps the most
powerful creation on Clepsydra, and in a way the most accessible, but the final
series of six tracks display a versatility and richness of musical imagination and ideas
that is really no less impressive. Here are studies in lyrical beauty such as "Oracle
Without Answers" and "Emptiness Around;" more ambient and incidental
compositions like "Birth Of an Island;" the complex but playful
"Dergolem;" and, the brief, "Sphinx Without Secret," which achieves a
truly unique and mesmerizing sound through the combination of bells, oboe and theremin.
Clepsydra is simply a
wonderful CD from beginning to end, and one that should delight audiences of both
classical, experimental and modern technological music. The Italian label Musica
Maxima Magnetica is responsible for the release, which is the second from Theatrum
Chemicum.
