Prague-based neo-classical artist Frank Clare projects a spacious power on his debut EP, Admiratio Magna. Beautiful piano arrangements coexist with tactful insertions of silence, with three acts representing existence, dramatic art, and life’s cyclical flow.
The EP opens with a minimalist spaciousness. “A Gathering of Possibilities” ushers in sporadic piano pulses prior to a gorgeous, wintry fluttering; the moments of pause make for palpable momentum, sending chills in the spaces between silence and delicate piano-laden range. The ensuing “Inceptus” builds with similar patience, with a graceful soundscape emerging upon the final minute’s glistening progressions, in particular.
“The Bells of Noumenania” brings forth a more eclectic range, from flourishing piano trickles to more somber, deep-pitched layering intertwining around the five-minute mark; the track caps off the album’s first of three parts, with this opening section entitled “Vox Intus Omnia” — Latin for “The Voice Behind Everything.” As such, there’s an evident on “the space between heartbeat and breath.”
The 20-minute “”La Grande Sorpresa” comprises the entirety of the second act, which takes inspiration from Italian opera in its dramatic grandiosity and escalating qualities. The gorgeous epic casts ample intrigue in its spaciousness and tonal range. The final and third section touts the most vibrancy and briskness, entitled “Apotheosis” and reflecting the joy of life, transformation, and a beautiful cyclical flow — respectively, amongst the three closing tracks. The Admiratio Magna EP is a thorough artistic success from Frank Clare.
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“A Gathering of Possibilities” and other tracks featured this month can be streamed on the updating Obscure Sound’s ‘Best of November 2023’ Spotify playlist.
