Melancholic and meditative at heart, but with an underdog edge and passion that makes the music soar from time to time, positively vibrating with a tense, direct presence. Part of this success lies in Sorrenti's stunning vocal talents, with an acrobatic fragility that tells a story of its own regardless of the musical backing. He twists and turns the meaning and expression in every word - sometimes simply because he can.

Dominated by the twenty minute long title piece, it's hard to pinpoint any specific musical direction. Perhaps it's best described as a foundation of spacey folk and Italian melodrama drawing on a number of ethnic influences, which then builds up and descends into excursions of other styles. Never is this more apparent than on the epic song Aria. Humbly starting with understated guitar and sweet and mellow keys with a windy, cold effect in the background, the mood is set instantaneously; wistful, lonely, rainy and autumnal. Meandering slowly onwards, the song efficiently envelops in a series of dynamic percussion subtleties, naked piano runs and expressive, meaningful guitar phrases. The composition is so accurate, so natural, so very carefully applied you wilfully get lost in its intricacies. And all of a sudden the song's picked up speed in a near-symphonic mini-crescendo, with a strong base of organ and a whirling, individualistic violin performance from Jean-Luc Ponty (wonderful addition), neatly complementing and accentuating Sorrenti's spontaneous vocals. Further down the road, Aria captures the spirit of the first six or so minutes, but flesh out the influences and styles even further. It visits familiar, mysterious symphonic forays of bands such as Museo Rosenbach, Celtic as well as Latin delicacies, Battiato-esque percussion and even dares an approach to almost jazz territory. And all of the time maintaining that dreamy, complex style that makes it all so fascinating.

With the exception of Vorrei Incontrarti, which has a decidedly more romantic, ballad-like and simpler edge, the rest of the songs follow the same pattern as Aria. Perhaps never as successfully, emotionally charged or as accurately, but still with the same artistic goal to them, in taking something familiar and turning into something new, explorative and way more colourful and daring than it appears at first glance. This is the strength of the great progressive Italian singer-songwriters of the seventies, and this might very well be one of the best examples of it, far removed from the sentimental sweetness often associated with the country during later decades.

4 stars.

//LinusW

Comes with the warmest of recommendations. Almost gave it the full five stars. Simply a stunning and unique album. 

Höstsonaten is an established offshoot project from the energetic, prolific and polyvalent Fabio Zuffanti , Italy's version of Steve Wilson or Roine Stolt, who has cemented such fabled RPI acts as Finisterre and La Maschera di Cera. His musical resumé is too long to list but he can be heard delving into prog versions of folk, jazz, ambient and symphonic. A masterful bassist but most of all, a creative mind, he has nurtured this project for more than a decade now and "Autumnsymphony" is the latest chapter in the seasonal cycle that began with the pastoral masterpiece "Springsong" and the ridiculously fabulous previous jewel "Winterthrough", two albums that I regard as symphonic monuments in reflective /introspective prog. Suffice to say I was awaiting this one with unbridled trepidation being a massive fan of the fall season to boot but after a few anguished spins, I cannot really raise this one beyond the other 2 ?yet. The artwork is as breathtaking as the preceding one, winter blues replaced by fall ochre and golden hues, setting the melancholic mood that autumn generally evokes. Significantly, the initial forlorn soundscapes on "Open windows to autumn" recall the sorrow of rustling trees shedding their crisp leaves, a binary double bass echoing between the fluttering cymbals and polyrhythmic drum patters, a brilliant trumpet blaring the sudden flight from the warm summer breeze. This is highly robust ambient prog with jazzy pretense, gently howling mellotron entering hand in hand with its usual ideal partner, the flute. It is certainly a haunting musical signature that sets the proper mood and segues nicely into "Leaves in the well" introducing guitarist Matteo Nahum's glowing electric guitar leads as well as some welcome classical work, with an only too rare added feature, the Japanese koto. The evolving keyboard-laced symphonics are pointedly accurate, choir mellotron injecting some grandeur and majesty while Marco Moro's flute sprinkles its sweet passion. On "Out of water", things get very orchestral with the impromptu appearance of cello, viola, violin, oboe and piccolo, blending the swirl of fluttering strains into the mix. "Nightswan I" is a special effects cocktail, heavily electronic and with the rumbling double bass, highly contemplative, while "II" raises the level another notch with another majestic series of electric guitar runs, a rampant flute , simple drum beat and whirling synths, the 'tron coughing , this is pure proggy bliss. The very jazzy "As the night?" has an amazing bagpipe setting, somberly pensive in league with that amazing Michele Bernabei trumpet (an instrument criminally underused in prog!), some churning Stick work, and a little Genoese whispering to add some spice. Stringsynth and mellotron are served up as bonus candy coating. The jazz vibe gets rather upbeat on "Trees in November", a playful romp that has shuffling drums, fun-loving flute and a guitar solo at first closer to George Benson than Steve Hackett (which happens later), a welcome surprise. "Elegy" has the sublime voice of Simone Angioloni who "lead microphoned" Zuffanti's brilliant Aries project, a soaringly crisp voice that wails passionately , almost near opera , a definite winner. The final nearly 6 minute track is the absolute winner here, incorporating all the glorious musicianship displayed previously = the double bass, the various strings, the elegant piano and mellotron, the flute, trumpets and oboe and that crystal clear voice. As stated earlier, this is an excellent release that cannot surpass the imperial majesty of "Winterthrough" but shores up the RPI mantle very nicely and it is Halloween after all. 4.5 aromatic chestnut trees