I can’t believe you played this. I have been listening to this wonderful album for 50 years. An amazing French woman who lived with my family brought this to me. You have to listen to the whole album and you are right that it recounts a year “ en cinq saisons”. A great group, free, mélancolie. Floating on the edge of the sea. Part of my life…
Nice to see that you enjoyed my request - mostly I'm just happy for more people to hear it. As others have mentioned this track represents the "fifth season" on a concept album, but I'd never really thought of the song itself as a microcosm of the album encompassing all of the existing seasons and a bit more.
All the band members could play multiple instruments and could perform these pieces live. Serge Fiori alone played thirteen instruments. If I were asked to name a classical composer with a similar approach it would be Arnold Bax. Maybe a bit of Ralph Vaughan Williams or even Olivier Messiaen. In 2020 Simon Leclerc rescored all three Harmonium albums for orchestra and recorded it with the Montreal Symphony. Fiori was delighted with this reinterpretation. Another French Canadian progrock band of the time was not from Quebec, but from Northern Ontario (that part of Ontario has many French speakers, and its own brand of French Canadian culture). They were called CANO (in caps). Their album "Au Nord de Notre Vie" deserves your attention. The leader of the band and principal songwriter, Andre Paiement, also wrote plays of astounding originality, and his sister Rachelle did superb vocals. They too were multi-instrumentalists.
One of the best albums to ever come out of Québec. It’s just a shame that most people can’t experience it to the fullest due to the language barrier… So glad to see you react to this and truly surprised to say the least!
The album is a concept album - what if there was a fifth season? The five movements are the 5 tracks of the Album each depicting a different season and the last and fifth season is this wordless epic composition that takes and unites the musical themes from the other four seasons. Vert (Spring) Dixie (Summer) Depuis l'automne (Fall) En pleine face (Winter) Histoires sans paroles (The fifth season) It was a very important and cultural album in Quebec during the 70s
Wow, what a pleasant surprise! This is a French Canadian classic from Québec, a timeless piece of progressive folk surprisingly well produced for the times (1975). Although there are French vocals on other tracks, you don't really need to understand them to feel the magic and the mood of the album - the dreamy, pastoral artwork perfectly illustrates that mood. Btw, not a single drum is being used on the entire album. Thanks for uploading this one, Bryan! 👍 (I hope I've spelled your name right...😚)
It sounds as fresh today as it did the first time I heard it in the 70’s. I like your analysis and connecting the song with life. Listening to it as a teen to now in my sixties, the song still has the same organic feel. I don’t have a music background. I’m a visual artist. The cover analysis was excellent. The 70’s to most in North America was connecting to the natural world and the supernatural perhaps. These are my thoughts. Harmonium is a Canadian treasure in our family. Thanks for sharing your analysis.
Yep, this was a gorgeous dynamic and organic prog track! I'm pretty sure that "harp" was strummed piano strings. The warbliness to that string tone was, you could say, in a manner caused by recording tape since it's mellotron. The sound originates from recordings on magnetic tape with one tape loop for every key on the keyboard. The first sampler instrument I guess 😊 The unique and exciting thing with the sound is that kinda unpredictable sound due to the unstable speed (and/or read) of the tape loops. Makes it so organic for an electric keyboard (the Hammond organ being in the same vein for different reasons). Mellotron is probably the "proggiest" of instruments when it comes to vintage style prog. Great reaction and analysis indeed!
Once again this reminds me I need to check out more Harmonium, every time I've listened to something from them, it's always been so good but I never check more than like 2 or 3 other songs, I don't know why. The live version of "Le Premier Ciel" (The First Sky) instantly became one of my favourite prog tracks, if not my favourite.
Lovely track. Surprised I've never heard of them before given my love of classic prog rock, but I guess there were quite a few foreign prog bands that flew under the radar. Definitely interested in hearing more from them, though.
I can’t believe you played this. I have been listening to this wonderful album for 50 years. An amazing French woman who lived with my family brought this to me. You have to listen to the whole album and you are right that it recounts a year “ en cinq saisons”. A great group, free, mélancolie. Floating on the edge of the sea. Part of my life…
The flute melody that bookends the song is one of the most gorgeous things I've ever heard.
