Wurdah itah (2020 Remastered)

Chronique

Besides possible contractual obligations, there is no obvious reason why this album was credited as a solo project by Christian Vander. By all counts it is a Magma album. Recorded for Yves Lagrange's motion picture Tristan et Iseult, this album has been referred to by this title or Wurdah Ïtah -- the actual title of this continuous 40-minute piece. Described on all LP and CD sleeves as the "second movement of 'Theusz Hamtaahk'," it is indeed an extensive reworking with much additional material. In 1974 when Wurdah Ïtah first came out, "Theusz Hamtaahk" had not yet been committed to record, although a riveting interpretation of it had been put to tape in the studios of the BBC (see BBC 1974). The first half of "Wurdah Ïtah" recycles sections of the original piece, especially its opening in "Mala Wèlekaahm" and a vocal feature for Klaus Blasquiz in "Fir di Mel Kobaïa." But the second half begins with brand new material and only occasionally drifts back to "Theusz Hamtaakh." More significant on this album is the fact that Magma has been stripped down to a quartet. Vander handles drums and acoustic piano (instead of the twin electric piano setup the group used at the time), backed by Jannick Top's thundering bass and the vocal section of Blasquiz and Stella Vander. As a result of these "chamber" arrangements, the music sounds even more Gothic and derived from Carl Orff's Carmina Burana. Not as gripping a production as Mekanik Destruktiw Kommandoh or Köhntarkösz, Wurdah Ïtah is nevertheless part of Magma's core legacy.
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