''Casanova'' is the fourth studio album by Northern Irish

chamber pop Chamber pop (or Chamber rock; also called baroque pop and sometimes conflated with orchestral pop or symphonic pop) is a music genre that combines rock music with the intricate use of string section, strings, horn section, horns, piano, and voca ...

band

the Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' ( it, Divina Commedia ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun 1308 and completed in around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and ...

. It was released in 1996 by

Setanta Records Setanta Records was a British independent record label led by founder Keith Cullen. Setanta published UK and Irish indie music in the late 1980s and in the 1990s. History Setanta Records was started in a Camberwell, London squat by former bicyc ...

, and it happened to be the band's commercial breakthrough. It was certified Gold in the UK in July 1997, aided by the release of the album's first single, " Something for the Weekend", which reached No. 13 on the charts. Two other singles released from the album, "Becoming More Like Alfie" and "The Frog Princess", charted at No. 27 and No. 15, respectively.

Composition

''Treble'' writer A.T. Bossenger wrote that, with ''Casanova'', Divine Comedy frontman

Neil Hannon Edward Neil Anthony Hannon (born 7 November 1970) is a Northern Irish singer and songwriter. He is the creator and front man of the chamber pop group The Divine Comedy, and is the band's sole constant member. Hannon wrote the theme tunes for t ...

"started going for a more straightforward pop tone as the base for his songwriting", resulting in the album having a more

Britpop Britpop was a mid-1990s British-based music culture movement that emphasised Britishness. It produced brighter, catchier alternative rock, partly in reaction to the popularity of the darker lyrical themes of the US-led grunge music and to the ...

flow to it. Its central theme is sex, around which all songs on the album centre, except "The Dogs and the Horses", which is the last song on the album and whose theme is death. Jeremy Lee of ''

ABC News ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...

'' considered that this record brought Neil Hannon "closer to the

orchestral pop Orchestral pop (sometimes called ork-pop for short) is pop music that has been arranged and performed by a symphonic orchestra. It may also be conflated with the terms symphonic pop or chamber pop. History During the 1960s, pop music on radio an ...

sound he'd been dreaming of." ''Casanova'' exemplifies the influence of American singer-songwriter Scott Walker: "Through a Long & Sleepless Night" shares the same title as a track from Walker's first solo album, while "The Dogs and the Horses" is reminiscent of the chamber pop musical style of Walker's first four solo albums. Two of ''Casanova''s songs were originally composed by Hannon as potential theme tunes for the 1995 sitcom ''

Father Ted ''Father Ted'' is a sitcom created by Irish writers Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews (writer), Arthur Mathews and produced by British production company Hat Trick Productions for Channel 4. It aired over three series from 21 April 1995 until ...

'': Hannon's first attempt was rejected, and he reworked it to become "A Woman of the World"; his second attempt was accepted and used as the theme for the series, but was later reworked as "Songs of Love", eschewing the original version's guitar for

harpsichord A harpsichord ( it, clavicembalo; french: clavecin; german: Cembalo; es, clavecín; pt, cravo; nl, klavecimbel; pl, klawesyn) is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. This activates a row of levers that turn a trigger mechanism ...

Recording

''Casanova'' had the longest recording period of any Divine Comedy album up to that point and consequently had a higher budget. Setanta was able to indulge Neil Hannon's desire because of the success of

Edwyn Collins Edwyn Stephen Collins (born 23 August 1959) is a Scottish musician, producer and record label owner from Edinburgh, Scotland. Collins was the lead singer for the 1980s post-punk band Orange Juice, which he co-founded. After the group split in ...

' hit single " A Girl Like You". ''Casanova'' featured more musicians than on the band's previous two albums, ''

Liberation Liberation or liberate may refer to: Film and television * ''Liberation'' (film series), a 1970–1971 series about the Great Patriotic War * "Liberation" (''The Flash''), a TV episode * "Liberation" (''K-9''), an episode Gaming * '' Liberati ...

'' and ''

Promenade An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of ''esplanade'' was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide cle ...

'', but like those two albums, Neil Hannon performed the majority of the instrumental parts himself, with co-producer/drummer

Darren Allison Darren Allison (born May 1968, Ashington, Northumberland, England) is an English record producer, musician, and audio engineer, best known for his production work with artists such as Spiritualized,Kempster, Chris "Studio secrets of the stars ...

directing proceedings. The album's closing track, "The Dogs and the Horses", recorded at

Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music c ...

