Recorded entirely through acoustic means, relying on her vocals and classically trained piano skills, her new album is turning heads with its classical sound.Tori describes Night of Hunters as a 21st century song cycle inspired by classical music themes spanning over 400 years.
Paying tribute to renowned composers like Bach, Chopin and Schubert, Tori tells the story of a woman who finds herself in the dying embers of a relationship while still maintaining her signature vocals and lyrical poetry. It worked beautifully there, and on Scarlets Walk, less so on The Beekeeper and American Doll Posse. Night of Hunters was created because of a commission by Deutsche Grammophon, to create a 21st century song cycle that took into account classical works from the last 400 years. She built it around 14 songs from variations on Bach, Debussy, Granados, Alkan, Satie, Schubert, Schumann, Mendelssohn, Mussorgsky, and Gregorian chant. Amos joined her voice and Bosendorfer piano with reeds, winds, and strings, arranged by John Philip Shenale. While her narrative can be frustratingly complex and her lyrics obscure, the work ultimately succeeds because she restrains herself from all excesses and employs her finest vocal and playing skills; the latter are, at this juncture, formidable. On The Shattering Sea, based on an Alkans Madwoman on the Sea-Shore, strings by the Apollon Musagete Quartet pulse just behind her piano, creating drama underscored by reeds and winds. When she pronounces emphatically, That is not my blood on the on the bedroom floor, the tension becomes unbearable. In Snowblind (based on a song by Granados), her character refuses to accept blame for the end of the relationship. Amos creates a mythical guideMuse as balance: the fine vocals of her 11-year-old daughter Natasha as Anabelle the Fox make their initial appearance. Battle of Tree, based on Saties Gnossienne No. Cactus Practice, despite its ridiculous title, is one of the more beautiful pieces here; its another vocal duet with Natasha, based on a Chopin nocturne. Likewise, their duet in Jobs Coffin, inspired by Mendelssohns Nautical Twilight. Seven Sisters, the instrumental pairing of her piano and Andreas Ottensamers clarinet inspired by a Bach prelude precedes Carry, the most powerful (and accessible) cut. Night of Hunters is not a pop record and therefore claims a different place in her oeuvre. It contains the power and dynamics and splendor of her very best material, but because it is a work of classical crossover, any expectation of pop hooks or singalong choruses will be met with disappointment; consequently, its sophistication, elegance, and poetry will reward anyone who takes the proper time to absorb it.
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