Freedom to Music
Posts tagged Offering
Offering – A Fiieh (1993) (@256)
28 Nov 2009
(Review from gnosis2000.net, progarchives.com)
The third and most recent Offering album appeared in 1993, with a larger line-up than the previous offerings. The usual group is augmented by four other percussionists, four vocalists, and one more keyboardist.
“A Fiieh” may have more focus than the previous two albums in this vein, but the style here is decidedly more minimalist, darker, and even more symphonic (“Cosmos”).
The opener, “Hymne Kobaien”, is a somber yet delicate synth/organ largo which almost feels like an homage or benediction. It should be noted that Vander doesn’t step behind the drum kit at all on this Offering, but rather forfeits that role to Marc Delouya on the two of seven tracks that contain vocals.
The exception, however, is also the longest track on the album, “Purificatem”. This one is a long, jazzy, drone that noodles around too much without really going anywhere. This track is much more at home with the first two Offering albums.
Line-up:
- Christian Vander / keyboards, piano, glockenspiel, vocals, percussion
- Stella Vander / vocals
- Isabelle Feullebois / vocals
- Emmanuel Borghi / piano (2,3)
- Pierre Michel Sivadier / keyboards
- Pierre Marcault / percussion (2,3)
- Marc Delouya / percussion (2,3), drums (6,7)
- Jean-Claude Buire / percussion (2,3)
- Julie Vander / vocals (4)
- Benedicte Ragu / vocals (4)
- Addie Deat / vocals (4)
- Jean Christophe Gamet / vocals (4)
- Philippe Dardelle / contrabass (4,6,7)
- Ogun / percussion (6,7)
Track List:
01. Hymne Kobaien (Variation Improvisee) – 4:30
02. Cosmos – 5:20
03. A Fiieh – 10:26
04. La Marche Celeste – 5:30
05. Magnifi – 3:43
06. Purificatem (Accord Des Instruments) – 4:17
07. Purificatem – 26:22
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Offering – Offering Part III-IV (1990) (@256)
27 Nov 2009
(Review from gnosis2000.net, progarchives.com)
Although this was released 4 years after the first Offering album, this Offering picks up right where that one left off, and is in many ways not much different at all.
Only three tracks here, the dominant one being the 44-minute “Another Day”. This is a song that was under development for quite some time — there are bootlegs way back from 1982 with a more concise 25 minute version of “Another Day”. It’s hard to swallow the start/ending theme. Once you get use to it, the song is genoius and funky in parts with some fine moments. The jazz element is stronger here, with Philippe Dardelle and Emmanuel Borghi performing on bass and piano.
After the glorious finale of “Another Day” we get a beautiful ballad in the same style as Lihns and La Dawotsin called “Eihn Deiss”.
The short reprise of the Offering theme closes the four editions of work.
Line-up:
- Christian Vander / vocals, drums, percussion, piano, flutes
- Stella Vander / vocals, percussion
- Guy Khalifa / vocals, flute
- Isabelle Feuillebois / vocals
- Emmanuel Borghi / piano on (1)
- Phillipe Dardelle / contra-bass on (1)
- Jean Claude Buire / drums on (1)
- Pierre Michel Sivadier / keyboards on (1)
- Alex Ferrand / vocals on (2)
- Simon Goubert / vocals, electric piano on (2)
- Pierre Marcault / percussion on (2)
- Frederic Briet / contra-bass on (2)
Track List:
01. Another Day – 44:07
02. Ehn Deiss – 5:10
03. Offering (2) – 2:07
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Offering – Paris Theatre Dejazet (Live 1987) (@256)
26 Nov 2009
(Review from allmusic)
Culled from a ten-day residency at the Theatre Dejazet in May 1987, the two-CD set presents a whopping 153 minutes of music. Vander’s interests at the time were split between Magma-derived vocal pieces and ecstatic, jazzy jams inspired by John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme. Vander sings lead on many tracks, front stage, sitting down at the drums only for brief moments.
The album begins with a recording of Wagner’s “Lohengrin” overture relayed over the PA — an eight minutes to set the mood. Then the full group explodes into a rendition of Coltrane’s “Ole”, pushing Stella Vander to the front. This is followed by a sequence of soft pieces using smaller configurations. Of those, “A Fiieh” and the Vander duet “Les Cygnes” stand out. Vocalist Guy Khalifa delivers a very conservative rendition of the jazz standard “Lush Life.” Disc one closes on a 22 minute rendition of “Joia”, swinging tone poem featuring Christian scatting in Kobaian.
