AUTUMNSYMPHONY

"Autumnsymphony" is the second part of Höstonaten's cycle of the seasons and was released in 2009 on the independent label AMS/BTF with a line up featuring along with composer and producer Fabio Zuffanti (bass, bass pedals, acoustic and electric guitar, Fender Rhodes, mellotron, minimoog) also Federico Foglia (drums), Pietro Martinelli (double bass), Carlo Barreca (stick), Giacomo Villa (cello), Osvaldo Loi (viola, violin), Marco Moro (flute, piccolo), Andrea Benassi (oboe), Michele Bernabei (trumpet), Edmondo Romano (sax, bagpipes, Robbo Vigo (grand piano, koto special effects), Matteo Nahum (classical and electric guitar) and Simona Angioloni (vocals). Here the musical colours of Autumn are painted with a touch of jazz and classical inspired passages. On the wonderful art cover by Davide Guidoni you can see some men walking in a wood and entering into the mist: in my opinion all you have to do to enjoy this album is following them, they will lead you into a magic realm of dreams and notes...

The opener "Open Windows To Autumn" begins with a soft drumming and pulsing double bass lines, then a trumpet solo contributes to draw a disquieting, dark mood. What can you see from your window in a foggy autumnal day? Probably just some shadows and shapes, you hae to imagine the rest... The following track "Leaves In The Well (Including Riverbank Prelude)" features a melancholic atmosphere and a good guitar work while "Out Of Water" begins with a delicate piano and violin passage before turning into bolero and jazz... Well, the art work is not limited to the cover, in the booklet you can find a painting describing each track and in my opinion they perfectly fit the music. The third painting represents a brook, the fourth a swan in a pond.... Now the day is getting darker, but you can see a white swan swimming in a pond and you can look at its acrobatics on the notes of "Nightswan I and II"... All night long the image of the swan hangs over, then a trumpet backed by a bagpipe announces the dawn and the beginning of the new day depicted in "As The Night Gives Birth To The Morning". A joyful passage of flute in "Trees In November" reminds you that, all in all, the autumnal landscape of the woods can be of such intense beauty to push you to dance, then, as the music calms down, you can rest and contemplate the magic of the nature. In November they celebrate All Souls' Day or the Day of the Dead and on "Elegy" the beautiful voice of Simona Angioni soars drawing a wordless, melancholic melody to remember you the dead people you miss. The crepuscular "Autumn's Last Breath / The Gates Of Winter" concludes the album... "It's not dark yet, but the end is here, in front of me...". The last words are a quote from a film directed by Werner Herzog, Heart of Glass...