Список групп Atmospheric Gothic Ophelia's Dream All Beauty is Sad

"All Beauty is Sad".
With a title like that and given the composition of the line-up (a duet with a fellow in the composition and instruments, and a lovely lady on vocals), one suspects what kind you have to do: Neo-Gothic classical and opera with the full panoply of instruments that go well: piano, organ, harpsichord, strings, ... And indeed, there is no misrepresentation of the product: Ophelia's Dream officiates well in this style. A style that is currently going through an extremely troubled, because with that comes a Dark Sanctuary albums always honest but seriously beginning to turn around a Arcana which no longer knows which way to go, a Dead Can Dance who threw the sponge and a long Dargaard which eventually sink into its own darkness, there has never been black (the limit!) to Gothic souls wandering in this world.



Fortunately, there are certain formations such as unfairly neglected Ophelia's Dream, whose albums have been distributed several years ago in the strictest confidence, but we discovered today because fate decreed that their fate falls into the hands a benefactor record company that decided (finally) to grant them a distribution worthy of the name. Initiative should be welcome here because it was a pity to miss this talented German band that manages to bring a little breath of fresh air in the world of Gothic Neo-classical singer, which is not a mean feat in a style as marked.



One of the qualities of Ophelia's Dream, and not least, is to offer a wide variety of environments. Unlike his peers who tend to develop the same type of atmosphere throughout their albums (sadness and melancholy with Dark Sanctuary, Dargaard medieval, with vampirism Untoten), Ophelia's Dream plays both ways and provides us with This "All Beauty is Sad" a work rich in variations.

The Germanic duo also managed to avoid the trap of the pervasiveness of female vocals. Interventions by the mezzo-soprano Julia Tiedje were voluntarily reduced and are interspersed with long passages purely instrumental. Suddenly, his singing lost soul wandering for eternity in an abandoned cemetery, which could become tiresome in the long run, is still relevant and you fall in love every time.

As for the compositions, they are systematically fly, without ever losing a natural sobriety. Dietmar Greulich is not for showing off the view and fully succeeded his bid to compose music sublime and moving with an astonishing economy of means, without proof or unnecessarily burdensome. His piano arabesques, very inspired by the works of Sergei Rachmaninov (reference almost unavoidable when talking about classical music dark) and very present throughout the album, is absolutely spellbinding.


Finally, the reissue of "All Beauty is Sad" includes bonus full recovery of the "Stabat Mater" by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, close enough original compositions but with a feeling more "gothic". There are also some bonus tracks as demos for a total of more than 75 minutes of music.
Get ready for a long journey, especially at the pleasure of the ears added viewing pleasure, as this reissue comes in the form of a superb digibook with numerous illustrations, each more beautiful than the one before others.

Sure, the sound of the album seems a bit dated (despite the remastering) and some instruments like the organ and the brass ring rather synthetic, but the spell developed by Ophelia's Dream is such that one willingly allows driving his company through the ruins and castles Windstein, Cemetery Ohlsdorf and frescoes of mythical Schattenjäger. Sumptuous!