Most famous for his stint with CURVED AIR, Darryl Way was always the most symphonic-minded member of that English band, and his variations on the themes by Antonio Vivaldi are still much more prominent than the violinist’s work with his own outfit, WOLF. Having parted ways with Sonja Kristina a couple of years ago, Darryl resumes a solo career, which he halted after 1991’s “Under The Soft”, with “Ultra Violins”, a collection of classical pieces, the well-known ones, by the likes of Rimsky-Korsakov, Borodin, Saint-Saëns and Bizet, plus a video of “Farandole”.
And, of course, here’s a new version of “Vivaldi”, of which the maestro says, “It is a piece in two halves, as was the original CURVED AIR show stopper. The first half has been arranged in typically baroque style, or in the style of Vivaldi himself if you like. After a short transition passage the piece arrives in the 20th century, as the introductory melody is now played on electric violin, emulating an electric guitar, with bends and slides. This leads into the main section of the piece which is now played on electric violin put through a distortion unit, with heavy guitar chords as an accompaniment, along with counter melodies also played on electric violin. This section sets out to capture the excitement of the original, which always left the audience wanting for more at the end of a CURVED AIR set”.
Classy! The review is here.
Ultra Violins
1. Scheherezade, The Sea And Sinbad’s Ship
2. Polovtsian Dances
3. Danse Macabre
4. Panis Angelicus
5. Pie Jesu
6. Scheherezade, The Young Prince And Princess
7. Farandole
8. Tarantelle
9. Vivaldi
