Sopor Aeternus & the Ensemble of Shadows is a darkwave musical project based in Frankfurt, founded in 1989 by Anna-Varney Cantodea. Anna-Varney's work is extremely personalized, melancholic and pessimistic, drawing on a number of different musical and visual styles, and has garnered a cult following.
"...Ich töte mich jedesmal aufs Neue, doch ich bin unsterblich, und ich erstehe wieder auf; in einer Vision des Untergangs..." is the debut album by darkwave band Sopor Aeternus & the Ensemble of Shadows, and was released in 1994. The original pressing had no title, though the "...Ich töte mich..." line was printed in blackletter on the back cover; later editions identified the printed sentence as the official title. Originally released as a limited edition of 1,000, the album has been re-released at least three times.
Todeswunsch - Sous le soleil de Saturne is the second album by darkwave band Sopor Aeternus & the Ensemble of Shadows and was released in 1995. Todeswunsch saw a fundamental change in sound, abandoning the heavily synthesized darkwave music for a sound akin to the Renaissance and neo-Medieval music. A limited pressing of 3,000 CDs was initially available, and the album has been re-released at least three times. An accompanying EP, Ehjeh Ascher Ehjeh, was released later that year.
Ehjeh Ascher Ehjeh is the first EP by Sopor Aeternus & the Ensemble of Shadows, and was released in 1995 as a companion to the album Todeswunsch - Sous le soleil de Saturne. Only 3,000 copies were pressed. The title of the EP is the response God gave to Moses when He was asked for His name, as seen in the Bible The cover painting is a detail of Saint Jerome Writing by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio.
The inexperienced Spiral Traveller is the third album by darkwave band Sopor Aeternus & the Ensemble of Shadows, and was released in 1997. The inexperienced Spiral Traveller continued the Renaissance- and Baroque-inspired sound of "Todeswunsch - Sous le soleil de Saturne", but with tighter arrangements and the re-introduction of drum machines. A limited edition of 3,000 copies was initially available alongside the regular edition, and the album has been re-issued at least twice since.
Voyager: The Jugglers of Jusa is the first remix album by darkwave band Sopor Aeternus & the Ensemble of Shadows, and was released in 1997. It was released as a companion to The inexperienced Spiral Traveller , also released that year, and primarily features alternate versions of songs from that album. Only 3,000 copies of the album were pressed.
Dead Lovers' Sarabande is the fourth album by darkwave band Sopor Aeternus & the Ensemble of Shadows, and was released in 1999. It is the first concept album by the band, and the first of a two-album suite detailing the mourning of a lover who has recently passed. (Face One) was also the first Sopor Aeternus album to be released in multiple formats, including a double vinyl edition and an A5-sized boxed set edition; both were limited pressings, of 500 and 3,000 copies, respectively. It was also the first to be promoted with an accompanying video.
Dead Lovers' Sarabande is the fifth album by darkwave band Sopor Aeternus & the Ensemble of Shadows, and was released in 1999. It is the second of a two-album suite detailing the mourning of a lover who has recently passed. Like Face One, Face Two was also released in multiple formats, including a double vinyl edition and an A5-sized boxed set edition; both were limited pressings, of 500 and 3,000 copies, respectively.
Songs from the Inverted Womb is the sixth album of darkwave band Sopor Aeternus & the Ensemble of Shadows, released in 2000. The album is dedicated to the "memory and resurrection" of Little Seven, a boy who died "at the age of six". A double vinyl edition and a CD boxed set were also released in limited quantities of 666 and 3,000 copies, respectively.
"Flowers in Formaldehyde" is the second EP by darkwave band Sopor Aeternus & the Ensemble of Shadows, and was released in 2004 as a companion to the album La Chambre D'Echo - Where the Dead Birds sing. Only 2,000 CDs and 700 LPs were pressed.
La Chambre d'Echo – Where the Dead Birds Sing is the eighth album by darkwave band Sopor Aeternus & the Ensemble of Shadows, and was released in 2004. La Chambre d'Echo saw the return of synthesizers and drum machines, while still focusing on chamber music-inspired darkwave music. John A. Rivers returned to produce the album alongside Anna-Varney Cantodea. An accompanying EP, Flowers in Formaldehyde, was released later that year. The album was introduced and promoted via a promotional video.
