Sopor Aeternus &Amp; The Ensemble Of Shadows

Sopor Aeternus & The Ensemble of Shadows (Latin: sopor aeternus "eternal sleep," "sleep of death"), often simply referred to as Sopor Aeternus, is a music project founded in 1989 by the singer Anna-Varney Cantodea (Latin: cantare "to sing" and dea "goddess"). In addition to instrumental and vocal music, Sopor Aeternus also produces photographs, choreographies, and other artworks. Anna-Varney Cantodea (*1952) largely avoids public attention, so little is known about her. She grew up as a boy and now identifies as a transgender woman, appearing in nude photographs with female genitalia digitally added. Cantodea founded the project Sopor Aeternus in Frankfurt in 1989, which initially faced significant financial difficulties.

Theoretical Background
Cantodea aims to achieve a process of self-therapy and artistic self-exploration with Sopor Aeternus. Her goal is enlightenment or the ultimate escape from the cycle of life, death, and rebirth, in which she believes. Her primary motivation arises from pain and suffering, which, for her, seem to necessitate expression. She seeks to depict sincerity and truthfulness in this exploration.

Sopor Aeternus thus aligns philosophically with the ideas of Arthur Schopenhauer (subjective pessimism), which similarly aim for a form of salvation. Musically, Cantodea seeks to follow the ideas of Richard Wagner. Above all, she perceives a connection between herself and Wagner through the ideal of a Gesamtkunstwerk, a total work of art, achieved through mutual references within the art. She envisions an equivalence of text, music, and visuals, which should form an inseparable unity.

In an interview, Cantodea explained her working method: while she does not always begin with the same aspect of a song, she usually starts with the title and believes in a hidden connection between text and music. She feels these are interrelated, allowing her to use only certain instruments to remain authentic.

Individual releases, or groups of releases, are thematically self-contained (for example, Ich töte mich... is generally seen as a precursor to Es reiten die Toten so schnell), but they also contain cross-references to other works.

Until 2013, Cantodea gave only written interviews, stating that she derived new perspectives on her own work from the questions posed. On 28 September 2013, the first audio interview in the band's history was published. At no point is there any emphasis on ensuring correct reception. According to Cantodea, Sopor Aeternus releases their work solely to share the insights gained from this process.

Studio albums
Ich töte mich...(1994)
Todeswunsch (1995)
The Inexperienced Spiral Traveller (1997)
Dead Lovers' Sarabande (Face One) (1999)
Dead Lovers' Sarabande (Face Two) (1999)
Songs from the Inverted Womb (2000)
Es reiten die Toten so schnell (2003)
La Chambre d'Echo (2004)
Les Fleurs du Mal (2007)
A Triptychon of Ghosts (Part Two) - Have You Seen This Ghost? (2011)
Poetica - All Beauty Sleeps (2013)
Mitternacht (2014)
The Spiral Sacrifice (2018)
Death & Flamingos (2019)
Island of the Dead (2020)
Alone At Sam's - An Evening With... (2023)