Artist: Michael Neil
Tracklist:
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1.
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Prelude 06:40
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2.
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Tango 02:13
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3.
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In Extremis 06:37
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4.
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Skias Onar Anthröpos 05:31
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5.
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In Memoriam Peter Harrison 05:26
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6.
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Sic Itur Ad Astra 06:05
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7.
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The Sea of Time and Space 20:09
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“In Extremis” is a neo-classical work by Michael Neil for which he used quotes from Virgil’s “Aeneid” and Pindar’s “Pythagoras” for the track titles, which helped to distance the work from any particular religious view in that it deals specifically with the subject of mortality.
The music is in a highly symphonic, non-rhythmic style, also marking the end of a compositional phase in which Michael’s approach was to simply sit at his instruments and work out harmonic and melodic forms and compositional structure in an improvisatory fashion.
Fans of massive string and choral pads will find lot of their liking in Michael’s free form music, which continues in the style of “Moments of Heavens” or the track “Charis 5”
There a beautiful sense of grace and reflection found in the seven fine crafted compositions, of which the fifth piece “In Memoriam to Peter Harrison” was written in response to the death of Peter Harrison, creator of the dark ambient and experimental music label Direction Music.
“In Extremis” concludes with the 20-minute “The Sea of Time & Space”, an epic symphony with emotional sweeps and melancholic undercurrents shimmering through the gradually building textural soundscapes.
