(31 January 2004)Ariaphonics is part of the classical crossover genre and soaring, beautiful vocals abound throughout this album. Interspersed with an inspiring electronic sound, the exquisite melodies by Dmitri Silnitsky and fantastic vocals by the engaging soprano, Gloria D'Amos, make this album a stand-out.

"Divine Light" and "Summer Moon" combine distinctive orchestral and electronic soundsto create a uniqueness of sound. Operatic renditions by Gloria rival those of EmmaShaplin, Sarah Brightman, and Italian contemporary crossover artist, Filippa Giordano. But, it is the overall sound that make Ariaphonics magnetic and enthralling. Composer Dmitri Slinitsky said "Crossover performers sound more or less the same. Easy pop rhythms, some strings and a couple of well-known arias. An awful lot of people like crossover, but the format has become boring. So I wanted to experiment and try to get a completely different sound. At the same time, I wanted to present totally new material, rather than falling back on the old standards, and take advantage of the resurgent popularity of music from the 1970s."

"Sposa son disprezzata" has almost a jazzy beat due to the incredible musical artistryof the instrumentalists. Outstanding credits go to Dmitri Silnitsky on synthesizersand vocoder; Sash Protchenko on drums, bass and slide guitar, and midi programming;Slav Protchenko on keyboards, violin, piano, rhodes, hammond, clavinet, and mellotron;and Pavel Pavlov on guitar. Narrations by Natasha Shanetskaya also contribute to theoverall sensation in this album.

"Intermezzo" arrives with almost an eerieness in some of the musical riffs, and theexquisite piano solos and background of blowing winds create a unique sound. Musicfor this track was by Dmitri Silnitsky, Slav Protchenko and Sash Protchenko. Thelistener is engaged in Gloria"s striking sopranic solos throughout and each trackseems to capture your attention without letting go.

"Lullaby 2030" has a funky sound of its own, bringing back memories of the '70's while"A Dulcet Spell" and "Nausica" seem to fuse different sounds, narration and genres. Thecomposer also said, "First of all, we’ve used only electronic instruments rather than a full-blown orchestra with string and wind sections. We’ve got melletron sounds instead of strings, for instance. Secondly, we make sure slow arias are interspersed with intermezzo, instrumental compositions where we up the tempo."

The album consists of two CDs, the main one with nine complete tracks, and the second, an EP with four tracks that are remixes of "Dulcet Spell," "The Knight Erreants Song," "Summer Moon" and "Sposa son disprezzata."

There is no doubt that the composer achieved his highest expectations with this superior album.Once you start to listen, you can't stop. The album remains engaging throughout andthe stunning vocals and captivating music unifies the richness of Ariaphonics.--Audrey Elliot in New York