KA
René Dupéré
" The enchanted world where music roams "Written by Thomas Glorieux - Review of the regular release
Welcome to the wonderful land of magic. Where beauty roams the sky of the artists. The legendary artists from Cirque du Soleil live their life with the knowledge that they are here to please the audience no matter what, with elegant stunts and free flowing fantasy. So when we enter their world, it suddenly becomes a place that feels a lot more hopeful. And besides that act, music is of vital importance to the performance. And there were always 2 people who helped them on that journey. Benoit Jutras and home artist René Dupéré, whp helped the shows on many journeys by now.
For their show KA, Dupéré was present as well and for once he got the opportunity to do what Benoit Jutras did with Journey of Man. So he made sure his symphony and choir was used to its most appreciated form, and this is clearly evident in several tracks. Yet what guides most shows is the main theme song that's later adapted as main musical source throughout the score, tying the whole show together. In KA it's "O Makunde", growing from simple percussion and flute to a nice choral led song. Again as in most songs of theirs, you feel the joy of the artists in the voice of the lead singer, in this case Ella. It doesn't erupt in its most celebrated version and it doesn't need to, because it's perfect this way.
The secondary main theme song is "Koudamare" and again the relaxing grace is heard coming from the lips of Ella, only this song has a different grace. Namely that it sounds divvying when its performed by strings and flutes in "Shadowplay", one of the CD's most enjoyable tracks. The song put in the middle of all this elegance is found in the more upbeat "Pageant", where a jumpy accordion and choir give the music much more meaning. With "Storm" solo artists are replaced by the orchestra and choir, and this to the effect where the choir almost dances through a darker setting, making it sound impressive enough.
With '"Deep" we reach the instrumental version of "O Makunde", and the restrained cello performance is really quite lovely. The second demonic rhythmic choral moment springs out in "Pursuit", with loud and hypnotizing results. Only this spell is broken by the nice African sounding "Forest". And feel free to fly away through "Flight", because the solo vocal of Philippe Lapan-Vandal definitely makes one dream away.
The beat, solo vocal and returning cello in "Threat" is less beautiful but more effective, using the demonic choral led subtheme as cornerstone. But the truly gorgeous "Love Dance" is the absolute highlight of the disc. A cello leads this relaxing oasis of beauty to a soaring finish with vocalists and everything. The conclusion is for "Battlefield", where the marching third act of the choir (and most powerful of them all) is heard alongside a rather inappropriate beat, before the CD ends with 3 songs. The English version of O Makunde namely "If I could Reach your Heart" is definitely the one you need to remember the most.
The conclusion is simple, once again the home artists of Cirque du Soleil have achieved the impossible. Meaning with ballet and music they have created their own world, where anything is possible, and spirit and fantasy never dies. KA is a different kind of fantasy than Journey of Man because that composition of Jutras felt more like actual movie music, with a beginning, middle and end. This score is more a dance, but also one that doesn't require visuals to make you adore the beauty and power of this music. And if the 2 ever find themselves, the visuals and the music, it must make for one hell of a spectacle.
Tracklsiting
1. O Makunde (3.06) Excellent track
2. Pageant (2.44)
3. Koudamare (3.48)
4. Storm (4.15)
5. Deep (2.30)
6. Shadowplay (3.46) Excellent track
7. Pursuit (5.55)
8. Forest (4.15) Excellent track
9. Flight (2.24) Excellent track
10. Threat (3.58)
11. Love Dance (3.33) Excellent track
12. Battlefield (4.11)
13. Aftermath (2.17)
14. If I Could Reach Your Heart: Ella (3.28)
Bonus Tracks
15. We've Been Waiting So Long: Ella (3.27)
16. Reach For Me Now: Jim Corcoran (3.48)
Total Length: 57.46
For their show KA, Dupéré was present as well and for once he got the opportunity to do what Benoit Jutras did with Journey of Man. So he made sure his symphony and choir was used to its most appreciated form, and this is clearly evident in several tracks. Yet what guides most shows is the main theme song that's later adapted as main musical source throughout the score, tying the whole show together. In KA it's "O Makunde", growing from simple percussion and flute to a nice choral led song. Again as in most songs of theirs, you feel the joy of the artists in the voice of the lead singer, in this case Ella. It doesn't erupt in its most celebrated version and it doesn't need to, because it's perfect this way.
The secondary main theme song is "Koudamare" and again the relaxing grace is heard coming from the lips of Ella, only this song has a different grace. Namely that it sounds divvying when its performed by strings and flutes in "Shadowplay", one of the CD's most enjoyable tracks. The song put in the middle of all this elegance is found in the more upbeat "Pageant", where a jumpy accordion and choir give the music much more meaning. With "Storm" solo artists are replaced by the orchestra and choir, and this to the effect where the choir almost dances through a darker setting, making it sound impressive enough.
With '"Deep" we reach the instrumental version of "O Makunde", and the restrained cello performance is really quite lovely. The second demonic rhythmic choral moment springs out in "Pursuit", with loud and hypnotizing results. Only this spell is broken by the nice African sounding "Forest". And feel free to fly away through "Flight", because the solo vocal of Philippe Lapan-Vandal definitely makes one dream away.
The beat, solo vocal and returning cello in "Threat" is less beautiful but more effective, using the demonic choral led subtheme as cornerstone. But the truly gorgeous "Love Dance" is the absolute highlight of the disc. A cello leads this relaxing oasis of beauty to a soaring finish with vocalists and everything. The conclusion is for "Battlefield", where the marching third act of the choir (and most powerful of them all) is heard alongside a rather inappropriate beat, before the CD ends with 3 songs. The English version of O Makunde namely "If I could Reach your Heart" is definitely the one you need to remember the most.
The conclusion is simple, once again the home artists of Cirque du Soleil have achieved the impossible. Meaning with ballet and music they have created their own world, where anything is possible, and spirit and fantasy never dies. KA is a different kind of fantasy than Journey of Man because that composition of Jutras felt more like actual movie music, with a beginning, middle and end. This score is more a dance, but also one that doesn't require visuals to make you adore the beauty and power of this music. And if the 2 ever find themselves, the visuals and the music, it must make for one hell of a spectacle.
Tracklsiting
1. O Makunde (3.06) Excellent track
2. Pageant (2.44)
3. Koudamare (3.48)
4. Storm (4.15)
5. Deep (2.30)
6. Shadowplay (3.46) Excellent track
7. Pursuit (5.55)
8. Forest (4.15) Excellent track
9. Flight (2.24) Excellent track
10. Threat (3.58)
11. Love Dance (3.33) Excellent track
12. Battlefield (4.11)
13. Aftermath (2.17)
14. If I Could Reach Your Heart: Ella (3.28)
Bonus Tracks
15. We've Been Waiting So Long: Ella (3.27)
16. Reach For Me Now: Jim Corcoran (3.48)
Total Length: 57.46