My first Mumble Mission of the day was at 5.30pm, The rain had been falling heavily from the sky since the early hours, So I had spent the day catching up on writing the reviews for the previous 48 hours of artistic diversity. Spirit told me the rain would stop by 4.30pm. I was more than a little concerned that I was going to have to wear a waterproof jacket. Magik Rainbow Umbrella had gone walkabout on Monday, so without it, my sartorial elegance would have been compromised.
True to word, the rain it stopped. So I made haste to my appointment with the dark side of human psyche.

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Saint Johns Episcopal Church is on the west end of Princes St Gardens, it is a beautiful ornate church offering more than just a touch of peace to the mayhem of The Fringe. The performance itself was held on the alter and the audience in the pews. By far this was the most elaborate and dramatic of venues. Of course its a local haunt of Divines for reasons other than musical psychotherapy. Like Saint Giles on The Royal mile. My healing prayers are always amplified here. Its because of the way the lay-lines cross, it always has brought a great sense of lasting peace in times of trouble. When inner conflict was rabid and the darkness of my soul all consuming. The sanctuary of St Johns would prove to be a lasting friend.

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The Fringe has always offered artistic diversity and Edinburgh becomes saturated with talent. So that means the bar has to be pushed higher Monica Salvi’s presentation has reached the Alter of St Johns. From a spiritual perspective and from an artistic perspective it doesn’t get much Higher. Monica Salvi has a voice that would melt even the hardest of Shadows, her vocal range is enough to guarantee this performance a Five Star review. Her powerful and heart melting beauty perfectly compliments this professionally trained singing voice. Monica Salvi could sing a phone book and make it sound beautiful. This is what I loved about this performance. Ms Salvi could have played it safe, her voice would have been enough to ensure a financial success. The muse and the gift do not come easily and there is a fine line between madness and genius.

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For people who have a touch of madness and are fearful of challenging their inner demons, the subject matter of this performance couldnae be anymore confrontational. All the aspects of a disturbed personality are represented and the bits that people normally shy away from apart from when undergoing extensive psychotherapy or electric shock treatment are celebrated. It is a performance of dark, entertaining beauty and is guaranteed to disturb and delight in equal measure..

*****

So Five Stars for the courage to have done this in the first place!
Five stars for the brilliance of song that made such a dark subject matter so appealing.

Divine is waiting with eager anticipation to obtain some of Monica Salvis recorded works. Because she is a star and with a confidence of voice that will always be her saving Grace.

*****

Divine is smitten!
Swoon! 5 Stars!

*****