Cædmon’s Hymn

[ggreig]

When I was still at school in the early eighties, there was a young minister at the local church who lent me a copy of an album made by a band he’d heard at university in Edinburgh, where they were based. Only 500 copies of the album were made, to mark their retirement from gigging, and originals are apparently now highly collectable, fetching

Comments

[silverwhistle]

Looks intriguing! A month or 2 back, I discovered Quasimodo (1994) by Quaterna Réquiem, a Brazilian Early-Music-influenced prog rock group. The track Brothers Grimm has, of course, certain associations with flybynightpress! I love The Accursed Kings, and the NDdP-inspired title suite is especially wonderful: it includes the plainchant introit for Quasimodo Sunday which gave the character his name.

1. Fanfarra (Fanfare) (5:33)
2. Os Reis Malditos (The Accursed Kings) (13:07)
3. Aquintha (6:06)
4. Irmãos Grimm (Brothers Grimm) (11:02)
5. Quasimodo (38:59):
i. O Papa dos Loucos (The Pope of Fools)
ii. Notre Dame
iii. Claude Frollo
iv. Esmeralda
v. A Toca dos Ratos (The Trou-aux-Rats)
vi. Montfaucon
vii. ANANKE (Fatality)

Musicians
- Elisa Wierman / keyboards
- Claudio Dantas / drums, percussions

with:
- Fabio Fernandez / bass and acoustic guitar
- José Roberto Crivano / electric guitar
- Sergio Dias / recorder, krumhorn
- A Benedictine Monk / Gregorian chant (on 'Notre Dame')

[ggreig]

Definitely bombastic and proggy, especially those keyboards! Not listened to it all yet (halfway through The Accursed Kings as I type), but does seem interesting.

[silverwhistle]

I love the combination of electronics and krumhorns!

Presumably The Accursed Kings was inspired by the Maurice Druon novels and TV serial (think French equivalent of Nigel Tranter, covering the later Capetians).

On Quasimodo, I especially like Notre Dame (the use of plainchant), Claude Frollo (suggestive of the character's gradual mental breakdown), and Esmeralda (gentle and soothing compared to the rest).