Opus Avantra

Исполнитель: Opus Avantra (5). Donella Del Monaco (1)
Страна: Италия
Жанр: Opera, Avant-Garde, Traditional (или Avant-Prog)
Формат: Lossless / MP3
Note: incl. 3-4% recovery + covers
Источник: Ослосеть

Donella Del Monaco graduated in Architecture and specialised in operatic singing under her father Marcello (who ran an International School of operatic singing) and her uncle, the tenor Mario Del Monaco. Alongside her repertoire as an operatic soprano, she has built a personal artistic career as a singer-composer-researcher, creating and presenting many musical-theatre works and theme-recitals drawn from her personal research, including "Le Canzoni da Battello" (Boating Songs) of 18th Century Venice (also in a theatrical version), "Cabaret Kabarett", a theatrical recital based around the songs of A. Schoenberg for the Berlin literary cabaret, a personally reworked "Swing&Songs" dedicated to G. Gershwin, "Chansons Satie", dedicated entirely to Erik Satie and "Folk Songs" by Luciano Berio, a work whose complexity derives from its multiform use of the voice. In addition to the above, she researched and performed F. Nietzsche's lieder in 'Les Voyageurs', a composite theatrical work, at the Espace Cardin in Paris in 1995. The work was performed over thirty times. She has recently gone back to her research into music in the Veneto, recording the "Venexia de oro" CD, a Veneto itinerary of songs and texts from the Crusades up to the end of the last Millenium. The work is the fruit of her research and the arrangement of pieces and language from Veneto and Venetian culture, in collaboration with the poet Andrea Zanzotto, with a presentation by Alvise Zorzi. She took it to the Espace Cardin in Paris in 2000 in the form of a recital and dance with choreography by Pier Paolo Kos. In 2001 she presented her new CD "Merica Merica", dedicated to the Veneto emigration songs, an arrangement of a genre centred around the boundaries between ethnic, world and classical music. Indeed, Donella's true passion is her work on the boundaries between different musical genres. Her first creative work dates back to 1974 with Opus Avantra, a progressive group which she founded together with other musicians, and which combined avant-garde music with various musical genres. The group is quoted in the Gibraltar Encyclopedia as the "one of the best Italian groups of all time".

Одна из самых необычных групп итальянской прог-сцены, да и всей рок-музыки вообще. Название группы расшифровывается как “Opera, Avant-garde, Tradition”, из чего в общем-то ясно, какие музыкальные ориентиры были у группы. Но не чуралась она и джаза, этники, неоклассики… И вообще, музыканты не замудрялись на тему того, чтобы оставаться в каких-либо стилистических рамках. Философию коллектива музыканты определяли примерно так: «Музыкальный мир в тупике, он разрознен как в социальном плане, так и в стилистически, и раскол только усугубляется со временем. ‘Манифест’ группы: помочь музыке выйти из тупика, объединив разрозненные направления в единое целое».
OPUS AVANTRA сформировалась вокруг ядра из вокалистки оперной школы Donella Del Monaco (ее дядя – известный оперный певец), клавишника Alfredo Tisocco и философа Giorgio Bisotto. Для записи пластинок и живых выступлений привлекалось множество различных музыкантов, разделявших философию и принципы группы.
Дебютный альбом, названный просто «Donella Del Monaco» (иногда именуемый по названию первой композиции «Introspezione»), вышел в 1974 году. Вознамерившемуся приобрести этот альбом надо быть осторожным. Очень красивые моменты «а-ля неоклассика», декорированные флейтой, скрипочками, клавишными и приятным сопрано Донеллы Дел Монако, перемежаются несколько «странноватыми» (так выразимся) авангардными фрагментами, которые неподготовленному слушателю могут показаться дикой «шизой» и полной какофонией. Однако, тех, кто хорошо относится к авангардным выкрутасам и всякого рода экспериментам, альбом должен порадовать своей красотой нетривиальностью.
При всей необычности и «некоммерческости» своей музыки группа довольно-таки быстро нашла свою аудиторию и активно и удачно выступала по стране, сотрудничая с множеством самых различных музыкантов. Например, в записи второго альбома принимал участие барабанщик группы NOVA IDEA Paulo Siani. А вот Донеллы Дел Монако там нет. Вместо нее задействована куча вокалисток и целый хор из Америки. Пластинка несколько сложнее дебютника, но выдержана в том же духе.
В конце семидесятых – начале восьмидесятых годов клавишник и вокалистка группы записывали авант-проговые сольные пластинки, а в 1989 году воссоединились для записи третьей пластинки “ Strata”. Альбом выдержан в прежней стилистике, и ничуть не уступает предыдущим пластинкам.
Аудитория у подобного рода групп никогда не была особо широкой, но зато отличалась постоянством, компетентностью и верностью любимой музыке. Так что и после реорганизации группа стабильно выступала, без проблем находя своего слушателя. А в 1995 году вышла еще одна пластинка “Lyrics”. По большинству отзывов работа эта несколько проще предыдущих, но тоже хороша и интересна. (Публикация: Желанов Алексей)

2008 saw the reunion of Opus Avantra with Donella Del Monaco, Alfredo Tisocco, Giorgio Bisotto and other musicians, for a concert in Japan in April, based on material from all their albums. Hopefully this will repeated for other live exhibitions and new recordings.

