The Artistic Image Is Always A Miracle
Alessandra Novaga
The Artistic Image Is Always A Miracle
Boomkat Product Review:
The life and works of Andrej Tarkovsky are explored on a beautiful album of mood studies from guitarist and composer Alessandra Novaga, reinterpreting the iconic Bach pieces the director used in 'Solaris', 'The Mirror' and 'The Sacrifice' with works for electric guitar, found sound, organ, voice and electronics, highly recommended if you’re into later period John Fahey, Akira Rabelais, Nikos Mamangakis, Gavin Bryars, Nico.
One of cinema's great auteurs, Tarkovsky remains an artistic touchstone because his films have aged like fine wine - they just keep getting more powerful and relevant over time. Alessandra Novaga has rigorously explored the connection between movies and music before, dipping into Rainer Werner Fassbinder's canon on 2017's 'Fassbinder Wunderkammer', and Derek Jarman's legacy on 2020's 'I Should Have Been a Gardener', but 'The Artistic Image is Always a Miracle' is her deepest and most ambitious album to date. It began as an idea Novaga had during a conversation with Alan Licht, when she started to think about Tarkovsky's use of Bach's music and how the compositions and imagery fed off each other. This led her to consider the director's philosophy in general - mapped out clearly in his book 'Sculpting in Time' - and she spent the following few years developing a suite of six recordings that attempt to reinterpret those processes sonically.
The album begins with a flawlessly moving version of Bach's 'Erbarme dich, Mein Gott', a piece used by Tarkovsky in his apocalyptic final film 'The Sacrifice'. Playing just electric guitar, Novaga turns the composition into a hazy meditation rich with willowy sustained notes that capture the film's bleak mood - not just a cover, it's an aesthetic tribute to Tarkovsky's spiritually weighty final vision. And that's only the beginning; on 'And Your Speech Was Filled To Overflowing with Sonorous Power', Novaga uses a poem from Tarkovsky's father Arsenij, punctuating his voice with microtonal guitar and environmental recordings. The voice is a repeating theme throughout: Novaga pairs soaring operatics with clattering concrète sounds, and most impressively, adds her own vocals to her version of the 'Solaris' theme, 'Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ', on the mesmerising title track.
The 11-minute movement is the album’s most spellbinding and perhaps the most poignant Tarkovsky dedication we've heard (and there have been too many at this point). Novaga's brittle, wordless voice offers the piece a complex emotional heft that echoes the peculiar register of Nikos Mamangakis’ sprawling Die Zweite Heimat score. Novaga then slowly introduces strings and muted guitar phrases, conducting a rhythmic swell that's as hard-hitting as Gavin Bryars' similarly-paced 'Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet’. It's an utterly heartbreaking finish to a stunning album.
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Boomkat Product Review:
The life and works of Andrej Tarkovsky are explored on a beautiful album of mood studies from guitarist and composer Alessandra Novaga, reinterpreting the iconic Bach pieces the director used in 'Solaris', 'The Mirror' and 'The Sacrifice' with works for electric guitar, found sound, organ, voice and electronics, highly recommended if you’re into later period John Fahey, Akira Rabelais, Nikos Mamangakis, Gavin Bryars, Nico.
One of cinema's great auteurs, Tarkovsky remains an artistic touchstone because his films have aged like fine wine - they just keep getting more powerful and relevant over time. Alessandra Novaga has rigorously explored the connection between movies and music before, dipping into Rainer Werner Fassbinder's canon on 2017's 'Fassbinder Wunderkammer', and Derek Jarman's legacy on 2020's 'I Should Have Been a Gardener', but 'The Artistic Image is Always a Miracle' is her deepest and most ambitious album to date. It began as an idea Novaga had during a conversation with Alan Licht, when she started to think about Tarkovsky's use of Bach's music and how the compositions and imagery fed off each other. This led her to consider the director's philosophy in general - mapped out clearly in his book 'Sculpting in Time' - and she spent the following few years developing a suite of six recordings that attempt to reinterpret those processes sonically.
The album begins with a flawlessly moving version of Bach's 'Erbarme dich, Mein Gott', a piece used by Tarkovsky in his apocalyptic final film 'The Sacrifice'. Playing just electric guitar, Novaga turns the composition into a hazy meditation rich with willowy sustained notes that capture the film's bleak mood - not just a cover, it's an aesthetic tribute to Tarkovsky's spiritually weighty final vision. And that's only the beginning; on 'And Your Speech Was Filled To Overflowing with Sonorous Power', Novaga uses a poem from Tarkovsky's father Arsenij, punctuating his voice with microtonal guitar and environmental recordings. The voice is a repeating theme throughout: Novaga pairs soaring operatics with clattering concrète sounds, and most impressively, adds her own vocals to her version of the 'Solaris' theme, 'Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ', on the mesmerising title track.
