HOFFMAN, KAY - Floret Silva

2006 reissue. "1977 avant/folk progressive masterpiece from minimalist composer Kay Hoffman. Includes collaborative performances from Jacqueline Darby and Gaio Chiocchio -- members of the legendary, Italian progressive group Pierrot Lunaire. Originally slated for release on RCA/IT (Italy) in 78, the album was later rejected due to recording deadlines, release schedules, and requests by RCA for other artistic/musical considerations. However, many years later, Floret Silva did end up surfacing on a very different shore. Copies of the masters found their way to the highly eclectic Japanese label Belle Antique, whose musical director had heard rumors about the early project in the mid-1980s. As a result, Floret Silva was finally released eight years after the completed sessions in 1985 as a small edition, but very well received LP (Belle Antique 8502, Japan). Apparently, not many copies of the record were exported outside Japan. This merely created even more mystery surrounding the recordings as well as rumors associated with a Pierrot Lunaire-related project. The recordings were based on the Carmina Burana -- a collection of medieval poetry written by various authors of which little is known. Floret Silva was an attempt to find a voice for these anonymous authors in the late 1970s in Florence. Now, nearly 30 years after the completed sessions, Floret Silva blooms again...this time in the US. Available for the first time on CD with remastered sound, including a 12-page booklet with full lyrics and English translations. A lost (but now reclaimed) gem from the Italian progressive underground." - Robot.