The second disc begins with the 47-minute “Another Day,” a long, excited rambling derived from “A Love Supreme” with endless vocal solos and a nice piano solo spot for Simon Goubert. If that wasn’t enough, “master percussionist” Pierre Marcault leads the whole group into an extended tribal jam before Christian Vander moves to his drums for a 15-minute solo. By the closing Pharoah Sanders tune, the listener is as exhausted as the musicians.
Line-up:
- Emmanuel Borghi / percussion, piano
- Simon Goubert / keyboards, electric piano, background vocals
- Jean-Marc Jafet / percussion, (electric) bass
- Guy Khalifa / flute, vocals, background vocals
- Pierre Marcault / percussion
- Christian Vander / piano, drums, tambourine, vocals, flute (wood)
- Stella Vander / percussion, keyboards, vocals, background vocals
Track List:
01. Lohengrin – Prelude – 8:25
02. Ole – 5:30
03. Cosmos – 2:15
04. A Fiieh – 8:40
05. Les Anges – 11:30
06. Les Cygnes – 5:18
07. Solitude – 4:05
08. La Nuit Du Chasseur – 1:46
09. Les Vagues – 2:18
10. Lush Life – 5:01
11. Joia – 22:21
12. Another Day – 47:20
13. Anta – 7:44
14. Chorus De Batterie-Introduction A You’ve Got To Have Freedom – 14:26
15. You’ve Got To Have Freedom – 5:56
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Offering – Offering Part I-II (1986) (@256)
25 Nov 2009
(Review from progarchives.com, progreviews.com)
Offering came to the world as one of Christian Vander’s post Magma projects, functioning throughout the later half of the 80s up till the early 90s Offering ventures into territory where only Magma’s ‘Merci’ dared the tread. While the 70s Magma revolved around a more classical interpretation, Offering shows Vander’s fascination with Coltrane’s acoustic inspired Jazz blossom into full realization. It takes a step aside from Magma’s tight formulas, introducing compositions of a much looser, improvisational design.
The first four editions of Offering’s work, captured across two double-album length CDs, are dedicated to Vander’s obsession, John Coltrane. Largely setting aside his drums, on the Offering albums Vander primarily takes up vocal experimentation duties alongside Stella Vander, these being a progression of the soul-scat style he was playing around with in Magma’s early 80s recordings. This vocal style, combined with the lengthiness of some tracks, is most likely to be the biggest obstacle for appreciating the contents of these discs. For many people these will prove to be simply too much to be able to take.
The title-track prologue is clearly styled upon Coltrane, with the distinctive, ‘wave’ of sustained chords that marked his music, and Stella’s voice evoking the free yet melodic quality of his saxophone. The prologue segues into “Earth,” which musically recalls Attahk in its buzzy bass grooves.
“C’Est pour Nous” is one of the stronger pieces and recalls “Üdü Wüdü” with a vivacious, Latino backdrop and playful vocal dancing between the Vanders. The short but sweet “Tďlďm M’Dohm”, with Stella doubling a beautiful piano melody, is another highlight.
At the end of the day? Likely to be appreciated exclusively by the hardest of hardcore constituents of Magma fandom.
Line-up:
- Christian Vander / lead vocals, piano, Rhodes, drums, bells
- Stella Vander / lead vocals, maracas & bells
- Guy Khalifa / vocals, flute, Rhodes, piano
- Simon Goubert / Rhodes & piano
- Pierre Marcault / percussion
- J.Marc Jafet / bass (2)
- Marc Delouya / drums (2)
- C.Martinez / trumpet
- J.Bolognesi / trombone
Track List:
01. Offering (1) – 7:56
02. Earth – 10:32
03. Joia – 17:56
04. C’est Pour Nous – 8:08
05. Love in the Darkness – 10:35
06. Tilim M’Dohm – 2:37
07. Mazur Kujiawiaki Oberek (Triptyque) – 4:59
08. Solitude – 4:07
09. Uguma Ma Melimeh Gingeh – 3:45
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