The 11-minute movement is the album’s most spellbinding and perhaps the most poignant Tarkovsky dedication we've heard (and there have been too many at this point). Novaga's brittle, wordless voice offers the piece a complex emotional heft that echoes the peculiar register of Nikos Mamangakis’ sprawling Die Zweite Heimat score. Novaga then slowly introduces strings and muted guitar phrases, conducting a rhythmic swell that's as hard-hitting as Gavin Bryars' similarly-paced 'Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet’. It's an utterly heartbreaking finish to a stunning album.
Boomkat Product Review:
The life and works of Andrej Tarkovsky are explored on a beautiful album of mood studies from guitarist and composer Alessandra Novaga, reinterpreting the iconic Bach pieces the director used in 'Solaris', 'The Mirror' and 'The Sacrifice' with works for electric guitar, found sound, organ, voice and electronics, highly recommended if you’re into later period John Fahey, Akira Rabelais, Nikos Mamangakis, Gavin Bryars, Nico.
One of cinema's great auteurs, Tarkovsky remains an artistic touchstone because his films have aged like fine wine - they just keep getting more powerful and relevant over time. Alessandra Novaga has rigorously explored the connection between movies and music before, dipping into Rainer Werner Fassbinder's canon on 2017's 'Fassbinder Wunderkammer', and Derek Jarman's legacy on 2020's 'I Should Have Been a Gardener', but 'The Artistic Image is Always a Miracle' is her deepest and most ambitious album to date. It began as an idea Novaga had during a conversation with Alan Licht, when she started to think about Tarkovsky's use of Bach's music and how the compositions and imagery fed off each other. This led her to consider the director's philosophy in general - mapped out clearly in his book 'Sculpting in Time' - and she spent the following few years developing a suite of six recordings that attempt to reinterpret those processes sonically.
The album begins with a flawlessly moving version of Bach's 'Erbarme dich, Mein Gott', a piece used by Tarkovsky in his apocalyptic final film 'The Sacrifice'. Playing just electric guitar, Novaga turns the composition into a hazy meditation rich with willowy sustained notes that capture the film's bleak mood - not just a cover, it's an aesthetic tribute to Tarkovsky's spiritually weighty final vision. And that's only the beginning; on 'And Your Speech Was Filled To Overflowing with Sonorous Power', Novaga uses a poem from Tarkovsky's father Arsenij, punctuating his voice with microtonal guitar and environmental recordings. The voice is a repeating theme throughout: Novaga pairs soaring operatics with clattering concrète sounds, and most impressively, adds her own vocals to her version of the 'Solaris' theme, 'Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ', on the mesmerising title track.
The 11-minute movement is the album’s most spellbinding and perhaps the most poignant Tarkovsky dedication we've heard (and there have been too many at this point). Novaga's brittle, wordless voice offers the piece a complex emotional heft that echoes the peculiar register of Nikos Mamangakis’ sprawling Die Zweite Heimat score. Novaga then slowly introduces strings and muted guitar phrases, conducting a rhythmic swell that's as hard-hitting as Gavin Bryars' similarly-paced 'Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet’. It's an utterly heartbreaking finish to a stunning album.
Boomkat Product Review:
The life and works of Andrej Tarkovsky are explored on a beautiful album of mood studies from guitarist and composer Alessandra Novaga, reinterpreting the iconic Bach pieces the director used in 'Solaris', 'The Mirror' and 'The Sacrifice' with works for electric guitar, found sound, organ, voice and electronics, highly recommended if you’re into later period John Fahey, Akira Rabelais, Nikos Mamangakis, Gavin Bryars, Nico.
One of cinema's great auteurs, Tarkovsky remains an artistic touchstone because his films have aged like fine wine - they just keep getting more powerful and relevant over time. Alessandra Novaga has rigorously explored the connection between movies and music before, dipping into Rainer Werner Fassbinder's canon on 2017's 'Fassbinder Wunderkammer', and Derek Jarman's legacy on 2020's 'I Should Have Been a Gardener', but 'The Artistic Image is Always a Miracle' is her deepest and most ambitious album to date. It began as an idea Novaga had during a conversation with Alan Licht, when she started to think about Tarkovsky's use of Bach's music and how the compositions and imagery fed off each other. This led her to consider the director's philosophy in general - mapped out clearly in his book 'Sculpting in Time' - and she spent the following few years developing a suite of six recordings that attempt to reinterpret those processes sonically.
