Cygnus Rock Band - Uprisa (Revival)

The overture. The opening, the all-symphonic piece of beauty. The Great Guessing Game - which part of the overture belongs to which song, which instrument is singing right there, which one is trying to hide away, how that certain song was re-orchestrated...

Yes, dear Reader, the overtures are my hidden favorite tracks of every Cygnus-album. There's so much art in them. They are so refined and sophisticated. So creative, you can see with your mind's eye the gentle, caring hands that put these themes in harmony, one after the other. I'm sure sometimes making the overture takes more energy than any other song on the album.

Don't ever say a word, I bet you still have no idea what an overture is, right? 😒 It's Cygnus's 5h Viking album, 4 of them include an actual overture - there's something like that on the 1st album, too, but very hidden, no, I'm not expecting you to find it and recognize it... - so you'd better not come up with the excuse that you had no chance. 

This time it was special, too. "Uprisa" was released almost a month before the release of Revival as a kind of teaser trailer

since the record label company openly doesn't do anything anymore for Cygnus, I take the opportunity to ponder whether this action, namely the release of the overture before the album was something conscious from them or they simply just didn't bother at all anymore and went on with "whatever"

not that it would matter

not that they would matter

and I remember to shamelessly jump on it, grab it, sinking my teeth into it and like an especially insane Gollum, crawling away with it mumbling "my precioussss... it's ours finally, my precioussss... gollum... gollum..."

true story! really!

The upcoming days-weeks passed for me with listening to it on loop. I fell in love with it. My first love was the tremolo of the strings right at the beginning.

No, I won't tell you in which order the songs of the album follow each other in the overture, because I'm grumpy and I don't like you. 😠

The way they turn into a monumental choir of brasses gives me shivers every time I listen to it. It's just... beautiful.

Yes, I admit, I love the brasses - here as well as all over. I know that there are people who may say the less trumpets, the better - you know who you are! :) - but they all make me very happy. And here, at the beginning of the overture they are majestic. Trumpets, trombones, horns all together. Just wonderful. 

And especially as the flute dances around the brasses, showing itself, then quickly hiding away, then showing itself again, just to disappear within a second... 

I think this is one of those things Cygnus mastered in during the years, namely the art of small, hidden details. This is one of those things that make their music so complex and that's why the vast majority of their songs are under-appreciated, under-valued and underestimated.

Because you out there are way too lazy - or, how can express it politely?... you have challenges when you need to think deeply - to recognize them 😠

The orgy of the brasses continue, now joined by the wonderful crescendo of the timpani and percussions. 

And then enter the tubular bells.

Shivers, goosebumps...

This all, together, the timpani and all the percussions as well as the tolling bells are as grandiose as the original song it's re-orchestrated from. 

And it continues.

Timpani. More timpani. And then timpani again. 

Tubular bells.

The entire part is full of divinity. The bells of Asgard are tolling here.

If you know, you know.

Then it all quietens and lets the piano sing. And the piano does, softly, beseeching, whispering into the listener's ears with its mellow voice, gently touching its way through the heart.

Soon a clarinet takes it over with humble pizzicatos escorting it.

This part is like a hug. Like being covered with a soft blanket. Two caring hands holding a mug of hot chocolate. 

And then the chimes.

The strings.

Beautiful 💓

The timpani and the percussions return together with a serious-sounding orchestra

if my ears are right, this is some mezzo staccato-styled playing, but I might be wrong

whatever the definition of it is, I love it. I find it a very creative idea to re-orchestrate the original song this way

and it all enters slowly but surely into the catharsis.

The last part of the overture starts with percussions

Ruxx is doing a great job here!

and continues with timpani and tubular bells, with heavy percussions and just a pinch of brasses, that are humble enough to give enough way to the tolling bells. And finally the epic ending of the overture, a majestic gong.

Uh, I remember, when I heard it first, it brought tears to my eyes. It was monumental but still it blended in flawlessly to the orchestra. A perfect ending for a wonderful piece.

Another interesting thing is that these wonderful Colombian musicians made this little video where they explain a bit about the overture.

@cygnusofficial 01. "Uprisa" (overture). #rock #music #metal #viking #vikingmetal #celtic #celticmusic #vikings #lagertha #ragnar #bjorn #norse #nordic #norseman #VALHALLA #Valkyrie #shieldmaiden #vikingtattoo #metalheads #vikingstyle ♬ sonido original - Cygnusofficial

And it's not all... They even made an official video for Uprisa with the help of a local artist, Jhonny Umbral. 

I love it. On one hand, I simply find it beautiful; the scenes, the details, the colors, the arrangement of it all. On the other the music wonderfully fits for it - or the scenes fit wonderfully for the music. I'm sure there had been an enormous amount of work behind it, and even just for this very reason everyone involved deserves a big hug.

The other thing I need to mention is that in my opinion everyone's favorite composer definitely improved a lot. 

No, don't ever try to come up with the question "but who's that?..." If you need to ask it, then I want to ask you why you're here 😠

As I mentioned above, it's the small details; he definitely developed it in the meantime on a serious level. The listener can feel how thoroughly and carefully the pieces of the overture were put together, how much work and concentration was invested into finding the appropriate instruments, the level of them and especially the tiny, not so obvious elements, like the above mentioned flute at the beginning. I know I have mentioned it already somewhere else, maybe at more than one place, but he does have a talent for composing classical music, and in case he has such ideas, plans or dreams, I can only support him.

Don't forget to put it on loop!