Reviewed by Bill Binkelman on 3/14/2009
Corciolli's Nosso Lar (i.e. The Astral City and the recording is based on a book of the same title) is a simply gorgeous album with lovely flowing piano melodies, lush orchestrations, and featuring a variety of electronic keyboard sounds that harken back to the golden era of the new age music genre (shimmering bell tones, plucked strings, et al.). Partly neo-classical in feel (think Vangelis' best work from his mid-period) and sometimes closer to earlier artists like Robert Haig Coxon or Ray Lynch, Nosso Lar needs to be at the top of your list for additions to your collection if you enjoy warm engaging piano-keyboard/orchestral music that never over-reaches into bombast or melodrama but instead weaves a subtler web of beguiling grace and charm.

After the brief prologue piece Realidade Eterna, (clever use of theremin-like sounds here with swelling orchestral strings), soft piano with shadings of melancholy, ethereal synth pads and shimmering bell trees signal the start of Flor De Esperanca. Corciolli is a master at layering all his sounds into the mix, with an almost uncanny ability to allow the assorted components to softly float into the track's foreground and then transition backward, allowing another instrumental sound to take over. In addition, his choice of keyboards and synthesizers is absolutely first-rate. I can see why he is so highly praised in his native country of Brazil.

Lush orchestral strings open Bosque Das Aguas alongside of angelic chorals, both of which ebb and flow with an organic naturalness. It's on a song like this that many artists tend to flip the "overkill" switch and dial in bombastic flourishes, overwhelming the listener. Corciolli's seems to know exactly where the "edge" is and sits right there without going over it. Well done! Vangelis fans should certainly resonate to the opening of Coracao Invisivel owing to the presence of plucked harp and string orchestrations eventually yielding to a more straight-up classical blend of piano and strings. Infinito casts a much quieter shadow as the song features only piano and a soft brushing of synthesizers. It stands in contrast to the sunny and cheery Rio Azul, a track with a breezy lighter-than-air feel, resplendent with piano and lots of twinkling shimmering synthesizer effects. 

The overriding melodic evocation one takes from Nosso Lar is probably a romantic neo-classical one. However, that doesn’t mean there aren't other influences on the CD, ranging from spacemusic to angelic new age music. Yet, the abundance of flowing piano and sweeping neo-classical string orchestrations, usually framed within a major, not minor, tonality framework (there are only a few brief forays into melancholy and none into darkness), really places the heart and soul of this album in, well, the heart and soul of the human condition. If you’re unaffected by the achingly pretty closing track, Sempre, you need to lighten up and smell the roses, friend. 

It's great that Corciolli now has US-based distribution through WorldSound Productions as this is one artist who should find legions of fans here in this country, and I am definitely one of them. Nosso Lar tugs at my heartstrings with effortless beauty and sincerity, never manipulative and always sincere. Highly recommended!
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"I've just heard the Corciolli album in its entirety and it honestly is a wonderful album.  Very moving. Beautiful."
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