Opus Avantra - 1974 - Donella Del Monaco (aka Introspezione)
Tracklist:
1. Introspezione (2:05)
2. Les Plaisirs Sont Doux - Nel Piccolo Giardino (3:36)
3. La Marmellata - Carillon (2:33)
4. L'Altalena (5:35)
5. Monologo (2:37)
6. Il Pavone (4:52)
7. Ah! Douleur (4:16)
8. Deliee (5:00)
9. Oro (3:31)
10. Rituale Ashralem (5:47)

Состав:
Donella Del Monaco - vocals
Alfredo Tisocco - keyboards, tastiere
Luciano Tavella - flute
Enrico Professione - violin
Pieregidio Spiller - violin
Riccardo Perraro - cello
Pierdino Tisato - drums
Tony Esposito - percussion, strumenti, effetti

Opus Avantra - 1975 - Lord Cromwell (plays suite for seven vices)

Whereas "Intrespezione" opened in a stark and challenging way, "Lord Cromwell..." chooses to unfold in a serenely, stately manner with a neo-classical arrangement for piano, flute and... well, timpani. This should send up a warning flag but happily the song morphs into rock and cycles through several different textures before its melodic and pleasing conclusion in a fairly EL&P or Le Orme-like way. No "sophomore album" problem for Opus Avantra, then.
This one appears to be a concept album as the song titles gel with that of the record. I'm not versed in italian so I can't tell you how lyrically deep this delves but I can confirm that each of the tracks synonymous with one of the sins sounds rather like its sinner, ie, "Avarice" sounds like the soundtrack for the life of a mercenary man with a great desire for power and "Envy" is a challenging, staggering piece that cleverly expresses inner bitterness and rage.
This one is twice as rocky as their previous endeavour and a better starting point for the more orthodox prog-heads among us.

Track Listings:
1. Flowers on Pride (5:29)
2. Avarice (5:26)
3. Lust (3:53)
4. My Vice (1:59)
5. Ira (7:52)
6. Gluttony (3:05)
7. Envy (5:44)
8. Sloth (4:32)
9. Allemanda (3:03)
Total Time: 41:03

Line-up/Musicians
Alfredo Tisotto / Steinway and Fender piano, Hammond, synthesizer and Pipe organ
Luciano Travella / flute
Renato Zanella / Fender guitar
Enrico Professione / violin
Pieregidio Spiller / violin
Riccardo Perraro / cello
Paulo Siani / percussion, drums
Gina Bianco, Susan Worshap, Cindy Brasher, Carl Adams / vocals
American Chorus Setaf

Opus Avantra - 1989 - Strata

A rather indistinct record and possibly too contrary for its own good - the individual pieces hold up well enough but it's difficult to find a unifying theme among them. Variously gothic, alien opera, Bartok-esque and evocative of languid court music, the only constant Opus Avantra offer you is the hook of Donella del Monaco's remarkable voice - which is admittedly sensual in certain places - and certainly don't deign to play rock music on this album. That would be uncivilised.
Even so, this reviewer rewards Strata with four stars in reverence to the moments of brilliance contained within - this record bears the signs of meticulous arrangement and a resourcefulness which spans beyond the wide arsenal of instruments it employs. If you want to hear avant-prog undiluted by rock and roll, then here it is.

Track Listing:
1. Canto Della Notte
2. Quiete E Tumulto
3. Danza degli Oggetti Liberati
4. Canto Incompiuto
5. Vertigine
6. Fase Dello Specchio (Duello)
7. Canto Prima Dell'alba
8. Tics (Palude)
9. Titmo Alfa (Labirinto)- live
10. Canto Ad Un Dio Nascosto
11. R.E.M. (Extra Tracks)

Musicians and performers:
Alfredo Tisocco: piano, sintetizers (Yamaha, Korg, Roland)
Donella Del Monaco: voices
Vincenzo Caroli: flute
Pieregidio Spiller: violin
Manuela Rizzo: viola
Alberto Brendolin: cello
Toni Lee: guitar
Gianfranco Spigolon Maneguzzo: double-bass
Saverio Tasca: percussions

