Wurtemberg - "Rock Fantasia Opus 9" {France} [1980] (symph/folk prog)

There's not much to add to the excellent review by Greg Northrup:

"Wurtemberg were a chamber rock ensemble of an extremely high caliber, fusing classical, renaissance music, French folk and progressive rock into relatively unique and satisfying amalgamation. Subdued, and not particularly "rock" at all, the group places a heavy emphasis on sophisticated arrangements, as piano, woodwinds, acoustic guitar and authentic medieval stringed instruments dominate the proceedings. The album is astoundingly beautiful at times, as on the stately opener "Rockopus 7", or the jaunty, flute-led melodies of "Prefixe et Danse - Faites L'Humour", while restrained and perhaps a bit overly-reverential at others. The melody and forward momentum of "Concerto Pour un Minout" is quite simply gorgeous, featuring interlocked flute and guitar theme that soars higher and higher. My one criticism comes towards the end. The two bonus tracks, "Jesus Que Ma Joie Demeure - Cantate 147" and "Neuvieme Symphonie - Extraint", renditions of pieces by Bach and Beethoven respectively, were recorded by Alain Carbonere with different musicians in 1986...

Nonetheless, it would be an understatement to say that this reissue of Rock Fantasia Opus 9 is a hotly anticipated and totally necessary item. The album proper is uniformly excellent. Fans of early After Crying, classic Popol Vuh and Malicorne will undoubtedly find much to love here, and the album ultimately comes as a essential addition to any collection of French symphonic music".

Tracklist:

1. Rock Opus 7
2. Sous-Titre
3. Berceuse Gratinée - Faîtes le Mur
4. Préfixe Et Danse - Faîtes l'Humour
5. Allemandes
6. Concerto Pour un Minot
7. Invitation - Vous Avez Bien Trois Minutes?
8. Rockopus 1
9. Jesus Que Ma Joie Demeure - Cantate 147
10. Neuvième Symphonie - Extrait

Line-up:

Alain Carbonare -keyboards, guitar, lyre, tenor-bass psaltrey
Bernard Maître - keyboards, dulcimer, metallophone
Michel Richard - guitar, soprano psaltrey
Jean-Pierre Garbin - drums
Jean-Marie Hausser - drums
Alain Demeusy - bass
Gilles Michault-Bonnet - flute, saxophone

The link is to be found in the comments.