#ogive

Satie - Ogives (1889)

Monday afternoons I work the lunch shift. I take mini-breaks when I can between taking orders and putting plates together. So I’m chatting with friends on discord, and one of them drops the news: Notre-Dame is burning. That afternoon I was filling with dread, sneaking another peak at the development, wishing and praying that the church would be saved. Every few minutes, it seemed to be getting worse and worse. The roof was being lost. The spire caught flame. And there was talk of the possible collapse of the bells that could bring the towers down as well. Now that the fire is out, I’m relieved to see that, as extensive as the damage was, it was nowhere near as bas as I was afraid it would have been. But in the fear of those hours and reading news stories about heartbroken people around the world, especially French people, and the people of Paris, I couldn’t help but think of the opening to Victor Hugo’s Hunchback of Notre-Dame. The preface of the book tells us that the author had been rummaging around the bell towers and found the Greek word for Ananke, a personification of fate, inevitability. It seemed to have been carved in there by someone in the Middle Ages. But at some point afterward, the cathedral was renovated and that word was erased from the wall. Hugo uses this section to meditate on the possible motivation for the nameless person of generations ago putting that word as their only mark on history, and then on the sadness of that word being erased along with him. He ends the passage suggesting that maybe some day the church itself will vanish. I still cannot stop thinking about this brief passage, and how heavy the sentiment is. Had the worst happened, and Notre-Dame were to completely have burned down, one of the great monuments from the middle ages, the most iconic church, full of art, a masterpiece of architecture, would have been gone off of the face of the earth forever. Even something that we think of as timeless, like that specific cathedral, can be taken away at any moment. It is only inevitable. Ananke. While these piano pieces by Satie have nothing to do with Hugo’s novel, they were inspired by the architecture of Notre-Dame cathedral, specifically the pointed arch windows. These are short works, stoic, and they combine plain-chant like phrases with louder chorale passages. They’re brief meditations on what it feels like to experience being inside one of the great old cathedrals, to feel the heaviness of the stillness and tradition, and feel a connection with God. And if not God, at least an acknowledgment that you are in a space that is part of something greater and older than you. The music here also tries to recreate the echo that the church organ causes. And the score lacks bar lines, which can help the performer get into a trance-like flow, letting the music happen without strict attention to rhythm and counting.

Various ‎– Synthétique: A Compilation Of French Synthwave 1982-2016 

Label: Peripheral Minimal ‎– PM19 Format: CD, Album, Compilation, Limited Edition Country: UK & Europe Released: 10 Jan 2017 Style: Synthwave, Synth-pop, Minimal, New Wave

'Synthetiqué: A French Synthwave Compilation 1982-2016'.

Almost a year in the making, with tracks having been mislaid or buried underneath piles of original demos, then reconstructed and remastered! This compilation aims to highlight the core elements of French Synth-Pop from it's earliest incarnation to newer acts influenced by the earlier protagonists distinctive sounds and retro imagery. There will be many a familiar name here, and perhaps a few unknowns. It is not an exhaustive list of the acts associated with this particular 'scene', but a tribute to the idiosyncrasy and diversity of French analogue music.

Many of the tracks are completely unreleased or are early demos. For the aficionado we hope this fulfils a rediscovery of old classics or to the late-comer a decent collection of tracks that serve as an introduction to the uniqueness of French Synth music and the burgeoning new scene.

Conceived and curated by Jason B Bernard. The album comes in a luxurious digipak and is limited to 500 copies. A big thank you to all the acts involved!

1.PHILIPPE LAURENT Rapide 2 (1982) 03:24 2.ART & TECHNIQUE Lovers (1983) 05:31 3.NO UNAUTHORIZED Crocodile (1984) 05:09 4.END OF DATA Breathless (1984) 03:10 5.X-RAY POP La Machine À Rêver (1984) 02:18 6.ATOM CRISTAL Con Palabras (1985) 02:38 7.ADN' CKRYSTALL Bubbles Of Memories (1992) 04:01 8.LOVE IN CAGE Position (2011) 03:37 9.GUERRE FROIDE Aliénés (2014) 04:41 10.PEINE PERDUE Fausse Compagnie (2014) 03:25 11.DÉFICIT BUDGÉTAIRE Sortie De Route (2015) 04:14 12.- OGIVE - Visée (2015) 04:01 13.MAD MASKS Insidiae (2016) 05:35 14.PHILIPPE LAURENT Exposition 7 (2016) 04:37

Buy: http://www.gh-records.com/1667-synthetique-a-compilation-of-french-synthwave-1982-2016-.html

Payment methods: PayPal Pay by bankwire Pay whith cash on delivery (COD)

Porte latérale gauche de la Cathédrale Saint-Caprais d'Agen.

Vu à Saint-Maurin, un petit village du Lot-et-Garonne.