Béla Hamvas was a serious Eastern European essayist, a portion of whose texts are read in their native tongue by deep-voiced
Tibor Szemzö and presented on a pillow of sounds. Selections from his essays that are used on the recording are translated in the booklet accompanying the CD, and reveal a serious thinker who addresses various philosophical issues. The music itself sounds like something from a film, and, in fact, it was all inspired by movie clips, one of which is included as a video track in an mpg file. The somewhat stilted texts (at least as translated) are spoken majestically by
Szemzö, who recites them dispassionately. The tepid sounds that accompany the texts make the recording an acquired taste, at best, one that will probably appeal most to devotees of Hamvas. Relying on long, static phrases,
Szemzö's compositions are almost exclusively background fare. The leader's voice mesmerizes with its larger-than-life delivery, but this is hardly enough to transcend the limitations of the medium. There is instrumental improvisation, but it is overshadowed by the spoken word. The predominate musical elements are limited to mostly droning keyboards. ~ Steven Loewy