Blessed are — Popol Vuh refine their spiritual sound. Seligpreisung is Popol Vuh’s fourth album, the beautiful follow-up to their masterpiece Hosianna Mantra, and a refinement of the serene, acoustic, spiritual music Florian Fricke had turned to.

The short version

The fourth album by Popol Vuh, released in 1973; a continuous, roughly thirty-minute song-cycle of serene, acoustic, spiritual music. It follows their masterpiece Hosianna Mantra and takes its title and words from the Beatitudes, the blessings of the Sermon on the Mount. Two things set it apart: the ethereal singer Djong Yun is largely absent, with Florian Fricke himself singing throughout, and the arrival of guitarist and drummer Daniel Fichelscher, who would become Fricke’s most important collaborator. Warmer and gentler than its predecessor, it is for many an essential, luminous Popol Vuh record.

Blessed are

After the great turning point of Hosianna Mantra, where Florian Fricke abandoned the Moog for acoustic, sacred music, Seligpreisung continues and refines that path. Its title is the German word for the Beatitudes, and its words are adapted by Fricke from the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew, unfolding as a single, flowing act of quiet devotion. Two changes shape the album. The Korean soprano Djong Yun, so central to Hosianna Mantra, appears only on a bonus track, and Fricke instead sings the vocals himself, in a warm, gentle voice. And a crucial new figure arrives: Daniel Fichelscher, formerly of Amon Düül II, who plays both guitar and drums and would become Fricke’s closest musical partner for years to come. Guitarist Conny Veit remains, now as a guest.

The sound

Serene, meditative, spiritual music, warmer and a touch more rhythmic than Hosianna Mantra. At its heart are Florian Fricke’s gentle piano and harpsichord and his own soft, reflective vocals, wrapped in the calm textures of Conny Veit’s guitar, Robert Eliscu’s oboe and the soft drone of tambura. What is new is the presence of Daniel Fichelscher, whose guitar and, especially, his drums and congas bring a gently pulsing, propulsive energy that points toward the band’s future, mixed in among the more static, contemplative passages inherited from Hosianna Mantra. The result is cosmic and ethereal but also melodic and flowing, calm and soft without ever being shallow, and a little less severe than the album before it. It is deeply peaceful music, meant for contemplation, yet quietly alive with movement.

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The songs

The album plays as one continuous, thirty-minute sequence, its pieces flowing into one another. Most take their titles and texts from the Beatitudes, each a musical setting of one of the blessings, sung by Fricke over piano, guitar and oboe. Among them, the lively Tanz der Chassidim (Dance of the Hasidim) stands out, its rhythm and momentum a sign of Daniel Fichelscher’s new influence, a bright, dancing contrast to the surrounding calm. The closing piece incorporates an Agnus Dei, drawing the cycle to a hushed, prayerful end. Best heard whole and without interruption, the album unfolds less as a set of songs than as a single, unbroken meditation from beginning to end.

Reception and legacy

Seligpreisung is widely admired as one of Popol Vuh’s finest spiritual albums, a refined, accomplished companion to Hosianna Mantra that some listeners rank just below it and others cherish even more. Admirers praise its meditative calm, Florian Fricke’s piano and vocals, Conny Veit’s guitar and the new rhythmic warmth brought by Daniel Fichelscher. A few miss the ethereal voice of Djong Yun, and note that the album is short and its second half a little less dynamic than its first, but its serene beauty is rarely questioned. As the record where Fichelscher joined and the Hosianna Mantra sound deepened, it is a pivotal and much-loved entry in the Popol Vuh story, and a favourite among those who know the band well.

The verdict

A serene, luminous, deeply spiritual album, and one of the essential Popol Vuh records for anyone who loves Hosianna Mantra — meditative acoustic music built around the Beatitudes, warmed by Fricke’s own voice and Daniel Fichelscher’s gentle new pulse. Come to it for its calm, flowing beauty and the lively Tanz der Chassidim, rather than for drama, and let it play unbroken. From here, Hosianna Mantra for the masterpiece it follows, and Das Hohelied Salomos for more of Fricke’s acoustic, spiritual music. A gentle, glowing jewel of Krautrock.

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