Night of Hunters

Released in 2011 on the prestigious Deutsche Grammophon label, Night of Hunters represents a pivotal moment in Tori Amos's career where she fully embraced her classical training. Commissioned as a modern song cycle, the album utilizes 'variations' on themes by composers like Schubert, Granados, and Satie, but transforms them into original narrative pieces. This was her first album in fifteen years to feature no electric instruments or drums, marking a significant break from her long-term studio band. The record is a concept album following a protagonist through a single night of spiritual and emotional crisis, aided by a shapeshifting creature named Anabelle. Notably, it features her daughter, Natashya Hawley, in a prominent vocal role, adding a familial warmth to the otherwise cool, intellectual precision of the chamber arrangements. Critically, it was hailed as a return to form, with many reviewers noting that the constraints of the classical project actually revitalized Amos's songwriting and vocal performance.