Opus Avantra — 1995 — Lyrics

An initially unassuming work - belying a trove of hidden treasure - floating somewhere between chamber music and the sort of film score that would accompany a movie featuring a lot of travel between scenic locations. The music isn't as fickle as on previous Opus Avantra albums - indeed, a sustained, stringed drone provides a base for the nine minute opener, "Viaggio Immaginario" which may well limit the amount of variation it can achieve.
The other large piece - "Misterious Japanese Suite" - opens more notably with creative and challenging piano playing in - to this admittedly under-educated reviewer's ears - a rather esoteric scale. This flows into a more rhythmic battle between the piano, a string section playing pizzicato notes and some manner of tuned percussion. There is simply no room for Donella to sing at any point during this suite, so she doesn't. Were that we were all so restrained.
For fans of classical and avant-garde composition as "Lyrics" has negligible to nil rock content. A solid work that's only a slight disappointment when compared to their previous albums - this isn't brought about by a lapse in quality so much as a change in approach.

Track Listings
1. Viaggio Immaginario:
- a. Parte 1 (2:39)
- b. Parte 2 (2:08)
- c. Parte 3 (4:23)
2. Misterious Japanese Suite:
- a. Parte 1 (5:29)
- b. Parte 2 (2:39)
- c. Parte 3 (2:35)
- d. Parte 4 (5:07)
3. Ballata (2:57)
4. Lirica Metafisica (5:20)
5. Danza Arcana (4:38)
6. Meditazione (4:55)
Total Time: 42:55

Line-up/Musicians
Alfredo Tisocco / disklavier Yamaha, computer project, ensemble conductor
Donella Del Monaco / voice
Saverio Tasca / percussion
Enrico Professione / violin
Andrea Corsara / violin
Pieregidio Spiller / violin
Martina Pattenon / viola
Stefania Cavedon / cello
Alberto Brendolin / cello, free interpretation(4)
Gianfranco Spigolon / contrabass
Angelo Lora / oboe
Alberto Crivelletto / flute
"Tammittam" Ensemble / percussion (5)

Подозреваю, что следующие два альбома не смогут доставить изысканное удовольствие всем, скачавшим предшествовавшие 4 альбома. Но ценители - оценят! Поэтому - только для ценителей - эти альбомы выкладываю только в лосслесс формате. Хотя, у ценителей они наверняка уже в хардкопи на полочке

Opus Avantra - 2004 - Live Concerts Excerpts (1977-1991)

Tracklisting:
1. Canto Alla Notte 03:47
2. Danza Degli Oggetti Liberati 05:07
3. Vertigine 04:22
4. Canto Prima Dell'alba 02:59
5. Canto A Un Dio Nascosto 03:45
6. Presentazione Di Alfredo Tisocco, Donella Del Monaco E Opus Avantra Da 00:37
7. Femminili Creature (Da Ritagli D'anima) 01:17
8. Canto Incompiuto 04:07
9. Tics 03:39
10. A Duchamp 05:01
11. Fase Dello Specchio 02:31
12. Ritmo Alfa 06:52
13. Venezia Nella Nebbia 04:09
14. Finale 03:22
15. Ritagli D'anima - Suite Per Pianoforte 10:05

Credits:
Alfredo Tisocco Direction, Piano, Synthesizer
Donella Del Monaco Singer
Eddy DeFanti Percussion
Opus Avantra Main Performer
Saverio Tasca Percussion
Tony Lee Chitarrone

Donella Del Monaco - 1979 - Schonberg Kabarett

Tracklisting:
1 Galathea
Lyrics By - Franz Wedekind
2 Gigerlette
Lyrics By - Otto Julius Bierbaum
3 Der Genugsame Liebhaber
Lyrics By - Hugo Salus
4 Einfaltiges Lied
Lyrics By - Hugo Salus
5 Mahnung
Lyrics By - Gustav Hochstetter
6 Jedem Das Seine
Lyrics By - Colly
7 Arie Aus Dem Spiegel Von Arkadien
Lyrics By - Emanuel Schikaneder
8 Nachtwandler
Lyrics By - Gustav Falke
9 Ecloge
Lyrics By - Unknown Artist
10 Der Wanderer
Lyrics By - Friedrich Nietzsche
11 Erwartung
Lyrics By - Richard Dehmel

Genre: Classical
Style: Modern
Credits:
Composed By [Music] - Arnold Schonberg
Drums [Snare Drum] - Giuseppe Marotta
Flute [Ottavino] - Maria Grazia Zanini
Piano [Pianoforte] - Maurizio Carnelli
Producer - Renato Marengo
Trumpet [Tromba] - Leonardo Malandra
Vocals - Donella Del Monaco

Вай, а последней пары то и нет у меня... Обложки шибко нравятся, а я падкая на это дело, обычно и содержание не подкачивает
Будим брать, благодарю!!!

Спасибо! Слышал только первые два, буду знакомится дальше.

угу, дожили бы ссылки

Не, упокоились. Судьба, значится, у них такая...