Ecco una splendida intervista avuta in america :
http://www.heathenharvest.com/article.p ... 8055415417Artist: Vladimir Hirsch
Title: Symphony No. 4: Descent From the Cross
Label: Ars Benevola Mater
Genre: Classical/ Electronic/ Dark Ambient/ Industrial/ Contemporary/ Experimenta
01 Part I: After Expiry
02 Part II: Night Under The Cross
03 Part III: The Descent
04 Part IV: The Pass From Golgotha
05 Part V: Entombment
06 Part VI: Apotheosis
07 Part VII: Marc VI/16
The ancient Greek philosopher, Plato, in his text ‘The Republic’ viewed the Arts as potentially dangerous forces and put forward the theory that they should therefore be censored in order to protect the citizens. He believed that as the Arts were capable of eliciting strong emotional responses they were also powerful shapers of character for good or for ill. It was his conviction that the content and scope of the Arts be strictly controlled with the harshest censorship being reserved for painting and music because of their inherent power educate, stir and appeal to the soul. Plato’s theories have long been seized on by Dictatorships; control the arts and you hold control over the masses. The Artist, you see, is a potentially prophetic and visionary beast capable of turning divine inspiration into enlightened works that surpass everyday existence and by default, or endeavour, exposing truths or ideas that could destabilise the rule of the elite or corrupt society. That the collation of and composition of the Bible appears to have been shaped along Platonist ideals should probably come as no surprise given the controlling and repressive nature of the early Christian Church and through the subsequent centuries. Certainly, after the murder, jealousy, wrath, rages, genocide and plagues of the Old Testament, the New Testament is an exercise in presenting the story of Jesus Christ in a sanitised and carefully stage managed manner conveniently omitting gospels that could be considered contradictory and not dwelling on negative aspects of the Christ story. The result? An allegorical story that has inspired the Arts into raptures of adulation, religious piety and devotion! Not until later centuries have few peered through the gaps and chinks in the story and looked behind the sanitised veneer to produce polemic art that explores the darker aspects of the New Testament and Jesus’ life, especially that central act of the Christian faith, the Crucifixion. Had Plato been alive today I suspect that he would have had Vladimir Hirsch firmly in his sights for ‘Symphony No. 4: Descent From The Cross’ is most definitely a work of Divine Inspiration.
Inspired by Dostoevsky’s interpretation of Hans Holbein’s painting of the same name, ‘Descent from the Cross’ is an ambitious undertaking that explores the Christian faith in the Resurrection and shines a bright light on the darker aspects of this biblical event. Holbein’s painting portrays the body of Christ in a striking and disconcerting manner as exactly that,… a dead body, rendered lifeless through the barbaric act of crucifixion. Vladimir Hirsch has considered the possible reality of the aftermath and built a truly magnificent musical artifice to encapsulate the events between the death of Christ and the laying into the grave. There really is only one way that the true horror of the aftermath of such a bloodstained and murderous episode can be recast in music and the industrial idiom lends itself admirably to the task, especially when expertly melded into an avant-garde classical form. Vladimir Hirsch manages to achieve this feat in seven segments that tell a story
‘Part I: After Expiry’ is an exercise in abject darkness and despair. Ancient voices, industrial atmospheres, metallic hits and crushing percussive blows split the rank air asunder depicting a nightmare vision of a barbaric and excruciating death on the cross. Voices sussurate and coalesce with pitch-black atmospheres and the subterranean rumble of timpani that exquisitely convey true horror in minute detail. This is violent imagery more akin to ‘The Passion of the Christ’ and it’s gore laden vision of the crucifixion.’ ‘Part II: Night Under The Cross’ is constructed from the darkest ambient riveted together with cavernously reverberating percussive strikes, full-on orchestral hits and bursts of white noise rising like steam from some hellish pit. The atmosphere here is cloying and claustrophobic with extra tension delivered by an apocalyptic chorale vomiting dark laments into the night air: the soundtrack to a blackened vigil. You can almost see the swirling maelstrom of storm clouds and taste the bitter heat of the desert lands.
As if slicing seconds from the archaea, the periodic sounding of discordant bells in the intro to ‘Part III: The Descent’ couples with heavenly voices to deliver a welcome lull in the violent auditory assault. The peace is short-lived, however, soon to be ruptured by strident metallic percussion that segues neatly into a refrain of bass heavy staccato strings and brass. Sepulchral voices swirl, ebb and flow on the tide of dark orchestrations like dust on a dry wind. The intensity builds with the strings and brass coupling in a martial dual of madness driven by the unrelenting and abrasive percussion. ‘Part IV: The Pass From Golgotha’ begins with funereal drumming that suggests of a cortege on the move. Slow. Subdued. Reflective. Resilient. The air is solemn and has a fragrance of martial power.
‘Part V: Entombment’ is a final rite of passage towards the last place of resting. Somnolent, majestic and brooding! Sacred voices emanate that speak of ceremony from another time. This is a powerful track that captures the process and ritual of interment perfectly. ‘Part VI: Apotheosis’ continues the thematic of earlier tracks but scales back on the frenzy to deliver a more subdued yet equally striking passage. The final track, ‘Part VII: Marc VI/16’ concludes the journey that Hirsch set out to explore bringing the listener down with a reflective and sombre interlude that is imbued with shades of light and dark and hope and despair. Tinged with a melancholic hue this provides the perfect outro to the seven segments and thus completing the hypothetical journey of Christ from cross to grave.
That Vladimir Hirsch has pulled off a masterstroke with Symphony #4 bordering on genius is without question. That he might also be one the most important avant-garde composers alive today is also a distinct possibility. I would venture there is a mind at work here that is bordering on genius such is the complexity, modernity and scale that Hirsch has delivered with Symphony #4 that few others in the underground scene could hold a candle up to his achievements. This is a simply stunning work that should appeal to anyone with an appreciation for dark music in general and a bent for the neoclassical avant-garde. This is not a release to be dipped into lightly but to be savoured, at leisure, in a darkened space where you can fully immerse yourself and let your imagination provide the film for this epic soundtrack. Breathtaking, moving and darkly divine!