| Stoa Zal |
| You certainly can't fault Germany's Stoa for a lack of ambition. Setting the writing of giants like William Blake, James Joyce and Rainer Maria Rilke to music requires a lot of nerve; some might even call it "hubris." Their most recent release, Zal, aims high ... and frequently hits its target. The members of Stoa certainly have their musical chops down pat. Composer and arranger Olaf Parusel has been involved in the classical business since childhood, when he was a member of the oldest chorus in the world. Singer Antje Buchheiser is also an accomplished violinist, while cellist Christine Fisher and oboist Barbara Uhle both show the kind of skill that comes only with extensive training and practice. Uhle's melancholy oboe stylings add depth and tension to "Maare" (based on a Japanese poem by Keiji Sayaama), while Fisher's cello supports the ethereal and lovely "Full Fathom Five" (an orchestrated version of Shakespeare's famous speech from "The Tempest"). Given the challenge of setting some of this material to music, Stoa does remarkably well. While James Joyce was a literary genius, and keenly aware of the music of language, no one ever accused him of being a songwriter. Still "Alone" succeeds thanks largely to Parusel's compositional skills and to some gorgeous piano work. "Chanson d'Automne," based on a poem by Paul Verlaine, is even more impressive, thanks largely to the inherent beauty of French and also to some impressive pizzicato cello stylings by Christine Fisher. Interestingly, one of the most successful compositions on the track is Stoa's lovely remake of Black Tape for a Blue Girl's "I Wish You Could Smile." While Sam Rosenthal may not be James Joyce, he's got an unerring pop sense. Turning a Black Tape song into a lushly orchestrated slice of heaven is a piece of cake next to setting Blake or Shakespeare to music. The vocals on this CD are consistently impressive. Buchheiser's operatic vocals on "Nubius Atrius" (taken from Boethius, author of The Consolation of Philosophy ) are evocative of Gregorian chants or Anonymous 4 with modern orchestration. Still, I found her a bit distant at times While her singing on "Soft Snow" is lovely and complements the Satie-esque acoustic piano, it's a bit mannered. She might benefit from a class in drama; she has a superb voice but often seems detached from the lyrical emotions. (I suppose we can give her points for avoiding the melodramatic scenery-chewing we see from too many Goth bands... ) I might also like to see a bit more tension and dissonance incorporated into the music. The instrumentals are consistently pretty... maybe too pretty. Songs like "I Held the Moon" and "Think About Eternity" are lovely, but almost sickly-sweet. They might benefit from some clashing harmonies or some atonal phrases: think Schoenberg's breathtaking "Verklarkte Nacht" or Mahler's "Das Lied von der Erde" and you'll see what I mean. Still, this is a fine piece of work, which combines the best of Ethereal music with modern classical and which aims high without becoming pretentious. In these times, we need all the beautiful music we can get... and Stoa's music is unquestionably beautiful. Highly recommended. 1) I Held The Moon Projekt Records: www.projekt.com |