Voivode Dracula






		Voivode Dracula See below for availability. Richard Wileman, the man behind Karda Estra, (http://kardaestra.co.uk) contacted The Dracula Society in August 2003, having discovered our internet presence while doing research for his Dracula-inspired composition, which he aimed to complete at the start of 2004 (which he did). He has since joined the Society, and kept us informed of his progress on this epic work, and I am delighted to be able to review the final CD for Voices. Richard is a contemporary classical composer, and prior to this composition has composed six other works. My overall impression of Voivode Dracula is “Wow!” It’s an amazingly evocative piece of work, and absolutely ideal for both listening to (in a darkened room at midnight) and for background music at any Dracula Society event. There are five tracks: Voivode Dracula (9:14); Lucy - Festina Lente (6:36); The Land Beyond the Forest (6:07); Mina (8:12); and Kisses For Us All (13:16). Each has its own clear identity, yet there is a pervasive etherealness which links everything together to make it a complete unit. There is a wealth of fascinating instruments contributing to the work, from a real Transylvanian bouzouki (belonging to Richard, of which he is very proud, and which mainly features in “Lucy - Festina Lente”), to a rastrophone and a “theremin guitar”. I know about the Theremin, which I’m sure most of you also know about, but for anyone who doesn’t, the original Theremin is a purely electronic instrument invented in 1919. It has two antennae, which send information to the unit to control pitch and volume. The human intervention is by waving ones hands in front of the antennae. The sound it the most incredible sound, one which has made it the instrument of choice for a large number of science fiction movies. A lot of musicians have also incorporated it into their music. It’s also employed by comedian Bill Bailey on his shows. But I digress. The theremin guitar uses the same principle, but it’s actually not a theremin. It’s something of Richard’s own devising, and the sound comes from an electric guitar played through a “very distorted amplifier” using a metal triangle beater - as it is moved up and down the strings, the result is easily as spooky and eerie as the sound from a theremin. I also had to ask Richard about the rastrophone - I had to plead complete ignorance for this, unlike the theremin guitar where I could at least say I knew of the theremin! I’ll simply quote his reply: “This is highly obscure! As you may suspect, I enjoy a lot of soundtrack music - including some from Hammer films. I was perusing one Soundtrack CD with the music by Italian composer Mario Nascimbene who wrote music for Hammer's dino films like 'One Million Years BC.' He devised a percussive instrument which he termed the Rastrophone which gave a great thud sound with a creepy bone rattling type after effect. The CD booklet stated how Mario later revealed in 1981 that a Rastrophone was actually... “... a garden rake :o) Upon finding this fact out - how could I not incorporate it into Dracula?” Along with these wonderful instruments, Richard also employs more familiar instruments including violin, cello, flute, oboe, and harpsichord (via a synthesizer). Not all instruments are played by Richard: all are credited on the album sleeve, as are the vocals. Richard maintained a “studio diary” on the internet while working on the album. It made for fascinating reading, and I have referred to that to glean much of the information quoted in this review. Particularly interesting is being told of his thoughts for the album content and structure. After some four months of working on some of the pieces, Richard made an entry when he completed “Mina”, saying that he aims to place that track after “Lucy - Festina Lente” (already complete), and that this decision is leading him to consider “splitting the album into two sections - the first containing 'Voivode Dracula', 'Festina Lente - Lucy' [the original title] and 'Mina' because these all deal with the nature of vampirism, its relation to time and immortality, and what happens to three characters (including the Count) who fall under its spell.” These three tracks remain in this order, although they are interrupted by “The Land among the Forest”. The surprise is that he believes at this time that there will be a complete second section, in which he will “look more at the heady combination of fear and desire - especially from Jonathan Harker's perspective.” There are numerous mentions of a piece exploring Renfield, but this is ultimately dropped. Thus, what would have been an obvious second section becomes the piece “Kisses for us all”. At 13 minutes, it is long enough to explore those emotions intended, so it is not so hard to consider the single piece as the entirety of “section two”. Listening to it again and again, you can soon pick out the vampire brides. They creep in, mostly seductively, but a little “jarring” note hints at their evilness, but (presumably) as Jonathan falls under their spell, this is no longer heard - just as Jonathan would no longer sense their evil. The piece progresses in a rather dreamy state - as you would expect - with little interjections, which become more frequent towards the end. Little themes come in, then disappear, adding to the dreamlike quality (where one gets odd fleeting thoughts). And in the last minute or two, there’s an underlying tone giving a sense of urgency, or a sense of the brides pushing Jonathan: “Kiss us now”. Don’t miss the last 20 seconds - it’s very quiet! Some of the entries point out which instruments are in which pieces: I enjoyed trying to identify the different instruments - I always kept forgetting to pay close enough attention once I was a few seconds into the piece! I thoroughly enjoyed reading the entries (there are about 20 entries of one or two concise paragraphs), and have reread them several times whilst putting together this review. If you can get to the internet, I recommend reading them, too, preferably after having heard the album a couple of times, and then listen to the album again. In Richard’s last entry, in March when the album is complete and sent to Cyclops, he adds this final comment, which just added something (positive) to my overall impression of the man and his music: “I've been a Dracula fan since I collected the 'Shocking Laffs' bubblegum cards aged 11, but it has been a real experience eating, breathing, sleeping the original novel these last eight months or so. Thank You, Mr Stoker for your amazing novel and the inspiration it has given me.” Thank YOU, Richard, for being inspired, and for sharing this work with us. - Blackie Available from: Cyclops Records, 33a Tolworth Park Road, Tolworth, Surrey KT6 7RL (send SAE for up-to-date details) http://www.kardaestra.co.uk for £10.99 inclusive of p&p Amazon.co.uk