Popol Vuh is a German cosmic music band founded by pianist and keyboardist Florian Fricke in 1970 together with Holger Trulzsch (percussion) and Frank Fiedler (electronics). Other important members during the next two decades included Daniel Fichelscher and Bob Eliscu.^[1] Kosmische Musik is a style of mostly electronic music that was born in Germany in late 1960s-early 1970s; the term often refers to the whole German electronic and prog rock scene, including the so called Krautrock. ... Florian Fricke (born February 23, 1944 in Lindau am Bodensee, Germany; died December 29, 2001 in Munich) was a German musician who started his professional career with electronic music within the Krautrock group Popol Vuh, although his music soon evolved in a very different direction. ... 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1970 calendar). ... Daniel Fichelscher was, for most of their history, Florian Frickes only stable partner in the German Avantgarde group Popol Vuh. ...

Biography

The first album Affenstunde, released in 1970, can be regarded as one of the earliest Ambient music or New Age music works, featuring the then new sounds of the Moog synthesizer together with ethnic percussion. This continued for only one more album, In Den Garten Pharaos, before Fricke largely abandoned electronic instruments in favour of piano-led compositions from 1972's Hosianna Mantra forward. This album also marked the start of exploring overtly religious themes rather than a more generally spiritual feeling within the music. The group evolved to include all kinds of instruments: wind and strings, electric and acoustic alike, combined to convey a mystical aura that made their music spiritual and introspective. Ambient music is a loosely defined musical genre that incorporates elements of a number of different styles - including jazz, electronic music, new age, rock and roll, modern classical music, reggae, traditional, world and even noise. ... New Age music, is a vaguely defined style of music that is generally quite melodic and often primarily instrumental. ... Moog is usually referring to one of the following two people: Robert Moog, a pioneer of electronic music, best known as the inventor of the Moog synthesizer. ... World music is, most generally, all the music in the world. ... A percussion instrument can be any object which produces a sound by being struck with an implement, shaken, rubbed, scraped, or by any other action which sets the object into vibration. ... 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... A wind instrument is a musical instrument that contains some type of resonator (usually a tube), in which a column of air is set into vibration by the player blowing into (or over) a mouthpiece set at the end of the resonator. ... A string instrument (or stringed instrument) is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. ...

Popul Vuh influenced many other bands from Europe with their uniquely soft but elaborate instrumentations, that took inspiration from Tibet, Africa, and Pre-Colombian America. They created dream-like soundscapes along with psychedelic walls of sound, and are regarded as precursors of contemporary world music, as well of new age music and ambient music. World map showing Europe A satellite composite image of Europe Europe is one of the seven traditional continents of the Earth. ... Tibet is a region of China, culturally very distinct from the rest of China. ... Africa is a continent with a wide range of ethnic, cultural and linguistic diversity. ... The term Pre-Columbian is used to refer to the cultures of the New World in the era before significant European influence. ... World music is, most generally, all the music in the world. ...

The band contributed soundtracks to the films of Werner Herzog, including Nosferatu, Aguirre: The Wrath of God, Fitzcarraldo, and The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser, in which Fricke appeared. Werner Herzog passionately singing a traditional Croatian ode of love to beautiful Serbian girls who he wants to take to Germany to have German babies with. ... German film written and directed by Werner Herzog. ... // For other meanings, see Fitzcarraldo (disambiguation). ... DVD cover for The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser (original title : Jeder für sich und Gott gegen alle - Every man for himself and God against all) is a 1974 German film written and directed by Werner Herzog revisiting the legend of Kaspar Hauser. ...

Florian Fricke died in Munich on December 29, 2001, and the group disbanded. 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Quotes

In October 2003 Klaus Schulze wrote: Klaus Schulze is a German electronic art music composer and musician. ...

"Florian was and remains to be an important forerunner of contemporary ethnic and religious music. He chose electronic music and his big Moog to free himself from the restraints of traditional music, but soon discovered that he didn't get a lot out of it and opted for the acoustic path instead. Here, he went on to create a new world, which Werner Herzog loves so much, transforming the thought patterns of electronic music into the language of acoustic ethno music."^[2]

Moog is usually referring to one of the following two people: Robert Moog, a pioneer of electronic music, best known as the inventor of the Moog synthesizer. ... Werner Herzog passionately singing a traditional Croatian ode of love to beautiful Serbian girls who he wants to take to Germany to have German babies with. ...

Discography

• Affenstunde (1970)
• In Den Gärten Pharaos (1971)
• Hosianna Mantra (1972)
• Seligpreisung (1973)
• Einsjager & Siebenjager (1975)
• Das Hohelied Salomos (1975)
• Aguirre (1975)
• Letzte Tage - Letzte Nächte (1976)
• Yoga (1976)
• Singet, Denn Der Gesang Vertreibt Die Wolfe - Coeur De Verre (1977)
• Brüder des Schattens, Söhne des Lichts - Nosferatu (1978)
• Die Nacht Der Seele - Tantric Songs (1979)
• Sei Still, Wisse Ich Bin (1981)
• Fitzcarraldo (1982)
• Agape Agape - Love Love (1983)
• Spirit Of Peace (1985)
• Cobra Verde (1987)
• For You and Me (1991)
• City Raga (1994)
• Shepherd's Symphony (1997)
• Messa di Orfeo (1999)

Compilations:

• In The Gardens of Pharao / Aguirre (1983)
• Florian Fricke (1991)
• The Best Soundtracks From Werner Herzog Films (1991)
• Florian Fricke Plays Mozart (1992)
• Sing, For Song Drives Away The Wolves (1993)
• Movie Music (1994)
• Nicht Hoch Im Himmel (1998)
• Future Sound Experience (2002)
• 70's Progressives (2006)

External links

• http://www.venco.com.pl/~acrux/discogr.htm (Definitive discography - includes sound samples)
• http://www.popolvuh.it/ (Italian fansite, in Italian and English)
• http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/ultimathule/krautrockers.html#p "The Crack In The Cosmic Egg" krautrock encyclopedia P

Notes

1. ^ Michael Fuchs-Gambock, Gerhard Augustin: Booklet to CD re-issue of "Hosianna Mantra", SPV recordings, 2004
2. ^ Klaus Schulze, Oldau, October 7, 2003: Booklet to CD re-issue of "Hosianna Mantra", SPV recordings, 2004