Incantations is a double album written and produced by Mike Oldfield. Released in late 1978 (see 1978 in music), it was his fourth studio album, and the first to feature a piece divided into more than two movements.
The current CD issue fits the entire album onto one disc. It is the second longest work Oldfield has ever released.
Overview
Despite being the most large-scale work by Oldfield, many moments of the album can be described as being compositionally minimalist, featuring melodic lines repeated in simple forms with only a few instruments at a time.
Incantations was recorded at Througham, Mike Oldfield's home after he completed Ommadawn. It was his desire to create an album that would make use of a small orchestra, and some of his own statements indicate that he may have moved into his new house simply because it had room for one. He had used "extra-instrumental" ensembles previously, such as the brass ensemble on Ommadawn and the string/choir group on Hergest Ridge before that, but they form a major part of Incantations.
It was during the creation of Incantations that Mike Oldfield underwent the assertiveness training course Exegesis, and between the earlier parts and the later parts of the album there is a definite difference in style, possibly due to the course. The course may have had added effects to bolster his confidence, as it was almost immediately thereafter that Oldfield went on his first solo live tour with Incantations.
The lyrics in "Part Two" are taken from Longfellow's "The Song of Hiawatha", though rearranged in places to conform more to the music.
The lyrics in "Part Four" are Ben Jonson's "Ode to Cynthia" from Cynthia's Revels, but adjusted again to match the music.
2010 reissue
In 2010 the album will be re-released by Mercury Records. This comes as part of a deal in which Oldfield's Virgin albums were transferred to the label.
Artwork
The cover was once again done by Trevor Key. The beach in the cover photograph is Cala Pregonda, in Menorca. The current CD sleeve has a different typeface than the original album. The LP artwork is shown in the infobox. Early copies of the album came with a poster featuring a subtly different photograph from the one used on the cover.
The cover photograph used may have been altered by Key. There have been some theories about why this may have been done, although the claim that Oldfield was not actually on the beach is easily contradicted by other photographs from the shoot. It is assumed that Key simply cut and pasted the image of Oldfield onto a slightly different background for artistic reasons.
Miscellanea
- Along with some other pieces of Oldfield's work, a different version of "Part Four" was used for the soundtrack of Tony Palmer's The Space Movie; the lyrics there are from Kathleen Raine's "A Spell for Creation".
- When the CD version was released, due to the shorter length of the format at the time, many early pressings have "Part Three" shortened from 16:59 down to 13:49 by cutting from the beginning. When 74-minute CDs became the norm and quality control was increased, the full cut of "Part Three" was restored. All modern pressings have the full version of the piece.
- Essentially, the first few minutes of "Part Two" are backward. When this section is played in reverse, music very closely resembling one of the main themes from "Part One" is heard.
Track listing
Side one
- "Part one" – 19:08
Side two
- "Part two" – 19:36
Side three
- "Part three" – 16:58
Side four
- "Part four" – 17:01
Charts
Personnel
With, alphabetically:
External links
