Harmonium - "L'Heptade" (1976)

My post before last addressed the group Beau dommage, in that post I mentioned that my friend gave me two albums as a parting gift. L'heptade with Harmonium was the second of these, a classic according to my friend and a must-have in your record collection. The album is a double album, and many critics consider it a masterpiece and the most important album ever in the Quebecan music industry.

In 1972 Serge Fioro met Michel Normandeau in Montreal and formed a guitar duo. The following year the bassist Louis Valois joined in and the band Harmonium was formed. This was the time in history when a genuine music industry was born in the French-speaking province of Quebec and the trio got a contract with Quality Records. Their first eponymous album was released in 1974 and became a huge success. After a tour in the region, the band recorded their second album in 1975, Si On Avait besoin d'une Cinquième Saison (If you needed a fifth season), this album expanded the band's members to six.

The third and final album L'heptade was released the following year.

Some time after the release of L'heptade the members of Harmonium decided to dissolve the band and their last concert is considered to have been performed in 1978. The band's career was thus five years long and contained three albums (plus one live album). Many believe that they decided to quit at the top of their career which probably have helped to maintain the band's high status. Although the number of albums isn’t that great Harmonium is nevertheless considered to be one of the most important Quebecan bands ever, and their influence on the music and culture scene has been enormous.

L'heptade consists of seven "main tracks", the shorter parts between these songs exists primarily to bind together the album into a whole. The theme of the album is a day in a man's life in which he moves through seven different states of consciousness. It’s provided some clues to this on the LP, for example you hear a sigh from a man who wakes up and then steps over a wooden floor in the beginning of the album. At the end of the record you can hear this man preparing to go to bed. I must honestly say that although I have been listening for these details, I’ve never been able to hear them.

The main theme of the texts are internal conflicts taking place within the main character, often the texts are about the duality in the world - black and white, light and dark, day and night, etc. On the second LP (sides 3 and 4) it’s implied that only love can merge these opposites together. The singing is of course done in French as that language dominates the province of Quebec.

This record is one of the most popular ever in Quebec's musical history. However, it had at the time of the release not much impact on the local music scene, mainly because the LP doesn’t contain any radio-friendly hits. Especially in circles of progressive music the album was greeted with open arms, also outside Canada, and Harmonium was for example invited to tour with Supertramp in Europe.

The cost of the recording was 90,000 dollars which was a new record for an album from Quebec. A lot of this was paid through a new contract with CBS, but the musicians in Harmonium also had to help paying from their own pockets. The album was recorded in a cabin in the countryside that belonged to the Fiori family and, apparently, we can hear cracks from the floor on the album (although I missed this, too).

I think this is undoubtedly the best of Harmonium’s three albums. A, according me, positive difference compared with the first two albums is that the band uses drums here. This was missing on the initial records, which made ​​the music on these more ambiguous and fluid (in a negative way). It is a solid album of high quality and although it’s considered to be Harmonium's most progressive album, I think it’s the most accessible and enjoyable one. It’s also a more varied album than the previous ones, which makes it more fun to listen to. This was a nice parting gift from a good friend and I can’t do anything else then to recommend a purchase. And also a visit to Quebec, a very nice part of the world.

Tracklist

Side A
1. Prologue (4:20)
2. Comme Un Fou (7:50)
3. Sommeil Sans Rêves (1:25)
4. Chanson Noire (8:12)
I) Le Bien, Le Mal
II) Pour Une Blanche Cérémonie

Side B
5. L'Appel / Le Premier Ciel (11:12)
6. Sur Une Corde Raide / L'Exil (12:54)

Side C
7. Le Corridor (8:10)
8. Les Premières Lumières / Lumières De Vie (14:11)
I) Lumière De Nuit
II) Eclipse
III) Lumière De Jour
IV) Lumière De Vie

Side D
9. Prélude d'Amour / Comme Un Sage (14:03)
10. Épilogue (2:52)