PASSIO SECUNDUM MATTHEUM - THE COMPLETE WORK

Another RPI band from the 1970s returning for an encore of creative output in the 21st Century--this one well worth hearing! Just look at that lineup of narrators: it's a veritable who's who of classic RPI!

- Alvaro Fella (Jumbo) / narrator - Lino Vairetti (Osanna) / narrator - Silvana Aliotta (Circus 2000) / narrator - Paolo Carelli (Pholas Dactylus) / narrator - Aldo de Scalzi (Picchio dal Pozzo) / narrator, mixing - Sophya Baccini / narrator - Elisa Montaldo (Il Tempio delle Clessidre) / narrator - Giorgio D'Adamo (New Trolls) / narrator - Max Manfredi / narrator - Simonluca / narrator - Paolo Griguolo (Picchio dal Pozzo) / narrator

1. "Introduzione" (3:11) great start--beautiful blend of old/orchestral instruments and arrangements with rock. (9.5/10)

2. "Il Giorno degli Azzimi" (1:03) (4.5/5)

3. "Ultima Cena" (2:56) (9.5/10)

4. "Il Pane e il Sangue dell'Alleanza" (3:54) great use of classical guitar, orchestral strings and full choir. (9.75/10)

5. "Getzemani" (5:26) gentle beginning with Shaft-like cymbal play, orchestral strings, and harpsichord over bass and sparse drums. Impassioned singing from lead singer mixes well within musical weave and oboe. Brilliant song--stunning arrangement (and ballsy narration choices). (10/10)

6. "I Falsi Testimoni" (2:41) classical guitar beneath narration turns into multi-voice choral weave and then single rock singer. Then it turns full-out rock! (5/5)

7. "Il Pianto" (1:51) gentle and perhaps Vivaldi-borrowed in music with the lead singer singing the main Vivaldi melody. (4.25/5)

8. "Il Rinnegamento di Pietro" (2:46) drama regarding Peter's denials. Awesome oompah motif in the second half. (9/10)

9. "Il Prezzo del Sangue" (3:41) rockin' presentation made better through orchestral embellishments. I just love it when those choir moments hit! It's like bringing church into a theater! (8.75/10)

10. "Giuda" (1:05) an interesting mix of styles thrown together briefly. (4.25/5)

11. "Il Re del Giudei" (1:54) built upon two themes introduced in the previous song, here fully meshed out with rock band and full orchestral support. Nice. Prog doesn't get much better than this. (5/5)

12. "Barabba" (1:00) Middle Eastern horn with female narration and then choir and dramatic orchestration. (4.25/5)

13. "Toccata per Organo" (2:29) solo church pipe organ. Nothing very new or ground-breaking. It feels more like it's supposed to serve as an interlude in the church service/stations of the cross. (4.25/5)

14. "Il Calvario" (3:40) two narrators over tympani before Eric Woolfson/Alan Parsons-like choir with rock beat and orchestral support passage takes over. Beautiful and powerful. Great electric guitar solo over the marching beat and heart-wrenching strings. Amazing song! (10/10)

15. "Aria della Croce" (2:37) plaintive male singing over delicate music of harp, classical guitar and tremolo strings. The musicians gel into full rock spectrum as chorus enters followed by a brief guitar solo and then classical guitar foundation with pulsing strings oboe and horns. Beautiful! (9.25/10)

16. "La Spartizione della Tunica" (2:48) feels like pure RPI bombast. Full instrumental. Not my favorite. Feels like set/costume change orchestra filler. (It is a piece not present on the original 1972 release.) (8.5/10)

17. (Untitled) (4:00) lush strings beneath narration turns into a cool rock opera collective piece. Again, I just love the presence and arrangements for the choirs. Ends with a variation on a famous motif from classical music. (10/10)

18. "Dall'Ora Sesta all'Ora Nona" (1:03) another play upon a famous melody line from a piece of classical music. (4.5/5)

19. "Il Velo del Tempio" (2:17) great bombastic choir-centric piece. (5/5) 20. "Come un Ruscello Che..." (3:53) long narration over sensitive GENESIS-like soundscape is soon replaced by sensitive male singing and then by a gorgeous choral section, smoothly/seemlessly singing the same melody. With less than two minutes to go, the music shifts into a quieter version of the "Il Calvario" march with thick strings/synth washes and angelic choir "ooh"s. (A repeat of the opening "Introduzione.") Beautiful. Great ending to an amazing whole. (9.5/10)

Total Time: 54:16

Even though this is an "updated" remake of the band's debut album from 1972, it is awesome! So well realized! And, despite the risk factor/trappings of trying to adapt music as a celebration or interpretation of religious material (the New Testament), Latte E Miele come through and give us something on a symphonic scale similar to and probably better than those of contemporaries and countrymates New Trolls--reminding me of one of the main inspirations for the existence of progressive rock music: to try express great themes of literature, history, science, and thought through classically-influenced rock music.

A/five stars; a masterpiece of progressive rock music across all sub-genres: reminding us of the supreme realizations of human artistry.