Les rois maudits - Lancelot du lac

To mark its 200th CD album and to conclude the celebration of its 10th anniversary in 2021, Music Box Records proudly presents the fifth volume of the collection Great Television Soundtracks dedicated to two original television soundtracks composed and conducted by Georges Delerue: Les Rois maudits (The Accursed Kings, 1972) and Lancelot du Lac (Lancelot of the Lake, 1970).

Les Rois maudits is a series of historical novels written by Maurice Druon about the Valois dynasty of French kings in the 14th century. Published between 1955 and 1977, the series was adapted by Marcel Jullian and directed by Claude Barma for French television during the Christmas programs in 1972 with an impressive casting at that time. Lancelot du Lac is adapted from the novel Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart written by Chrétien de Troyes. This story is set in the 13th century, in Britain, where Lancelot, who was raised by Viviane, the Lady of the Lake, becomes one of the Knights of the Round Table and falls secretly in love with Guinevere, the wife of King Arthur, for whom he wants to accomplish many deeds.

For these two mini-series, Georges Delerue's gift for melody and enormous versatility are once again demonstrated with these stunningly colourful scores. Delerue's writing is always overflowing with melody, lyricism, heart, and a sense of wonder. For Les Rois maudits, the composer created gorgeous musical portrait in finest historical idiom. He delivered an ample and majestic main theme, evocative of an irreversible fate. Although he used period-typical instruments such as the lute, the recorder or the vielle, he created his themes in a spirit of transposition that better matched the contemporary musical language. As usual, he stayed faithful to the English horn and zither for the moments of tenderness. For Lancelot du Lac, Delerue provided colorful music for full orchestra surrounded by authentic ensemble of recorder, medieval percussion, regal fanfares, flavorful period dances. The music is rich, sadly beautiful, memorable and majestic. The composer shrouded Lancelot du Lac with a magical halo of celestial voices and used the ondes Martenot to create unsettling atmospheres. For the love theme, nothing could be more beautiful in Delerue’s eyes than his beloved zither.

Remastered from the complete master elements courtesy of Delerue's archives, this present edition features the world premiere releases of these two gorgeous television scores. The CD comes with a 12-page booklet with liner notes by Gilles Loison. The release is limited to 1000 units.

Tracklist

DISC 1

Total Time CD1 • 64:49

DISC 2

Total Time CD2 • 61:51

Total Album Time • 126:40