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Vox: Divine Rites (World Class - 1998) When attempting to put Divine Rites into a genre, the most appropriate niche would be World Music (perhaps, more specifically, in a "5th-Century Middle Eastern Female Religious Chant Gets Modernized But Not So Much As To Ruin It" category). For our purposes, the disc works quite nicely in an ambient listening context, particularly if one enjoys the female voice and subtle ethnic/electronic backing (and doesn't understand Syrian/Lebanese). |
| Bringing together influences from around the world and through time, historical musicologist Vladimir Ivanoff marries the essence of medieval spiritual music from Syria and Lebanon with artfully applied modern instrumentation and recording. Ivanoff composed, arranged, produced, recorded and performs in Divine Rites; his work has created a beautiful stage for the disc's star, Lebanese contralto Fadia El-Hage. Adroit and expressive, her voice is a perfect vehicle for Ivanoff's vision. Not understanding a word ensures my own listening pleasure; I'm hearing it simply as beautiful, and indeed, heavenly sounds. Multi-tracked layers of El-Hage's softly passionate voice intertwine over a light electric hum in Holy Sepulchre. Seeming both ancient and modern, this opening track exemplifies the best of things to come. A distant electronic drone is overlain by El-Hage's trickling phrases to open The Dove, the most "radically" modernized track. Soft, rapid e-percussion begins to propel everything into a steady flow when distantly screaming electric guitar tracks send blurred arpeggios spiraling into the atmosphere, over the rushing stream. The effect, oddly, works well and even remains somehow subdued, like a contained power source. Restrained droning opens Maria to be joined by Fadia's plaintive self-chorus. Some slight cymbals taps but no overt drum section here. Faint storm effects and occasional electric guitar chords embellish Crucifixion. The lyric here is more of a wail which acoustics allow to echo from holy walls. More ethereal and medieval, Kyrie Eleyson (2:18) features a chorus effects as vocals layered upon vocals sustain and blur. The informative liner notes tell me we're hearing the chest-centered vocal techniques characteristic of Byzantine singing. Speedy bongo beats and acoustic bass drive Holy; worshipful reverence and earthly passion seem to be two sides of this golden coin. Resurrection features another accapella chorus which, through overlay and delay, reverberate like a cathedral memory. Detuned bells ring in the arrival of Moses the multiple tracks of polyphony seem to shimmer more pronouncedly here, swirling amongst the clings and dings. Annunciation is backed by a slowly oscillating horn and buzz; the track is quite sparse floating with a steady rise and fall. Very much like ripples, El-Hage's reverent phrasings seem to fluidly pulse, echoing out from the center in a final a cappella track, Alleluia (7:48).
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| While I may be listening to Divine Rites in a manner other than it was "intended" to be heard, it does exactly what I prefer my music to do... these foreign sounds unobtrusively color my world in a beautiful exotic tint, bringing some other dimension to my home. I should point out that Dead Can Dance fans in particular should find this quite accessible; I certainly did, and eagerly bestow an 8.5 upon Vox. |  |