Andreas Vollenweider - Book of Roses
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Music CD Cover
Artist: Andreas VollenweiderEdition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 1992-02-11
Music Label: Sony
Soundtracks:
- Chapter One: La Strega (Her Journey to the Grand Ball)
- Chapter One: The Grand Ball of the Duljas
- Chapter One: Morning at Boma Park
- Chapter One: The Five Curtains
- Chapter One: Book of Roses
- Chapter One: In Doga Gamee
- Chapter One: Passage to Promise
- Chapter Two: In the Woods of Kroandal
- Chapter Two: Jugglers in Obsidian
- Chapter Three: Chanson de l'Heure Bleue
- Chapter Three: Czippa and the Ursanian Girl
- Chapter Three: The Birds of Tilmun
- Chapter Three: Hirzel
- Chapter Four: Jours d'Amour
- Chapter Four: Manto's Arrow and the Sphinx
- Chapter Four: Letters to a Young Rose
Free Music Notes for Book of Roses
Free Music Review: A Rare Fusion of New Age & Progressive Rock w/ European Flair
Hit: 5 Stars
Not often do such varied musical styles come together and it is even rarer that such unions actually produce a successful end-result, but Swiss harpist Andreas Vollenweider's Book of Roses climbs this steep slope to create one of the most memorable musical experiences I've ever had the pleasure to enjoy. Like David Arkenstone's In the Wake of the Wind an implied narrative unites these diverse musical passages, but, unlike that Grammy-nominated masterpiece, no written explanation nor ornate map accompanies what we hear. While I do wish we had just a little bit of background to the story Vollenweider shares with his audience, the narrative itself seems strong enough to stand on its own.
CHAPTER ONE:
"La Strega (Her Journey to the Grand Ball)" and "The Grand Ball of the Duljas" could easily make one think that grand classical music will follow for the rest of the album, but then comes "Morning at Boma Park" which is much more akin to progressive rock (what I consider the "jazz" of rock 'n' roll). None of this music fits all that neatly into any recognized catagory, but I think that explains its strength, not to mention uniqueness. A very deft piano solo follows and then forms the basis of "The Five Curtains" which seems much closer to classical music and jazz than the new age genre under which Vollenwieder often gets filed. One of the highlights of the entire album comes when the sound of a piece of chalk drawing on a board becomes a musical instrument, opening the very European-flavored "Book of Roses" in manner that still stuns me to this day. The vocal talents of LADYSMITH BLACK MAMBAZO close the first chapter in the joyful "Passage to Promise".
CHAPTER TWO:
While the first chapter whisked us from one scene to the next in a somewhat rapid manner, this chapter take its time. On a dark night "In the Woods of Kroandal" comes the first notes of a guitar which slowly finds its melody around which it initially meanders. Then the "Jugglers in Obsidian" trade those melodies back and forth from harp to flamenco guitar and back again. Prior to this I had never heard a harp and a guitar playing counter-point to one another.
CHAPTER THREE:
Of the four chapters this is my favorite because it develops in such a delicately methodical manner. First the barking of a dog in the distance, then the cello, the piano, and the flute become "Chanson de l'Heure Bleue" out of a formless ether. Then, seamlessly, the piano changes shape to become the basis of "Czippa and the Ursanian Girl" which features the single most precise and pitch-perfect vocal performance on the entire album. "The Birds of Tilmun" disrupt this vocal harmony to, perhaps, express the notion that our heroine has become lost within the woods. What better rescue from the dissonance of those birds than the almost divinely inspired harmonies of "Hirzel" wherein a harp as never sounded quite so good! As a matter of fact, hearing this song on KTWV in Los Angeles compelled me to call the station and seek out this wonderful music.
CHAPTER FOUR:
That Vollenweider could probably not top what he achieved with "Hirzel" seems understandable, but the first two pieces of this chapter really seem to leave the otherwise strongly implied narrative just a tad bit unresolved. I do not dislike "Jours d'Amour" nor "Manto's Arrow and the Sphinx" but I don't exactly understand where they take the storyline either. Fortunately, "Letters to a Young Rose" ties these disparate pieces together in a satisfactory manner. It's as if the young girl has stepped out of the fantasy world of the book of roses into the real world that she now sees in a different and, perhaps, more rewarding way.
This may not be best suited to everyone because, surely, there will be those who see the diversity of this presentation more as a weakness than a strength. However, if you can listen to this with an open mind, it's quite possible that it will take you somewhere you have never travelled. If unsure of which group you would fit into, just let the soft voices throughout the recording be your gentle guide.
Book of Roses Poster
Chockablock stylistic collisions include virtuoso classical piano, medieval folk, blues-rock, the chant of Ladysmith Black Mambazo, pastoral orchestration and flamenco-frenzy, and that's merely within tracks 6-8. Not to damn it with faint praise, but this shapes up as a "Tubular Bells? for the '90s. --Jeff BatemanInternational Music CDs
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