XIPHOS – the age of alexander – DIGICD

“Xiphos likes to recount the deeds of the great figures of antiquity, some of them little-known or forgotten. On its latest album, ‘The Age of Alexander’, this project delivers a corpus of new, spellbinding historical episodes. The trio create their scores like a set. The keyboards give colour to the scenes depicted: sometimes heroic and warlike (Artaxerxes, Eumenes), where the martial rhythm and lyrics provide rigorous support for the epic flights of fancy; sometimes instrumental and restrained, like interludes between two tableaux, more inclined to meditation (Timoleon, Phocion).

The voice is the real thread running through this journey, evoking the Attic orators by embodying the story in its various moods: storm, victory, bitterness, trial and glory. The music of Xiphos is akin to a neoclassical martial tale, and the result is an almost cinematic work. In addition to the use of classical orchestration, there is subtle recourse to sounds rooted in traditional Greek music, such as those produced by instruments like the santur or the bouzouki. Lastly, the group’s compositions sometimes exude an atmosphere that could be described as Darkwave.

Finally, in a finely woven musical fresco, featuring great destinies, ‘The Age of Alexander’ is a tragic commemoration.”