Detailed Reviews [Giardini D'Autunno - 2003 - "Frammenti di Idee Perdute"]

Giardini D'Autunno (Italy) - 2003 - "Frammenti di Idee Perdute"
(47 min, Mellow)

Prolusion. "Frammenti di Idee Perdute" is most likely the debut of Italy's GIARDINI D'AUTUNNO. The band doesn't have a website so far.

Synopsis. Judging by the contents of this output, I can say for sure that Giardini D'Autunno is more the vehicle for multi-instrumentalist and composer Tiziano Rea than a real band. The entire album is the brainchild of Rea, but this is not all. All of the odd-numbered tracks Rea performed alone: Preludo, Interludio Prima, Interludio Seconda, Sulla Linea del Cielo, and Visioni Ascedentali (1, 3, 5, 7, & 9). None of these features drums and, thus, drummer Andrea Scala. While singer Emiliano Germani participated only on one track: Storia Vana, which is consequently the only song here (lyrics are in Italian). However, don't think that with saying all of this, I am paving the way for criticism. Quite the contrary! The absence of drums on the aforementioned tracks is just a particular, which, though, being directly linked with the author's conception concerning the album, becomes one of the most important features of it. Of course, the pieces performed with drums are more dynamic and are a bit more diverse than the others, but compositionally, they hardly surpass them. Rea's ability to play keyboards and use the possibilities of modern synthesizers is simply phenomenal. The sound of compositions featuring only him is amazingly rich and colorful. Here, the parts of electric, semi-acoustic, and bass guitars and those of 'synthetic', yet very realistic (and lush!) sounding viola, violoncello, flute and the other string and chamber instruments ideally supplement each other creating a musical picture, which is both highly unique and coherent. Chamber Symphonic Art-Rock would probably be the most suitable definition of the music presented on those five compositions, even though no real chamber and string instruments were used. The other three instrumentals: Visioni Trascedentali, the album's title track, and Radius (2, 4, & 6), as well as the song Storia Vana (8), are filled with tense, distinctly dramatic musical events. These are closer to what we used to call Classic Symphonic Art-Rock, though some features of chamber music are still here as well. The moderately quiet arrangements with charming sounds of violins, Hammond, and Mellotron alternate with intense, eclectic and, sometimes, heavy ones containing many unusual, almost atonal, yet, always 'classically' disciplined interplay between all the instruments involved. A sense of mystery is throughout, and it didn't leave me even after I stopped listening to these wonderful "fragments". This is in many respects quite an atypical album for the Italian Progressive.

Conclusion. All of the tracks on "Frammenti di Idee Perdute", without exception, are masterpieces and are amazingly intriguing. Furthermore, most of them possess that indescribable magic, which gives us music lovers a very special, somewhat mystical mood (you certainly know what I am talking about). Highly recommended, of course!

VM: January 7, 2004