Sopor Aeternus and The Ensemble of Shadows: Difference between revisions
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[[Image:Itm04.jpg|left|250px|thumb|A photograph of Cantodea, as seen in the album artwork of ''[[...Ich töte mich jedesmal aufs Neue, doch ich bin unsterblich, und ich erstehe wieder auf; in einer Vision des Untergangs...|..Ich töte mich...]]'']] |
[[Image:Itm04.jpg|left|250px|thumb|A photograph of Cantodea, as seen in the album artwork of ''[[...Ich töte mich jedesmal aufs Neue, doch ich bin unsterblich, und ich erstehe wieder auf; in einer Vision des Untergangs...|..Ich töte mich...]]'']] |
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She has said in several interviews that she spent nearly three decades in extreme states of depression, despair and loneliness, emotions brought on by the childhood trauma of having a confusion-instilling surgical operation at the age of six, being beaten by her parents and peers in school, and by becoming somewhat suicidal at the age of twelve, along with many other states of despair throughout her life [http://www.sopor-aeternus.de/frame.html] All of these which resulted in her discovery of the "Ensemble Of Shadows": otherworldly presences and/or voices who stirred her musical senses and guided her to share the works in her head with the public. She does not speak much on the subject of the Ensemble, nor does she perform live, "in front of humans." Anna-Varney does have a sense of humour however, such as admitting she loves [[Darth Vader]] and changing the [[Fruit of the Loom]] logo to, "Fruit of the Tomb," which incorporates her face into the design (as seen in her 2002 work, ''[[Nenia C'alladhan]]''). |
She has said in several interviews that she spent nearly three decades in extreme states of depression, despair and loneliness, emotions brought on by the [[childhood trauma]] of having a [[confusion]]-instilling surgical operation at the age of six, being beaten by her parents and peers in school, and by becoming somewhat suicidal at the age of twelve, along with many other states of despair throughout her life. [http://www.sopor-aeternus.de/frame.html] All of these which resulted in her discovery of the "Ensemble Of Shadows": otherworldly presences and/or voices who stirred her musical senses and guided her to share the works in her head with the public. She does not speak much on the subject of the Ensemble, nor does she perform live, "in front of humans." Anna-Varney does have a sense of humour however, such as admitting she loves [[Darth Vader]] and changing the [[Fruit of the Loom]] logo to, "Fruit of the Tomb," which incorporates her face into the design (as seen in her 2002 work, ''[[Nenia C'alladhan]]''). |
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Her mediaeval-influenced music is emotional and melancholic, using a variety of [[Brass instrument|brass]], [[woodwinds]] (in particular, [[flutes]]), string quartets and various [[guitars]]. In some instances, [[synthesizers]] and [[drum machine]]s or real [[percussion instrument|percussion]] are used. Anna-Varney has clearly stated that she creates her music about herself, solely for herself. Various themes include [[death]], [[suicide]], unrequited [[love]], [[karma]]tic pain, loneliness and sadness. A very important recurring theme is Cantodea's apparent [[Transsexualism]] and the idea of becoming or being a woman, including removal of the typically [[penis|male genitalia]] in favour of attaining the female variant (in later album artwork, Anna-Varney is usually shown nude with a [[vagina]] which has been edited in with photo-manipulation techniques.) There are also several musical themes that reappear in her works; the most notable example is the song "Birth - Fiendish Figuration" which has appeared in at least four forms on separate releases. Other songs contain similar melodic lines or lyrics from an earlier release. |
Her mediaeval-influenced music is emotional and melancholic, using a variety of [[Brass instrument|brass]], [[woodwinds]] (in particular, [[flutes]]), string quartets and various [[guitars]]. In some instances, [[synthesizers]] and [[drum machine]]s or real [[percussion instrument|percussion]] are used. Anna-Varney has clearly stated that she creates her music about herself, solely for herself. Various themes include [[death]], [[suicide]], unrequited [[love]], [[karma]]tic pain, loneliness and sadness. A very important recurring theme is Cantodea's apparent [[Transsexualism]] and the idea of becoming or being a woman, including removal of the typically [[penis|male genitalia]] in favour of attaining the female variant (in later album artwork, Anna-Varney is usually shown nude with a [[vagina]] which has been edited in with photo-manipulation techniques.) There are also several musical themes that reappear in her works; the most notable example is the song "Birth - Fiendish Figuration" which has appeared in at least four forms on separate releases. Other songs contain similar melodic lines or lyrics from an earlier release. |
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Revision as of 04:42, 25 September 2007
Sopor Aeternus and The Ensemble of Shadows |
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Sopor Aeternus & The Ensemble of Shadows (usually referred to as the simplified, "Sopor Aeternus," [literally, "Eternal Sleep," a term meaning, "The Sleep of Death;"]) is a gothic, dark folk, or darkwave musical project consisting solely of the German musician, Anna-Varney Cantodea. It was formed between 1987 or 1989.
