June 16, 2011

Tangerine Dream - Live at Conventry Cathedral (1975)



In December 1974 Tangerine Dream were invited to play in the grand setting of Rheims Cathedral, a move certainly seen at the time as groundbreaking. Because of this, they were then invited to perform in the cathedrals of York, Liverpool and Coventry. The tour attracted unprecedented coverage in the media, especially at Coventry Cathedral, an iconic building rising like a Phoenix on the ruins of the old cathedral bombed to bits by the Germans in 1940 (Tangerine Dream is, after all, a German band) as a celebration of peace and reconciliation, as well as a lasting showcase for great contemporary art. The nave is dominated by a gigantic tapestry by Graham Sutherland, the main door dwarfed by a scuplture of St Michael and The Devil by Jacob Epstein, and the consecration in 1962 heard the first performance of Britten's incomparable 'War Requiem. To their lasting credit, Tangerine Dream contributed to this celebration.

This film released 2007 for the first time on DVD will be welcomed by the massive Tangerine Dream fan base, and also seen for what it is - a meeting of cultures and for a brief moment in time, a time where the past met both the present and the future.

Film Director – Tony Palmer
Performer – Christopher Franke, Edgar Froese, Peter Baumann


Part 1

Part 2