Fjoergyn
Ernte Im Herbst

In the Philebus and the Timaeus, Plato extols the beauty of music, elevating it as the highest cultural expression, enrapturing due to its abstract and almost divine nature. Consequently, Aristotle considered art, including music, as cathartic, purifying, and passionate.
If these two philosophical postulates are taken into consideration, the musical analysis of any work built on notes becomes much simpler and less schematic.
As Plato said, art, therefore music too, is an “imitation of imitation”, a “copy of a copy”, but I prefer to adhere to Aristotle, who considers art as “mimesis”, that is, a kind of idealization of reality, almost an improved imitation of it: art gives us delight, not truth, but only the plausible, and this idealization is invaluable.

And in the triumphal and musical beauty I find this “Ernte Im Herbst", a work by the Germans Fjoergyn. This word means “Earth” in Icelandic culture and mythology. And if art is aimed at beautifying something, this album idealizes and harmonizes our planet Earth. Already from the extremely delicate and pure artwork, these commendable themes are revealed. Don't be deceived by the musical genre: black, black metal which has little to nothing to do with the Norwegian sound. A black metal filled with massive orchestral insertions, with veins that touch upon folk and symphonic openings approaching classical perfection.

But, besides focusing on the perfection of the album, in every detail, I emphasize the thematic journey permeating the work, in a whirlwind of dreamlike and majestic atmospheres that recall themes drawn from the German Romanticism period, cultivating the idea of art as immediate adhesion to nature, probably also inspired by the “Sturm und Drang “. This dedication to the art of natural praise presents itself as an explosion of the senses in the opener ”Monolog Der Natur”, which retraces Romantic musical atmospheres, exclusively orchestral and instrumental, an excellent prelude to the second track “Vom Tod Der Träume”. It's pointless to lavish praise on the blend of various genres permeating the album: transitioning with disarming ease from epic atmospheres to symphonic openings, accompanied by growl verses and clean singing, which give more majesty to the work. There is also a certain theatricality in the album, given the vocal parts that seem recited, as is the case with “Fjoergyn”, a beautiful and varied track, in a growing and atmospheric climax full of excellent melodic openings. Folkloric is “Der Tag Der Wolfe”, dense with choirs and symphonic openings exploding into classical black rhythms. But if “Des Winters Schmach” is energetic and dark, surely sweet and calm is “Wenn Stürme ruhen”, a manifesto of the band's symphonic capability: in a backdrop that seems idyllic, scenarios are woven that evoke solar twilights or delicate springtime atmospheres, dense with colors and shimmering elements that make nature paradisiacal. But one soon exits from this musical Eden, re-entering into a whirl of falls between furious Black and the massive orchestration that makes the sound full-bodied, as in “Abendwache” or “Veritas Dolet”. The melody is lavishly wasted, in a work that essentially reflects natural perfection, before giving way to a veiled melancholy in “Ernte Im Herbst”, alternating the darkest moments with moments of black light and sadness. The album ends with a surprise: “Requiem” is a triumphant, victorious march, almost decreeing the natural victory over human rationality, with the conclusion entrusted to the “Ode to Joy” taken from Beethoven’s musical genius, fittingly enough, a Romantic musician.

The lyrics are exclusively in German, enriched by archaisms that recall German Romanticism. We do not find ourselves facing the cold and dark Black, but its notes are warm, enveloping, harmonious, and festive, evoking sweet spring meadows and setting aside polar atmospheres. Among idyllic and oneiric atmospheres, this album makes one dream, imagine, reflect, pray, and appreciate. In whirlwinds of sweet, persuasive, and sensual melodies, I find myself in front of a musical orgasm.