POPOL VUH
Popol Vuh -The Werner Herzog Soundtracks [2010] + In Den Gärten Pharaos [1971] + Hosianna Mantra [1972] + Best Of Popol Vuh From The Films Of Werner Herzog [1989] (8 x CDs)
Popol Vuh were a German musical collective founded by keyboardist Florian Fricke in 1969 together with Frank Fiedler (sound design), Holger Trülzsch (percussion), and Bettina Fricke (tablas and production). The band took its name from the Mayan manuscript containing the mythology of highland Guatemala's K'iche' people. During the next two decades the membership often alternated, most notably including Djong Yun, Renate Knaup, Conny Veit, Daniel Fichelscher, Klaus Wiese, and Robert Eliscu.
Popol Vuh began as an electronic music project, but under Fricke's leadership they soon abandoned synthesizers for organic instrumentation and world music influences. They developed a productive working partnership with director Werner Herzog, contributing scores to films such as Aguirre, The Wrath of God (1972), Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979), and Fitzcarraldo (1982). The group are associated with West Germany's 1970s krautrock movement and are considered progenitors of new-age and ambient music. Pitchfork magazine called Hosianna Mantra (1972) Popol Vuh's classic release.
The 2010 box set Popol Vuh - The Werner Herzog Soundtracks is a remarkable collection that showcases the unique collaboration between the German progressive rock band Popol Vuh and acclaimed filmmaker Werner Herzog. Released by SPV GmbH, this compilation features five CDs that encapsulate the ethereal and haunting soundscapes that became synonymous with Herzog's cinematic masterpieces.
The first album, Aguirre, the Wrath of God, includes the iconic track "Aguirre I," which sets the tone for Herzog's tale of obsession and madness. Popol Vuh's use of the Moog synthesizer creates an otherworldly atmosphere that perfectly complements the film's visuals.
The second album, Heart of Glass, is a testament to Popol Vuh's versatility. Tracks such as "Engel der Gegenwart" employ acoustic instruments and choral arrangements, reflecting the film's surreal and dreamlike quality.
Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht is the third album in the set, featuring tracks like "Brüder des Schattens - Söhne des Lichts." This soundtrack blends gothic and mystical elements, enhancing the eerie and melancholic mood of Herzog's vampire classic.
The fourth album, Cobra Verde rounds out the collection with its tribal rhythms and evocative melodies. Tracks like "Der Tod des Cobra Verde" mirror the film's themes of power and downfall.
Finally, Fitzcarraldo, captures the grandeur and ambition of Herzog's story about a man determined to build an opera house in the Amazon. The soundtrack includes operatic pieces alongside Popol Vuh's compositions, creating a rich auditory experience.
This box set is a window into the creative synergy between Popol Vuh and Werner Herzog. It remains a must-have for fans of experimental music and cinema alike.
Also included are the following albums:
The Best of Popol Vuh: From the Films of Werner Herzog [1989] A match made in cinematic heaven; the meshing of Popol Vuh's grand atmospherics and sonic landscapes with the grand landscapes and near-mythic themes of many of Werner Herzog's films. This collection provides representative selections from the soundtracks to Aguirre, Fitzcarraldo, Nosferatu, Gasherbrum, and Cobra Verde. The music falls far enough into the atmospheres and ambient camps that the album is as easily used as a meditational piece as a soundtrack release. Either way, this is beautiful music. (AMG review by Steven McDonald)
"In Pharaoh's Garden" was the first true work of "sacred music" by Florian Fricke, guiding light of the mythical group Popol Vuh. Consisting of two extended works, his mixture of electronics and church organ with assorted winds and percussives, conjures up visions of the celestial light. Deeply emotional and filled with mysticism, this album marked the dawning of new age music, and still today is a wonder to behold. (AMG review by Archie Patterson)
"Hosianna Mantra" Florian Fricke pioneered the use of synthesizers in German rock, but by the time of Hosianna Mantra he had abandoned them (eventually selling his famous Moog to Klaus Schulze). While In den Gärten Pharaos had blended synths with piano and African and Turkish percussion, Hosianna Mantra focuses on organic instrumentation. Conny Veit contributes electric guitar, but other than that, Fricke pulls the plug and builds the album around violin, tamboura, piano, oboe, cembalo, and Veit's 12-string, often with Korean soprano Djong Yun's haunting voice hovering above the arrangements. As the album's title suggests, Fricke conceived of Hosianna Mantra as a musical reconciliation of East and West, a harmonization of seemingly opposed terms, combining two devotional music traditions. That notion of cultural hybridity resonates throughout. On "Kyrie" droning tamboura, simple piano patterns, ethereal, gull-like guitars, and yearning oboe