Hosianna Mantra

• Artist: Popol Vuh
• Rating:
• Release Date: 1972
• Genre: Electronica

Review

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. ~ Wilson Neate, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Ah!	Florian Fricke	Popol Vuh	(4:46)
Kyrie	Florian Fricke	Popol Vuh	(5:23)
Hosianna-Mantra	Florian Fricke	Popol Vuh	(10:12)
Abschied	Florian Fricke	Popol Vuh	(3:14)
Segnung	Florian Fricke	Popol Vuh	(6:07)
Andacht	Florian Fricke	Popol Vuh	(0:47)
Nicht Hoch Im Himmel	Florian Fricke	Popol Vuh	(6:18)
Andacht	Florian Fricke	Popol Vuh	(0:48)
Maria (Ave Maria) [*]	Florian Fricke	Popol Vuh	(4:30)

Credits

Popol Vuh (Producer), Popol Vuh (Main Performer), Klaus Weiss (Percussion), Michael Crétu (Author), Robert Eliscu (Oboe), Frank Fielder (Photography), Frank Fielder (Digital Remastering), Florian Fricke (Piano), Florian Fricke (Cembalo), Fritz Sonnleitner (Violin), Fritz Sonnleitner (Guest Appearance), Conny Veit (Guitar), Conny Veit (Guitar (Electric)), Conny Veit (Guitar (12 String)), Djong Yun (Saxophone), Djong Yun (Soprano (Vocal)), Gerard Augustin (Liner Notes), Klaus Wiese (Tamboura), Bettina Fricke (Photography), Sandra Hiltmann (Booklet Design), Michael Fuchs Gamböck (Liner Notes), Gero Herrde (Booklet Concept), Martin Buber (Text)

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