Immortal Memory
Lisa Gerrard and Patrick Cassidy
I’ve been listening to this on and off over the weekend. Lisa Gerrard - the female half of Dead Can Dance and composer of the soundtracks to Gladiator (with Hans Zimmer) and ‘The Insider’ (with Pieter Bourke) – has teamed up this time with Irish composer Patrick Cassidy to bring us ‘Immortal Memory’. Similar in theme to her previous work, this has the added bonus of hearing Gerrard actually singing words. Granted those words are sung in Old Irish and Aramaic but still, they are (almost) recognisable words. Then again if you are buying a Lisa Gerrard album you aren’t really there for the lyrics rather, the Voice. Which still manages to astound and surprise. At times you could be mistaken for thinking that no human could make that sound, it must be an oboe or a cello. For instance I had to listen to the second track ‘Maranatha’ (Aramaic for ‘Come Lord’) three times before I realised that she is actually chanting deep underneath and has overlaid this with another lament – the second melody sung in her signature ‘melismatic’ style. ‘Amergin’s Invocation’ builds on ‘Maranatha’ and listening to it one can easily imagine the Milesians marching to war with the Tuatha De Danann.
This is quite a specialised album and it’s not going to be up everyone’s street. Me, I’d buy an album of Lisa Gerrard singing the phone book. Given the lack of recognisable lyrics on her previous albums I quite possibly already have. But this is good listening for those nights when it is 4 in the morning and you can’t sleep. Put it on the stereo on low, close your eyes and get lost in the heart of it.
you have time for the blog but not lounge posting?
Comment by bigjoe — September 12, 2006 @ 2:46 pm
the blog posts are on a timer. The new job doesn’t give me access to the lounge.
Comment by elimare — September 12, 2006 @ 6:24 pm
fair enough.
we miss you all the same!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Comment by bigjoe — September 13, 2006 @ 9:12 am