WATCH: Divine Hand Ensemble Shares “Phantom of the Opera”

New album, Aria 51, celebrates a century of the theremin

October 21, 2024October 21, 2024 Ron Hart 0 Comments Andrew Lloyd Webber, Aria 51, David Bowie, Divine Hand Ensemble, Frank Zappa, Label 51 Recordings, Phantom of the Opera, The Specials, Theremin

Divine Hand Ensemble (Image: Label 51 Recordings)

For a solid century, the theremin has been dazzling audiences with its magical “singing electricity.”

And in honor of the instrument’s 100th anniversary, Label 51 Recordings released Aria 51, the latest title from Denver, CO’s own Divine Hand Ensemble, this past May.

There aren’t many acts that could go from playing a 16th Century funerary concert in a cemetery to opening for Pope Francis’ world address to backing the Lady in the Radiator from David Lynch’s Eraser Head all within one week. But then again, the Divine Hand Ensemble is no ordinary band.

Led by concert thereminist Mano Divina Giannone, the Divine Hand Ensemble defies categorization. Mano Divina bends electricity with his hands to release angelic voices from his fingertips while being backed by an exquisite string quartet, two harps, vibraphone and accordion.

The selection of songs Giannone picked for Aria 51 ia quite intriguing, running the gamut from Frank Zappa’s “Peaches En Regalia” to David Bowie’s “Wild is the Wind” to “Ghost Town” by The Specials.

Divine Hand Ensemble Aria 51, Label 51 Recordings 2024

Yet the most transcendent interpretation among the album’s 10 tracks (11 on the CD) is the Ensemble’s imaginative version of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Phantom of the Opera,” the video of which Rock & Roll is honored to premiere today on the site.

“Phantom is one of my favorite musicals and Sarah Brightman is one of my favorite singers, so when I was picking pieces to perform to showcase my ‘singing electricity,’ it was a natural choice,” Giannone explains. “Plus, I always wanted to hear a version without those electronic drums that just focuses on the melody. That’s my young theremin student duetting with me on the second verse. We show this video at Philamoca (the old burial casket showroom for the Philadelphia Mausoleum).”

Aria 51 is out now on all streaming services and on Bandcamp, including in a Special Limited Edition First Pressing on 5-color confetti vinyl.

TRACK LISTING:

1. Peaches En Regalia

2. Opera

3. Wild is the Wind

4. Man Who Sold the World

5. Who Wants to Live Forever

6. Phantom of the Opera

7. La Vie en Rose

8. Hushabye Mountain *

9. Aria 51

10. Ghost Town