My Roman Year

On August 24, in the year A.D. 79, Pliny the Younger looked up and saw a spectacle the world would never forget. As he later wrote down, "A cloud was ascending, the appearance of which I cannot give you a more exact description of than by likening it to that of a great pine tree, for it shot up to a great height in the form of a very tall trunk, which spread itself out at the top into a sort of branches. It appeared sometimes bright and sometimes dark and spotted, according as it was either more or less impregnated with earth and cinders."

It's a year of transition for Devin Townsend, who not only has a number of projects in the works, but is also revisiting some of his past musical experiences while he plots away in the studio. One result of this is a new live release that was recorded during the Devin Townsend Project's tour last fall. The band's show at the Ancient Roman Theatre in Plovdiv, Bulgaria serves as the basis for this set.

Franz Liszt - Christus Oratorio
Beethoven Orchester Bonn - Czech Philharmonic Choir Brno - Roman Kofman
3xSACD ISO (2.0/MCH): 8,68 GB | 3x24B/88,2kHz Stereo FLAC: 2,49 GB | Full Artwork | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: MDG "Gold" # 937 1366-6 | Country/Year: Germany 2006
Genre: Classical | Style: Romantic, Sacred, Oratorio

…I already indicated the excellent qualities of the soloists especially Franziska Hirzel and Birgit Remmert who sing with that important ethereal intensity. Kofman conducts with the ideal tonic and lets the music move along quite magically. The SACD sound comes out trumps on my Sony SACD-11 player and I really have nothing but an unqualified recommendation for this beautiful set.