Angels of Venice
Angels of Venice

I write a review today out of curiosity; I am a digital nomad in search of new music that might intrigue me. So here I am writing about my discoveries. Today I would like to write about a particular ensemble, the “Angels Of Venice,” and their self-titled 1999 album. The group revolves around the figure of “Carol Tatum,” a very talented musician who, in addition to playing various instruments, masterfully plays the Celtic harp (on this, I recommend listening to what she can do with a cover of “Nothing Else Matters” by Metallica). That being said, some clarifications are in order because the question that might spontaneously arise is whether they play metal given the cover; the answer is no, they do not play metal, they do something entirely different. If one wants to stick to labels, it can be said that they play a genre related to medieval and neoclassical music, with some electronic influence in the use of synths. The music is very evocative and airy, at times dark, although echoes of Dead Can Dance and Loreena McKennitt can be heard in certain moments; it would nonetheless be reductive to associate them solely with these two. Moving on to the review, the album opens with Sad Lisa, a track that begins with some piano passages that are accompanied by flute and Celtic harp, a track that I consider very delicate. The second track, Lionheart, begins with a string instrument loop and then evolves into a track dominated by percussion, flute, viola, and keyboards, and here you start to see what their music is made of. One of the tracks that struck me was “A Chantar Mer,” a reinterpretation of a French song from the twelfth century featuring an operatic female voice in the initial part, which I must say is sublime. Another track that I find excellent is “Trotto,” an ancient track precisely from the fourteenth century Italian, starting with “uilleann pipes,” a particular kind of Irish bagpipes. The album flows very well, presenting a variety of melodies and sounds, where the various musicians showcase their skills. If we want to make a note, few are the “sung” tracks. It should be noted in the last track, which begins with a Gregorian choir before evolving instrumentally. A detailed analysis of all the tracks is not possible; I'd take away the pleasure of discovery, I recommend giving it a listen.