Ange

ANGE is, no doubt about it, the most popular of the French Progressive rock bands. Its music is based on Christian DECAMPS' unmistakable and melodramatic voice, his brother Francis' powerful organ sounds as well as on the development of energetic and intense medieval lines. The line-up invented its own style, both epic and delirious, and that blends madness, emotions and exacerbated feelings. Guet-apens is the sixth studio album by the French progressive rock band Ange and the first without Jean Michel Brezovar and Daniel Haas. It was released in 1978.

Par Les Fils De Mandrin constitutes perfect balance between the over-emphasized theatrics of Christian Decamp on Au-Delà Du Délire and the more rock/less lyrical approach of Émile Jacotay. The album is presented as a "musical tale for big children" and, therefore, leaves more room for narratives ("Atlantis"), folk settings ("Ainsi S'en Ira La Pluie"), and medieval atmospheres ("Saltimbanques"). The compositional approach is simpler, keeping the very progressive material for the epic "Hymne à la Vie" ("Hymn to Life"), a piece that allies Yes-like serenity to the typical bombastic sound.

With Le Cimetière des Arlequins, Ange got noticed in France (their home country), in the European progressive rock circles, and in Quebec. Not that this LP is particularly stronger than their debut Caricatures, but it's lead track, a completely rewritten and very theatrical rendition of Jacques Brel's "Ces Gens-Là," brought them immediate attention. Christian Decamps' exaggerated pronunciation and theatrical characterizations, backed by Francis Decamps' extended use of the Mellotron and a strong rhythm section, lifted the band to prog rock stardom, even though artistically speaking, Ange would record better albums in the few years to come.

L'Ange à la fenêtre d'Occident, l'ultime roman de Gustav Meyrink, est de ces livres qui, sitôt ouverts, n'en finissent plus de vous hanter. Rédigé peu avant la mort de l'auteur, il est à son œuvre ce que Faust est à celle de Goethe : une " somme ", summa scientia. L'histoire fascinante de John Dee, célèbre alchimiste du XVI° siècle, y est relatée à travers les fragments de son journal, que le baron Müller, un lointain descendant, a reçu en héritage. …

Dans ces récits d’initiation qui font suite au texte de Sohravardi traduit et présenté antérieurement par Henry Corbin sous le titre L’Archange empourpré, ce qui nous est proposé est comme une aventure religieuse du Moi profond. Dans la doctrine sohravardienne de l’Ishrâq, l’" Ange " est en effet le double céleste de la psyché terrestre. Etre de lumière qui le fond dans sa réalité d’âme, l’" Ange " est le principe transcendant de son individualité. Le Destin de l’homme est unique et voué à l’Unique. Mais un Unique qui n’est tel que pour chacun. …

ANGE is, no doubt about it, the most popular of the French Progressive rock bands. Its music is based on Christian DECAMPS' unmistakable and melodramatic voice, his brother Francis' powerful organ sounds as well as on the development of energetic and intense medieval lines. The line-up invented its own style, both epic and delirious, and that blends madness, emotions and exacerbated feelings. Guet-apens is the sixth studio album by the French progressive rock band Ange and the first without Jean Michel Brezovar and Daniel Haas. It was released in 1978.