Like a Corpse Standing in Desperation is the title of a career-spanning rarities box set by darkwave band Sopor Aeternus & the Ensemble of Shadows that was released in 2005. The recordings span fifteen years of "original demos, rarities & documented failures." Re-issued for the first time are the out-of-print EP Ehjeh Ascher Ehjeh and remix album Voyager - The Jugglers of Jusa, along with the never before heard demo tape Es reiten die Toten so schnell... and the extensively bootlegged Flowers in Formaldehyde.
Es reiten die Toten so schnell... is the first demo tape by darkwave band Sopor Aeternus & the Ensemble of Shadows'. Es reiten... was issued in a hand-numbered limited edition of 50 copies in 1989. A further two demo tapes, Rufus and Till Time and Times Are Done, have not yet been released in any format. All three have been referred to as the "Undead-Trilogy".
Les Fleurs du Mal – Die Blumen des Bösen is the ninth album by darkwave band Sopor Aeternus & the Ensemble of Shadows, and was released in 2007. Anna-Varney Cantodea has explained that the title is not a reference to Charles Baudelaire's 1857 collection of poetry of the same name, but that "it is related to Jean Genet's novel Notre Dame des Fleurs." A double vinyl edition and a CD boxed set were also released in limited quantities of 900 and 2,000 copies, respectively. The limited-edition pressings included a 40-page booklet of lyrics and illustrations, as well as a 112-page manga about the album.
A Strange Thing to Say is the third EP by Sopor Aeternus & the Ensemble of Shadows and is the first part of the trilogy A Triptychon of GHOSTS , which includes album Have You Seen This Ghost? and EP Children of the Corn. This is the first Sopor release since 2003's Es reiten die Toten so Schnell to not be produced by John A. Rivers. Instead, Patrick Damiani of the band Rome has co-produced the record.
Have You Seen This Ghost? is the tenth official studio album from Sopor Aeternus & the Ensemble of Shadows and the second part of the trilogy A Triptychon of GHOSTS , which includes the EPs A Strange Thing to Say and Children of the Corn.
Children of the Corn is the fourth EP from Sopor Æternus & the Ensemble of Shadows and the third and final part of the trilogy A Triptychon of GHOSTS , following EP A Strange Thing to Say and album Have You Seen This Ghost?.
Poetica is the eleventh album by Sopor Æternus & the Ensemble of Shadows. The album consists of musical adaptations of Poe's poems, some of them already made by Cantodea in previous albums: "Dreamland" is found on Todeswunsch under the title of "Die Bruderschaft des Schmerzes"; "Alone" on Voyager: The Jugglers of Jusa; "The Sleeper" on Dead Lovers' Sarabande ; and "The Conqueror Worm" on Flowers in Formaldehyde. However, all the musical arrangements were redone in the new versions.
Mitternacht - The Dark Night of the Soul is the 12th album by Sopor Aeternus & the Ensemble of Shadows. The album was released in September 2014 in two different formats: in compact disc format with 36-page hardcover book, and an exclusive T-shirt ; and on 12" vinyl with a 28-page booklet in 12" format and two posters. Both editions are signed and numbered by Anna-Varney Cantodea herself and feature illustrations by Anastasiya Chyringa, a fan whose artwork Anna-Varney encountered on Tumblr.
The Spiral Sacrifice is the 13th album by Sopor Æternus & the Ensemble of Shadows. The album was released on February 8, 2018 on four different formats: on compact disc format with 128-page hardcover book ; on 3x12" black vinyl with an additional booklet ; on two tape versions wax-sealed, signed and hand-packaged by Anna Varney herself; and on a limited Supporter's Box edition including the compact disc version format, 3x12" pink vinyl, an extra 7" vinyl with two chamber music-like dark ambient mixes, a fold-out poster, a hand-numbered certificate of authenticity and a T-shirt. The Supporter's Box was initially intended to be limited to 500 copies, although Anna has since stated on her official Facebook page that only 485 were actually produced.
