TONY GARONE
The Epic Of Gilgamesh
Reviewer: Sven Eriksen
An hour-long epic work which tells the
story of the Mesopotamian hero
king Gilgamesh who lived around five thousand years ago. And this
hour
of music is just a part of the complete work, if you want to hear
the
rest, you need to access the internet.
The music has, naturally, a certain Eastern
feel. Here are instruments
with exotic names like Dumbek, Saz, D'jambe and Gomelan Chimes,
mixed
with more well-known tools. Quite special is also the way in which
this
music has been created. Sixteen musicians and singers from three
countries, many who have never met, have recorded this CD using
MP3
technology and the internet, and neither the music nor the sound
quality
have suffered from it.
This record immediately gave me associations
to L Maxwell Taylor's The
Cheshire Tree Suite (see Tarkus no 12), not least through the
use of
acoustic instruments, and the delicate, relaxed atmosphere which
pervades the music. The instrumentation is exquisite, and there
is good
use of contrasts and dynamics. However, it is the vocal work which
is
the most impressive, whether it be African chants, solo performances,
or
more traditional harmony singing.
The compositions clearly show that they
are passing on a story, and the
only negative point is that the music sometimes suffers from the
fact
that it needs to follow pre-written lyrics, resulting in a few
somewhat
forced and unimaginative melody lines.
The Epic Of Gilgamesh is an impressive
piece of work which gets its
acknowledgement not least through first class sound production.
If you
feel like listening to music that is neither prog, pop, jazz,
rock or
ambient, this record may be just what you are looking for. And
if you
want more, just log on to www.garone.net/tony/gilgamesh.html.
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Best regards
Tarkus Magazine
Sven Eriksen