Quidam (CD) by Cirque du Soleil

0090266860128. New condition. CD. Cirque Du Soleil decided to try something completely new on this album. The experiment worked, but the resulting piece of music is very different from any other album in the renowned company's discography. Instead of hiring one or two lead female singers, the production team went with a male baritone (Richard Price, Craig Jennings) and a child soprano (Amelie Landry). Some songs are duets, some are solo, and some are performed with the backing vocals of an entire choir. On certain tracks, most notably "Atmadja," the piping, sweet voice of the young female soloist is surreal and spooky in classic Cirque fashion. However, overall the vocals do not have the exotic, wild tone of Mystere or Alegria. A pre-pubescent singer could never claim the versatility and range of a Francine Poitras type, and, as a result, composer Benoit Jutras seems to have settled upon a more sweet, ethereal tone for the lead vocals, leaving any dramatic effects up to the male soloist or the backing choir. Interestingly, Jutras also brings some pop sensibilities into play at rather unpredictable times: "Let Me Fall" is closer to a pop ballad than anything Cirque has ever released. When the instruments dominate, there is a markedly more dramatic tone to the music -- but eventually they hush and drop to the background, leaving the air uncluttered but for one angelic voice. ~ L. Katz, Rovi