Origin & Development
Sopor Aeternus was born some time between 1987 or 1989 (the exact year is not known as it is a disputed topic at the moment). It was created by Anna-Varney Cantodea, a strange figure with a dark past, one which was filled with great depression, lonliness, and alienation from the world; and an elusive individual known only as, 'Holger'. The two had met at that time, in a goth club called, 'Negativ', which is located in Frankfurt, Germany. At that point in time, it is described in an interview with Anna, that she was experiencing a sort of sporadic outing with the 'human world', and that Holger became a sort of link for Anna-Varney to use to regain her ability to have connections with society (she was quite isolated at the time)... For unknown reasons, Holger decided to join Anna in materialising a sort of 'dream music' given to her in dreams by 'spiritual muses' that she at that time, and still to this day, pursued/pusues to create (it should be noted that such musical achievments are what Anna-Varney describes as, "keeping her alive to this day,") muses that Anna-Varney later referes to as, The Ensemble of Shadows. -reference-
Anna and Holger worked together with what little money they had, to purchase the needed accomidations for their music and created Blut der schwarzen roze, or The Undead Trilogy; a triad of demo cassettes under the titles: Es reiten die Toten so schnell... (first and only released demo), Rufus (second demo), and Till Time and Times Are Done (third and last demo). Other than the 50 copies of Es reiten die Toten so schnell..., these were never released to the public; and shortly after their creation, Holger (for once again, unknown reasons) left Sopor. -reference-
In 1994, after signing a contract with Apocalytic Vision, Anna-Varney produced her first album, Ich tote mich…. Much mystery hangs around the creation of this album, as sources and interviews are scarce in knowledge as to where Anna was at this point in her life, or how she gathered the financial needs for such a work of art.
In 1995, Anna worked on several musical projects. Possibly the most notable could be Todeswunsch - Sous le soleil de Saturne, an album which caused a divide amongst listeners due to it having a more renaissance-like sound than the previous album. 1995 would also be the year that Anna-Varney would release her first EP, Ehjeh Ascher Ehjeh, which contained rereleases from the songs in Todeswunsch; and would also be the year that she formed the side project, White Onyx Elephants and recorded songs under that title. She recorded these songs for the compilation album, Jekura - Deep the Eternal Forest.
Soon 1997 came, and Anna revealed The Inexperienced Spiral Traveller, an album which in 2000, Cantodea would refer to as her worst album yet. This is seen in a quote from an interview in the webzine, Utter Dark ^, when Anna is asked how she feels about her own musical progression:
Hmm... Well... Let's put it this way: "The Inexperienced Spiral Traveller," has been the worst album I have ever recorded... And after that... It slowly got better.