The album begins with a flawlessly moving version of Bach's 'Erbarme dich, Mein Gott', a piece used by Tarkovsky in his apocalyptic final film 'The Sacrifice'. Playing just electric guitar, Novaga turns the composition into a hazy meditation rich with willowy sustained notes that capture the film's bleak mood - not just a cover, it's an aesthetic tribute to Tarkovsky's spiritually weighty final vision. And that's only the beginning; on 'And Your Speech Was Filled To Overflowing with Sonorous Power', Novaga uses a poem from Tarkovsky's father Arsenij, punctuating his voice with microtonal guitar and environmental recordings. The voice is a repeating theme throughout: Novaga pairs soaring operatics with clattering concrète sounds, and most impressively, adds her own vocals to her version of the 'Solaris' theme, 'Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ', on the mesmerising title track.
The 11-minute movement is the album’s most spellbinding and perhaps the most poignant Tarkovsky dedication we've heard (and there have been too many at this point). Novaga's brittle, wordless voice offers the piece a complex emotional heft that echoes the peculiar register of Nikos Mamangakis’ sprawling Die Zweite Heimat score. Novaga then slowly introduces strings and muted guitar phrases, conducting a rhythmic swell that's as hard-hitting as Gavin Bryars' similarly-paced 'Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet’. It's an utterly heartbreaking finish to a stunning album.
Edition of 300 copies pressed on dark blue vinyl, comes with an 8 page booklet of photos and liner notes, plus a download of the album dropped to your account.
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Boomkat Product Review:
The life and works of Andrej Tarkovsky are explored on a beautiful album of mood studies from guitarist and composer Alessandra Novaga, reinterpreting the iconic Bach pieces the director used in 'Solaris', 'The Mirror' and 'The Sacrifice' with works for electric guitar, found sound, organ, voice and electronics, highly recommended if you’re into later period John Fahey, Akira Rabelais, Nikos Mamangakis, Gavin Bryars, Nico.
One of cinema's great auteurs, Tarkovsky remains an artistic touchstone because his films have aged like fine wine - they just keep getting more powerful and relevant over time. Alessandra Novaga has rigorously explored the connection between movies and music before, dipping into Rainer Werner Fassbinder's canon on 2017's 'Fassbinder Wunderkammer', and Derek Jarman's legacy on 2020's 'I Should Have Been a Gardener', but 'The Artistic Image is Always a Miracle' is her deepest and most ambitious album to date. It began as an idea Novaga had during a conversation with Alan Licht, when she started to think about Tarkovsky's use of Bach's music and how the compositions and imagery fed off each other. This led her to consider the director's philosophy in general - mapped out clearly in his book 'Sculpting in Time' - and she spent the following few years developing a suite of six recordings that attempt to reinterpret those processes sonically.
The album begins with a flawlessly moving version of Bach's 'Erbarme dich, Mein Gott', a piece used by Tarkovsky in his apocalyptic final film 'The Sacrifice'. Playing just electric guitar, Novaga turns the composition into a hazy meditation rich with willowy sustained notes that capture the film's bleak mood - not just a cover, it's an aesthetic tribute to Tarkovsky's spiritually weighty final vision. And that's only the beginning; on 'And Your Speech Was Filled To Overflowing with Sonorous Power', Novaga uses a poem from Tarkovsky's father Arsenij, punctuating his voice with microtonal guitar and environmental recordings. The voice is a repeating theme throughout: Novaga pairs soaring operatics with clattering concrète sounds, and most impressively, adds her own vocals to her version of the 'Solaris' theme, 'Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ', on the mesmerising title track.
The 11-minute movement is the album’s most spellbinding and perhaps the most poignant Tarkovsky dedication we've heard (and there have been too many at this point). Novaga's brittle, wordless voice offers the piece a complex emotional heft that echoes the peculiar register of Nikos Mamangakis’ sprawling Die Zweite Heimat score. Novaga then slowly introduces strings and muted guitar phrases, conducting a rhythmic swell that's as hard-hitting as Gavin Bryars' similarly-paced 'Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet’. It's an utterly heartbreaking finish to a stunning album.
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