Various Artists - Polish Contemporary Chamber Music / Various - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

'Filatura di Musica' is an ensemble specializing in historically informed performance. It consists of musicians who graduated from prestigious art schools Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, Koninklijk Conservatorium in the Hague, Staatliche Hochschule für Musik in Trossingen or Conservatoire de Musique in Grenoble. Artistic pursuits of the ensemble cover two areas of repertoire. The first is Renaissance and early Baroque music, performed in the typical of this period high pitch (a1= 465 Hz). The core instrumental ensemble is a consort, the varied body of which (recorders and traverso flutes, vielle/violin, violas da gamba) contributes to expressive demonstration of arabesque melodic lines of the 16th-century polyphony and concertante dialoguing in canzonas and sonatas from early 17th century. This is complemented with singing and the sound of keyboard instruments (virginal/positive organ).

Examined from temporal distance, Empyrium's complete body of work is within reasonable limits in terms of quantity during the eight years of the band's history, they released four albums, each of them marking a recognizable progress from it's predecessor. 1996's still immature and effusive debut InchA Wintersunset...Inch paved the way for InchSongs Of Moors & Misty FieldsInch (1997), Empyrium's hallmark in the Dark Metal underground. In the next few years, the band offered InchWhere At Night The Wood Grouse PlaysInch (1999) and InchWeilandInch (2002), two albums as sophisticated as unique in terms of both music and content, straying beyond the scope of conventional genres, the closest denominator being Dark Folk, if only for a lack of alternatives. With InchWeilandInch, Empyrium finally came so close to the essence of their own creative spirit as to seeing no more sense in continuing the band, resulting in dispersal for the time being. As the title suggests, InchA Retrospective...Inch is a look back on the work of Empyrium. Aside from re-mastered songs from all four studio albums, the CD contains two unreleased new tracks, InchDer WeiherInch and InchAm WolkenstiegInch, as well as a newly arranged and recorded version of InchThe Franconian Woods In Winter's SilenceInch (originally off InchA Wintersunset...Inch).

Various Artists - Polish Early Music / Various [COMPACT DISCS] date 05/31/2005