Les Fleurs du Mal (Sopor Aeternus & the Ensemble of Shadows album)

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Les Fleurs du Mal – Die Blumen des Bösen (French and German: The flowers of evil) is the ninth album by darkwave band Sopor Aeternus & the Ensemble of Shadows, and was released in 2007. Anna-Varney Cantodea has explained that the title is not a reference to Charles Baudelaire's 1857 collection of poetry of the same name, but that "it is related to Jean Genet's novel Notre Dame des Fleurs." A double vinyl edition and a CD boxed set were also released in limited quantities of 900 and 2,000 copies, respectively. The limited-edition pressings included a 40-page booklet of lyrics and illustrations, as well as a 112-page manga about the album.

"In der Palästra" received release as a DVD-single, and the album proper was introduced and promoted via a promotional video.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Anna-Varney Cantodea

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Architecture (All that's erected … are … walls)"	3:35
2.	"Always within the Hour"	8:29
3.	"In der Palästra" ("In the Palaestra")	7:13
4.	"A little Bar of Soap"	1:27
5.	"Bitter Sweet" (Brian Ferry, Andy Mackay)	5:35
6.	"Our Lady of the Broken Hearts"	0:50
7.	"La Mort d'Arthur" ("The Death of Arthur")	3:01
8.	"The Simple Joys of Maidenhood"	3:42
9.	"Helvetia Sexualis"	10:08
10.	"Les Fleurs Du Mal" ("The flowers of evil")	8:29
11.	"Shave, if you love me"	6:50
12.	"Some Men are like Chocolate"	5:20
13.	"The Virgin Queen"	11:41

"La Mort d'Arthur" is based on the German translation of a Swedish children's song, "Små grodorna" ("Die kleinen Frösche")

Personnel

• Naomi Koop: Violin
• Susannah Simmons: Violin
• Liz Hanks: Cello
• Miriam Hughes: Flute
• Andrew Piper: Clarinet
• Mike Davis: Oboe, cor anglais
• Doreena Gor: Bassoon
• Daniel Robson: Trumpet
• Fenton Bragg: Trombone
• Eugene de la Fontaine: Tuba
• Bert Eerie: Drums
• Terence Bat: Drums
• Choir of the Collegiate Church of St. Mary of Warwick: Vocals, backing vocals
• Anna-Varney Cantodea: Vocals, all other instruments and programming, Written lyrics and music