November 04, 2023

Enigma - MCMXC a.D. (Limited Edition) (1991)

posted by all-musicrecords

MCMXC a.D. is the debut studio album by the German musical project Enigma, led by Romanian-German musician Michael Cretu. 

It was released in Europe by Virgin Records on 3 December 1990, and in the United States by Charisma Records on 12 February 1991. 
Cretu became fascinated with mixing archaic sounds with modern music after producing German pop singer Sandra's song "Everlasting Love", for which he experimented with Gregorian chant. 
Following Michael Cretu and Sandra's marriage in 1988, Michael developed the idea of the musical project Enigma and recorded the album over the course of eight months in 1990 at A.R.T. Studios.
MCMXC a.D. combines new-age music with dance rhythms, as well as combining themes of religion and Gregorian chant with sexuality, for which the album received generally positive reviews from music critics. 
The Gregorian chant was taken from recordings by Capella Antiqua München, which resulted in the Munich-based choir's label, Polydor Germany suing Cretu and Virgin Records for infringing on its "right of personality". The case was dropped after Cretu agreed to pay compensation. 

Songs
"The Voice of Enigma" was written solely by Cretu, and starts with a foghorn sound that is known as the "Enigma horn". 
After the foghorn, Louisa Stanley (an executive at Virgin Records at the time) starts talking and invites the listener to relax and take a deep breath, while an environmental soundscape plays in the background. 
"The Principles of Lust" track employs a drumbeat throughout similar to the R&B 1989 song "Back to Life (However Do You Want Me)" by Soul II Soul, flute synth lines, and Cretu's whispers and "orgasmic breathing" that mark the song breaks. 
The first part, "Sadeness", includes a Gregorian chant taken from the track "Procedamus in pace!" from the 1976 album Paschale Mysterium by Capella Antiqua München. 
It also includes contributions from Fabrice Cuitad and Peterson. 
The song's French lyrics are a quizzical look at, and defense of, the 18th-century writer Marquis de Sade, who was notorious for writing literature delving into themes of sexual violence and domination.

"Callas Went Away" was written solely by Michael Cretu, and samples Maria Callas's singing. "Mea Culpa" was written by Cretu and Fabrice Cuitad and is a follow-up to "Sadeness". Like "Sadeness", "Mea Culpa" samples Gregorian chant from the Capella Antiqua München and thus evokes the same atmosphere. 
The song's theme "centers around guilt", according to the official Enigma website. "The Voice & the Snake", written by Cretu and Peterson, is based on the Book of Revelation.
"Knocking on Forbidden Doors" was written solely by Cretu. The "Back to the Rivers of Belief" track's three songs were mainly written by Cretu, with the song "The Rivers of Belief"—which centers around the Indian river Ganges and differs from the other songs in being more soulful—including contributions from Fabrice Cuitad.

The bonus remixes are a bit of a mixed bag. The remixes of the better tracks on the album, "Sadeness" and "Mea Culpa", are both great: the former is a Chillout interpretation of the reprise found earlier, minus the monks' samples; the latter also suffers from a lack of Gregorain goodness, but almost compensates with an eclectic mix of pan-flutes, varying beats and extra vocals from Sandra Cretu (the wife of Michael). 
The remixes of "Principles of Lust" and "The Rivers of Belief" are both inferior takes on the originals, the former being a Carbon copy with a slightly different beat superimposed while the latter is an interesting combination of the title track, "Callas Went Away" and "The Voice and the Snake", introduced by an excerpt from "Toccatta and Fugue"!


1990 original version

1.  The Voice of Enigma - 2:21
2.  Principles of Lust - 11:43
     a. Sadeness
     b. Find Love
     c. Sadeness (Reprise)
3.  Callas Went Away - 4:27
4.  Mea Culpa - 5:03
5.  The Voice & the Snake - 1:39
6.  Knocking on Forbidden Doors - 4:31
7.  Back to the Rivers of Belief - 10:32
     a. Way to Eternity
     b. Hallelujah
     c. The Rivers of Belief

1991 The Limited Edition

8.  Sadeness (Meditation) - 2:43
9.  Mea Culpa (Fading Shades) - 6:04
10.  Principles of Lust (Everlasting Lust) - 4:50
11.  The Rivers of Belief (The Returning Silence) - 7:04


Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of MCMXC a.D.

  • Michael Cretu (credited as "Curly M.C.") (all tracks)
  • Frank Peterson (credited as "F. Gregorian") (tracks 2a, 2c, and 5)
  • Fabrice Cuitad (credited as "David Fairstein") (tracks 2a, 2c, 4, and 7c)
  • Sandra Cretu (uncredited) (tracks 1, 2a, 2c, and 4)

Companies, etc.

Credits

Notes
Released: 1 991
Recorded:  1990-1991 Studio A.R.T. (Ibiza, Spain) 
Genre:  New-age, worldbeat 
Length:  1:00:28
Producer:  Michael Cretu 

Label - Virgin Records 

op
Labels:

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)