Nice to see that you enjoyed my request - mostly I'm just happy for more people to hear it. As others have mentioned this track represents the "fifth season" on a concept album, but I'd never really thought of the song itself as a microcosm of the album encompassing all of the existing seasons and a bit more.
All the band members could play multiple instruments and could perform these pieces live. Serge Fiori alone played thirteen instruments. If I were asked to name a classical composer with a similar approach it would be Arnold Bax. Maybe a bit of Ralph Vaughan Williams or even Olivier Messiaen. In 2020 Simon Leclerc rescored all three Harmonium albums for orchestra and recorded it with the Montreal Symphony. Fiori was delighted with this reinterpretation.
Another French Canadian progrock band of the time was not from Quebec, but from Northern Ontario (that part of Ontario has many French speakers, and its own brand of French Canadian culture). They were called CANO (in caps). Their album "Au Nord de Notre Vie" deserves your attention. The leader of the band and principal songwriter, Andre Paiement, also wrote plays of astounding originality, and his sister Rachelle did superb vocals. They too were multi-instrumentalists.
One of the best albums to ever come out of Québec. It’s just a shame that most people can’t experience it to the fullest due to the language barrier…
So glad to see you react to this and truly surprised to say the least!
The album is a concept album - what if there was a fifth season?
The five movements are the 5 tracks of the Album each depicting a different season and the last and fifth season is this wordless epic composition that takes and unites the musical themes from the other four seasons.
Vert (Spring)
Dixie (Summer)
Depuis l'automne (Fall)
En pleine face (Winter)
Histoires sans paroles (The fifth season)
It was a very important and cultural album in Quebec during the 70s
Wow, what a pleasant surprise! This is a French Canadian classic from Québec, a timeless piece of progressive folk surprisingly well produced for the times (1975). Although there are French vocals on other tracks, you don't really need to understand them to feel the magic and the mood of the album - the dreamy, pastoral artwork perfectly illustrates that mood. Btw, not a single drum is being used on the entire album. Thanks for uploading this one, Bryan! 👍 (I hope I've spelled your name right...😚)
It sounds as fresh today as it did the first time I heard it in the 70’s. I like your analysis and connecting the song with life. Listening to it as a teen to now in my sixties, the song still has the same organic feel. I don’t have a music background. I’m a visual artist. The cover analysis was excellent. The 70’s to most in North America was connecting to the natural world and the supernatural perhaps. These are my thoughts. Harmonium is a Canadian treasure in our family. Thanks for sharing your analysis.
Yep, this was a gorgeous dynamic and organic prog track!
I'm pretty sure that "harp" was strummed piano strings. The warbliness to that string tone was, you could say, in a manner caused by recording tape since it's mellotron. The sound originates from recordings on magnetic tape with one tape loop for every key on the keyboard. The first sampler instrument I guess 😊 The unique and exciting thing with the sound is that kinda unpredictable sound due to the unstable speed (and/or read) of the tape loops. Makes it so organic for an electric keyboard (the Hammond organ being in the same vein for different reasons). Mellotron is probably the "proggiest" of instruments when it comes to vintage style prog.
Great reaction and analysis indeed!
Merci!!!!!!!! Gracias de faire connaître le groupe harmonium, the best band musicalement ,for the rock progressif french in the world ❤❤
This intro is something special that touches your heart.
Once again this reminds me I need to check out more Harmonium, every time I've listened to something from them, it's always been so good but I never check more than like 2 or 3 other songs, I don't know why. The live version of "Le Premier Ciel" (The First Sky) instantly became one of my favourite prog tracks, if not my favourite.
“Le premier ciel” live is simply “magnifique”.
Something magical seems to happen every time this heavenly music plays...
Reminds me of Anthony Phillips: The Geese and the Ghost
Lovely track. Surprised I've never heard of them before given my love of classic prog rock, but I guess there were quite a few foreign prog bands that flew under the radar. Definitely interested in hearing more from them, though.
this album are list 36 best prog album of all time
Loved this!
Not gonna spoil who's covering a Simon & Garfunkel song? You kinda did 😉