NEWS

February 20th, 2013

SAGITTARIUS IS ON HIATUS

Dear recipients of this message,

when I officially announced the release of the third Sagittarius album "The Kingdom Come" back in Spring 2011, I stated this album would mark "both the peak and the end of a cycle of creative process". Back then I was not sure about what would occur in an artistic sense after the release of the new album. Everything seemed possible - the options ranging from continuing Sagittarius in the way it existed, to laying the project to rest forever.

Right now, the latter mentioned option is rather likely. There are several reasons, some of them personal ones. One of them is frustration – after three full-length albums, two of them released via Cold Spring Records, I had hoped for opportunities to perform live again. Reality is that there has not been a single serious gig offer in almost six years. Well, this is not entirely true, there were plans, even promises, to organize gigs on Spanish and English soil. Promises that turned out to become shattered dreams and personal disappointments.

Should CD sales matter in this decision? Though many people would probably say "Don't care about CD sales, only the creation of art itself counts" I tend to disagree, though I have to point out that the question is not about making money. Fact is that the sales of "The Kingdom Come" have been bad, at least according to the information I received. I don't know about the reasons – reviews and feedback have been very positive, and I tend to believe that from a musical and conceptual point of view it is the best and most mature Sagittarius release. Did the label promote the album inadequately? I can't answer that question, because I am not involved in these matters. But my gut instincts tell me Cold Spring is not to blame, for Justin and Joanne have always been loyal friends. Does the good old mp3-controvesy answer my question? Again, I don't know. Or is it my bad name, caused by the interest I had in the past in circles and ideas often interpreted as „right winged? This might be one reason, and I guess I just have to accept this, even though these affiliations are actually cut.

Apart from being frustrated, I have also been stuck in a composer's block for a rather long time now. In a way I feel that from an artistic point of view everything I wanted to express with Sagittarius has been said and done. After 10 years I am still proud of having conceived "Die Grosse Marina", despite the fact that I would have done several things differently. If it was possible I would erase the error of having mixed my own compositions and artistic visions with music having its roots in the ideological and fundamentalist religious madness as expressed by the Romanian Iron Guard. But the general idea of the album is still valid – a musical tribute to Ernst Jünger and his narrative "On the Marble Cliffs", which I still consider to be one of the greatest pieces of German and European literature, and a poetical stronghold against human barbarity. The same goes for"Songs From The Ivory Tower" and "The Kingdom Come", without any restrictions. Stefan George and his circle have received an adequate musical memorial, and I feel satisfied with the way I expressed my literary obsessions, as well as personal events and tragedies in my life, for every single song actually also contains a hidden personal story. Much I have composed after "The Kingdom Come" in a way tends to be repetition.

No matter how the future of Sagittarius will look like, I would like to thank all people and friends that have been involved in the project during the last 15 years. Without you everything would have remained a dream. The collaborations with Marcel, Twiggs, Theresia, sG, Dev and all other people involved have broadened my horizon, and without you I wouldn't be the same man I am now.

Cordially yours,
Cornelius Waldner