Enigma's "Sadeness"

[Manfred]

One of my favorite smooth-jazz radio stations, to which I listen online, frequently plays Enigma’s “Sadeness”. This never fails to get my attention, and I love the piece, because of its “sampling” of Gregorian chant, Vulgate Psalm 23, to be exact.

However, given the overall context of the song (you may be able to find it on YouTube), do you think the inclusion of the chant is in poor taste?

 

[sallybranwyn]

Why would it be in poor taste? The music combines styles from a lot of different cultures, some of which you could call pagan (Traditional celtic music), but it’s just musical stylings of those time periods. I don’t think there’s any offensive words. A lot of their stuff is very sensual, but…surely not in poor taste.

 

[St_Gabriel]

The song “Liquid” from Jars of Clay also incorporates gregorian chant. Have you ever heard it? If so, do you know what they are saying?

 

[Manfred]

Why would it be in poor taste? The music combines styles from a lot of different cultures, some of which you could call pagan (Traditional celtic music), but it’s just musical stylings of those time periods. I don’t think there’s any offensive words. A lot of their stuff is very sensual, but…surely not in poor taste.

I think the sounds of the young lady in, shall we say, a state of, uh, “ecstasy”, coupled with references to the Marquis de Sade, could raise some eye brows. Check out the lyrics at link below.

lyrics.rare-lyrics.com/E/Enigma/Sadeness.html

 

[Manfred]

The song “Liquid” from Jars of Clay also incorporates gregorian chant. Have you ever heard it? If so, do you know what they are saying?

Lyrics are here:

lyricsdownload.com/jars-of-clay-liquid-lyrics.html

I’ve never heard of the group; I’m not into “Christian rock”. Some say that U2 has a Christian bent, but I’m not a fan of them, either.

I’ll see if I can listen online to this.

 

[St_Gabriel]

Lyrics are here:

lyricsdownload.com/jars-of-clay-liquid-lyrics.html

I’ve never heard of the group; I’m not into “Christian rock”. Some say that U2 has a Christian bent, but I’m not a fan of them, either.

I’ll see if I can listen online to this.

Thanks for the English, but I was wondering about the gregorian part. Any idea?

 

[St_Gabriel]

I think the sounds of the young lady in, shall we say, a state of, uh, “ecstasy”, coupled with references to the Marquis de Sade, could raise some eye brows. Check out the lyrics at link below.

lyrics.rare-lyrics.com/E/Enigma/Sadeness.html

Ewww.

 

[Manfred]

The song “Liquid” from Jars of Clay also incorporates gregorian chant. Have you ever heard it? If so, do you know what they are saying?

I just watched the video and listened to the song at the link below; the Gregorian chant is quite minimal, compared to its presence in “Sadeness”, so I couldn’t discern just what it was from. Have you tried a Google search?

artistdirect.com/nad/window/media/page/video/0,4203828,00.html

 

[MugenOne]

If you like Enigma, you should check out Gregorian. They have couple hits like So Sad, Ave Satani, Join Me. Fans even the Church question why they revive this kindna satanic lyrics.

I think the sounds of the young lady in, shall we say, a state of, uh, “ecstasy”, coupled with references to the Marquis de Sade, could raise some eye brows. Check out the lyrics at link below.

lyrics.rare-lyrics.com/E/Enigma/Sadeness.html

 

[Manfred]

Fans even the Church question why they revive this kindna satanic lyrics.

Huh??

 

[MugenOne]

Sorry, I was talking about Ave Satani (Hail Satan). It’s their most controversial song in one of their albums.

Huh??

 

[aspbyzcath]

Cretu explained that the album was about unsolved crimes and philosophical themes such as life after death, hence the name Enigma. He had previously used a Gregorian-type chant on the opening seconds of Sandra’s 1987 single “Everlasting Love”, without integrating them into other parts of the song. “Sadeness” quickly rose to the top of the charts in Germany and France;

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enigma_(musical_project

sounds like a musical Micheal Crichton. lol

 

[Havard]

I think the lyrics are pretty questionable.

Against the backdrop of a very beautiful chant that is praising the Lord, the lead vocalist is addressing a young Marquis de Sade (en francais), questioning him about the sexual/pseudo-spiritual lifestyle which now bears his namesake. In the video, the woman was definitely succubus-like, tempting him. As we all know, the Marquis lived that lifestyle, so taken literally, there’s no happy ending there.

Metaphorically, one could interpret the song as an internal conflict within any traditional Judeo-Christian struggling with falling for a life of pursuing sensual pleasures, but at best, the song is neutral on whether one should give in to this lifestyle.

 

[aspbyzcath]

 

[Mary_Gail_36]

I think the lyrics are pretty questionable.

Against the backdrop of a very beautiful chant that is praising the Lord, the lead vocalist is addressing a young Marquis de Sade (en francais), questioning him about the sexual/pseudo-spiritual lifestyle which now bears his namesake. In the video, the woman was definitely succubus-like, tempting him. As we all know, the Marquis lived that lifestyle, so taken literally, there’s no happy ending there.

Metaphorically, one could interpret the song as an internal conflict within any traditional Judeo-Christian struggling with falling for a life of pursuing sensual pleasures, but at best, the song is neutral on whether one should give in to this lifestyle.

Thanks for the explanation.

I used to have this cassette tape that I would listen to in my car’s tape deck. I don’t speak French, so I didn’t understand the French parts. I haven’t thought about that song for I guess 19-20 years.