-Anna-Varney Cantodea (Circa 2000)
Anna-Varney: Biography
Despite years of good (though not well-known) media attention, not much is known about Cantodea. She tends not to talk about her personal life; a life which seems to have been filled with great grief and depression. From what little is known, Anna-Varney could be described as being transgender, or more specifically a non-operative Male-to-female. Cantodea prefers to be referred as, "she," instead of, "he," and states that she does not seek to surgically alter her body due to reasons of, as Cantodea referes to it, "spiritual conflict". She took the name Anna-Varney Cantodea to reflect this, Anna being a typically feminine name, Varney possibly stemming from the horror story, "Varney the Vampire, or The Feast Of Blood," and Cantodea being a form of the Latin word for female singer. [1]
She has said in several interviews that she spent nearly three decades in extreme states of depression, despair and loneliness, emotions brought on by the childhood trauma of having a confusion-instilling surgical operation at the age of six, being beaten by her parents and peers in school, and by becoming somewhat suicidal at the age of twelve, along with many other states of despair throughout her life. [2] All of these which resulted in her discovery of the "Ensemble Of Shadows": otherworldly presences and/or voices who stirred her musical senses and guided her to share the works in her head with the public. She does not speak much on the subject of the Ensemble, nor does she perform live, "in front of humans." Anna-Varney does have a sense of humour however, such as admitting she loves Darth Vader and changing the Fruit of the Loom logo to, "Fruit of the Tomb," which incorporates her face into the design (as seen in her 2002 work, Nenia C'alladhan).
Her mediaeval-influenced music is emotional and melancholic, using a variety of brass, woodwinds (in particular, flutes), string quartets and various guitars. In some instances, synthesizers and drum machines or real percussion are used. Anna-Varney has clearly stated that she creates her music about herself, solely for herself. Various themes include death, suicide, unrequited love, karmatic pain, loneliness and sadness. A very important recurring theme is Cantodea's apparent Transsexualism and the idea of becoming or being a woman, including removal of the typically male genitalia in favour of attaining the female variant (in later album artwork, Anna-Varney is usually shown nude with a vagina which has been edited in with photo-manipulation techniques.) There are also several musical themes that reappear in her works; the most notable example is the song "Birth - Fiendish Figuration" which has appeared in at least four forms on separate releases. Other songs contain similar melodic lines or lyrics from an earlier release.
Discography
Demo Cassettes (Blut der schwarzen roze, or the Undead-Trilogy) [1]
- Es reiten die Toten so schnell... (1989) - limited to 50 copies
- Rufus (Released some time between 1989 - 1992)[2]
- Till Time and Times Are Done (Released some time between 1989 - 1992) [3]
Albums and Eps
- ...Ich töte mich jedesmal aufs Neue, doch ich bin unsterblich, und ich erstehe wieder auf; in einer Vision des Untergangs... (1994 {Original Release} & 1999 {Re-release})
- Todeswunsch - Sous le soleil de Saturne (1995 {Original Release} & 2003 {Re-release})
- Ehjeh Ascher Ehjeh EP (1995) - limited to 3000 copies
- The Inexperienced Spiral Traveller (1997)
- Voyager - The Jugglers of Jusa (1997) - limited to 3000 copies
- Dead Lovers' Sarabande (Face One) (1999)
- Dead Lovers' Sarabande (Face Two) (1999)
- Songs from the inverted Womb (2000)
- Nenia C'alladhan (2002) - a side project with Constance Fröhling. The album is self-titled.
- Es reiten die Toten so schnell (or: the Vampyre sucking at his own Vein) (2003)
- La Chambre D'Echo - Where the dead Birds sing (2004)
- Flowers in Formaldehyde EP (2004) - limited to 2000 copies.
- The Goat / The Bells Have Stopped Ringing 12" vinyl (2005) - limited to 1000 copies
- Like a Corpse standing in Desperation (2005) - re-release box set, limited to 3000 copies, including first-ever Sopor Aeternus DVD
- Les Fleurs Du Mal (2007) - limited to 2000 copies
Note: "...Ich töte mich..." and "Todeswunsch" were repackaged and re-released in 1999; "Todeswunsch" was repackaged and re-released again in 2003.
Compilation Albums
Note: Songs preformed by Anna-Varney Cantodea on Jekura - Deep the Eternal Forest, are recorded under the band title, "White Onyx Elephants," a side project of Sopor Aeternus & The Ensemble of Shadows.
External links
Official Website and Fansites