ebb and flow before coalescing in a passage of intensity and release. The epic title track adds another dimension to the fusion, emphasizing a Western rock sound with Veit's spectacular playing to the fore, simultaneously smoldering and liquid, occasionally yielding to Djong Yun's celestial vocals. Above all, Fricke envisioned this as sacred music, intimately linked to religious experience; however, as his musical synthesis of disparate religious traditions indicates, he was seeking to foment a spiritual experience beyond the specificity of any particular faith. Indeed, Fricke called this album a "mass for the heart" and that aspect can be heard most succinctly on the melancholy "Abschied" and the gossamer-fragile "Segnung," which blend an austere hymnal sensibility with a more mystical vibe. Julian Cope has said that Hosianna Mantra sounds like it was made in a "cosmic convalescent home" -- an excellent description underscoring the timeless, healing quality of this music, which is far removed from the everyday world and yet at one with it. (AMG review by Wilson Neate)
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Track lists
Popol Vuh -The Werner Herzog Soundtracks [2010]
CD1
01 Popol Vuh - Aguirre I (L'acrime di rei) 7:22
02 Popol Vuh - Morgengruss II 2:55
03 Popol Vuh - Aguirre II 6:16
04 Popol Vuh - Agnus Dei 3:03
05 Popol Vuh - Vergegenwärtigung 16:51
06 Popol Vuh - Aguirre III 7:16
CD2
01 Popol Vuh - Engel der Gegenwart 8:18
02 Popol Vuh - Blätter aus dem Buch der Kühnheit 4:19
03 Popol Vuh - Das Lied von den hohen Bergen 4:12
04 Popol Vuh - Hüter der Schwelle 3:47
05 Popol Vuh - Der Ruf 4:42
06 Popol Vuh - Singet, denn der Gesang vertreibt die Wölfe 4:15
07 Popol Vuh - Gemeinschaft 3:51
08 Popol Vuh - Auf dem Weg - on the Way (alternative Guitar Version) 4:44
09 Popol Vuh - Hand in Hand in Hand (Agape Guitar Version) 5:44
CD3
01 Popol Vuh - Brüder des Schattens 5:43
02 Popol Vuh - Höre, der du wagst 6:00
03 Popol Vuh - Das Schloss des Irrtums 5:37
04 Popol Vuh - Die Umkehr 5:57
05 Popol Vuh - Mantra 1 6:15
06 Popol Vuh - Morning Sun 3:21
07 Popol Vuh - Venus Principle 4:41
08 Popol Vuh - Mantra 2 5:22
09 Popol Vuh - Die Nacht der Himmel 5:03
10 Popol Vuh - Der Ruf der Rohrflöte 3:39
11 Popol Vuh - To a Little Way 2:34
12 Popol Vuh - Through Pain to Heaven 3:47
13 Popol Vuh - On the Way 4:05
14 Popol Vuh - Zwiesprache der Rohrflöte 3:24
CD4
01 Popol Vuh - Der Tod des Cobra Verde 4:35
02 Popol Vuh - Nachts-Schnee 1:51
03 Popol Vuh - Der Marktplatz 2:30
04 Popol Vuh - Eine andere Welt 5:07
05 Popol Vuh - Grab der Mutter 4:30
06 Popol Vuh - Die singenden Mädchen von Ho, Ziavi 6:53
07 Popol Vuh - Sieh nicht überm Meer ist's 1:26
08 Popol Vuh - Hab Mut, bis daß die Nacht mit Ruh' und Stille kommt 9:32
09 Popol Vuh - Om Mani Padme Hum 4 (Piano Version) 5:28
CD5
01 Popol Vuh - Wehe Khorazin 5:32
02 Popol Vuh - Scene from Ernani 5:53
03 Popol Vuh - Engel der Luft 2:37
04 Popol Vuh - Ridi Pagliacci 3:11
05 Popol Vuh - O Paradiso 3:38
06 Popol Vuh - Kind mit Geige 0:56
07 Popol Vuh - Im Garten dem Gemeinschaft 2:26
08 Popol Vuh - Blasmusik 0:43
09 Popol Vuh - Tod und Verklärung 2:55
10 Popol Vuh - Music aus Burundi 1:51
11 Popol Vuh - Il Sogno 2:39
12 Popol Vuh - Quartett 3:59
13 Popol Vuh - O Mimì, Tu Più Non Torni 3:04
14 Popol Vuh - Als Lebten Die Engel Auf Erden 2:07
15 Popol Vuh - A Te O Cara Amor Talora 5:50
In Den Gärten Pharaos [1971]
01 Popol Vuh - Hosianna-Mantra - Ah! 4:46
02 Popol Vuh - Hosianna-Mantra - Kyrie 5:23
03 Popol Vuh - Hosianna-Mantra 10:12
04 Popol Vuh - Das V Buch Mose - 1 Abschied 3:14
05 Popol Vuh - Das V Buch Mose - 2 Segnung 6:07
06 Popol Vuh - Das V Buch Mose - 3 Andacht 0:47
07 Popol Vuh - Das V Buch Mose - 4 Nicht hoch im Himmel 6:18
08 Popol Vuh - Das V Buch Mose - 5 Andacht 0:48
09 Popol Vuh - Maria (Ave Maria - Bonus Track) 4:30
Hosianna Mantra [1972]
01 Popol Vuh - In Den Garten Pharaos 17:39
02 Popol Vuh - Vuh 19:52
03 Popol Vuh - Kha-White Structures 1 (Bonus Track) (Formerly Unreleased) 10:17
04 Popol Vuh - Kha-White Structures 2 (Bonus Track) (Formerly Unreleased) 10:09
Best Of Popol Vuh From The Films Of Werner Herzog [1989]
01 Popol Vuh - Wehe Khoorazin 6:26
02 Popol Vuh - Im Garten Der Gemeinschaft 4:44
03 Popol Vuh - Der Tod Des Banditen 2:35
04 Popol Vuh - Agape, Agape 5:06
05 Popol Vuh - Gemeinsam Assen Sie Das Brot 2:53
06 Popol Vuh - Gemeinsam Trankensie Den Wein 3:52
07 Popol Vuh - Ais Lebten Die Engel Auf Erden 2:13
08 Popol Vuh - Eine Andere Welt 5:04
09 Popol Vuh - Hore, Der Du Wagst 1:41
10 Popol Vuh - Bruder Des Schattens-Sohne Des Lichts 8:50
11 Popol Vuh - Engel Der Luft 2:54
12 Popol Vuh - Wir Wissen Von Der Not 3:36
13 Popol Vuh - Take The Tension High 5:49
14 Popol Vuh - Lacrime Di Re 6:13
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Music weaves itself into the fabric of our emotions, dances through the corridors of memory, and whispers to the soul of who we are. Sharing these stories deepens the connection, turning the experience into something timeless and profound.
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