Oh what a beauty! I always had the feeling that ‘Collection’ had this album in them. The last studio album of this French ensemble, “Cirses des Champs”, is already 6 years behind us, in the meantime only a compilation appeared. But the long absence does not seem to be a negative factor, on the contrary, this is by far the best album they ever produced! I always liked the more classical aspects of the band most, but in their later work they began to introduce more of a ‘rock sound’. But fortunately, now they seem to concentrate fully on the classical side.
“Tristesse des manes” contains 7 new songs. Furthermore 7 older songs are given a classical treatment, with remarkable results in songs as ‘Kergal’, ‘Les chants de peine’ and ‘Un parc, une tonnelle’. In the booklet the elegant French lyrics are printed. The music is dominated by very beautiful strings (cello and alto) and piano. The lovely voice of Chloe is given a lot of room through the minimal instrumentation. She is sometimes supported by other fine voices, with fantastic effects. It is hard to pick out singular tracks, listening to the whole album is a moving experience. Collection d’Arnell Andrea creates so much atmosphere and emotion on this release. I never thought ‘chamber music’ could be so satisfying…