, features a large orchestral ensemble which includes future members of the live band, namely

Joby Talbot Joby Talbot (born 25 August 1971) is a British composer. He has written for a wide variety of purposes and an accordingly broad range of styles, including instrumental and vocal concert music, film and television scores, pop arrangements and wo ...

Stuart 'Pinkie' Bates The Divine Comedy are a pop band from Northern Ireland, formed in 1989 and fronted by Neil Hannon. Hannon has been the only constant member of the group, playing, in some instances, all of the non-orchestral instrumentation except drums. The b ...

, Grant Gordon, and Bryan Mills. Talbot was beginning to play an increasingly important role in the band; he arranged and orchestrated "The Dogs and the Horses," and he co-arranged "Theme from Casanova" with Hannon.

Legacy

The album's sixth track, "Songs of Love", made its debut on the popular

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

sitcom ''Father Ted'', officially remaining the show's theme song, as heard in its opening titles and end credits. The song was later covered by

Ben Folds Benjamin Scott Folds (born September 12, 1966) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and composer, who is the first artistic advisor to the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., since May 2017. Folds was th ...

on his EP ''Sunny 16'' in 2003 and

Peter Bjorn and John Peter Bjorn and John are a Swedish indie pop/rock band formed in Stockholm in 1999, named after the first names of the band's members: Peter Morén (vocals, guitar and harmonica), Björn Yttling (bass guitar, keyboards and vocals) and John Eriks ...

as part of '' Under the Radar's'' ''Covers of Covers'' album in 2022. The album was included in the 2010 edition of the book ''

1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die ''1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die'' is a musical reference book first published in 2005 by Universe Publishing. Part of the ''1001 Before You Die'' series, it compiles writings and information on albums chosen by a panel of music critics ...

''. In 2014, ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' included the album in its list of "30 Glorious Britpop Albums That Deserve a Reissue Pronto," saying "Gawky Neil Hannon as smooth loverman was a conceit that actually worked and it produced two of Britpop's least obvious classics in the hilarious ''Cold Comfort Farm''-inspired tale of 'Something for the Weekend' and the movie fantasy of 'Becoming More Like Alfie'."

Track listing

All songs written and arranged by

, except "Theme From Casanova", arranged by Hannon and

; "The Dogs & the Horses" arranged and orchestrated by Talbot.

Personnel

Personnel per CD booklet '' A Secret History... The Best of the Divine Comedy''. * John Allen –

celeste Celeste may refer to: Geography * Mount Celeste, unofficial name of a mountain on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada * Celeste, Texas, a rural city in North Texas ** Celeste High School, public high school located in the city of Celeste, ...

, whistle *

– percussion, drums, producer, engineer, mixing * Kathy Brown – cello * Jane Butterfield – trombone * Andy Chase – producer, engineer, mixing * Emile Chitikov – violin * Ian Cooper – mastering * Eos Counsell – violin * Rob Crane – design * Alison Fletcher – violin, viola * Anna Giddey – violin * Charlotte Glasson – viola * Ruth Goldstein – cello * Tom Gurling – assistant engineer *

– bass, guitar, percussion, piano, arranger,

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated s ...

, vocals, producer, tympani impani art direction,

Wurlitzer The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to as simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853 by German immigrant (Franz) Rudolph Wurlitzer. The company initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments ...

* Rebecca Hayes – violin * Robin Hayward – tuba * Yuri Kalnitz – violin * Robbie Kazandjian – assistant engineer *

Mark Knight Mark Knight (born 1962) is an Australian cartoonist. He is currently the editorial cartoonist for the '' Herald Sun'', a daily tabloid newspaper in Melbourne. Knight was also the last editorial cartoonist for one of the ''Herald Suns joint p ...

– violin * Alex McRonald – flute * Bryan Mills – bass * Paul Mysiak – assistant engineer * Darren Nash – assistant engineer * Gerard Navarro – assistant engineer * Gareth Parton – assistant engineer * Alex Postlethwaite – violin * Alice Pratley – violin * Alice Reynolds – laughs * Joe Richards – cello * Adrian Roach – oboe * Laura Samuel – violin * Padraic Savage – violin * Chris Scard – assistant engineer *

– piano, arranger, conductor, alto saxophone, orchestration * Titch Walker – trumpet * Jane Watkins – cello * Kevin Westenberg – art direction, photography * Chris Worsey – cello

References

External links

* * * {{Authority control The Divine Comedy (band) albums 1996 albums Setanta Records albums Orchestral pop albums