Release data:

Michael Neil – Dies Irae
CD-R, Private Release, 1997

The music on “Dies Irae” can be described as modern classical/orchestral in the realm of Penderecki, Arvo Part and alike.

The album contains five tracks, opening with the almost 30-minute “Dies Irae”, which starts as silent music (the first five minutes of the track), followed by freeform darkening textures. After 10 minutes, things shift to beautiful grand atmospheres, later on moving into symphonic realms.

“Ecce Homo” (4:26) is a great but concise symphonic outing. Next comes “The Ninth Hour”, which has a kind of foreboding start, a bit scary in nature. Even the choirs have no uplifting effect. At 7:30, the music shifts to more accessible, lighter, overall symphonic realms.

The fourth piece is “Schnittke 1998”, a track in the same vein as the former one, but with an overall heavenly touch due to some fantastic grand-cathedral textures.
The absolute highlight is the final track “Charis 5”, made out of ongoing and evolving symphonic landscapes, accompanied by beautiful twinkling piano sounds. This track is just loaded with emotion.

The album is only available as download from MusicZeit, you best choose the Flac-version for best quality.

Website: www.michaelneil.eu

You can see what reviews I have done of this artist on the Michael Neil artist page