Music, like staging, lighting, acrobatics and choreography, is just one part of a larger artistic wheel that turns the creative juices of Cirque du Soleil. It is one of the most important aspects of a show, especially to fans. Over the years Cirque du Soleil has released the music to its creations to an appreciative audience across various physical and digital forms. But like most companies, however, some of those releases have fallen into obscurity, been re-released multiple times, or re-cataloged as divisions within morph and change with the times.
In this series we’ll attempt to make order out of the chaos that is the Cirque du Soleil Musique Catalog: First by giving you its history, showing you how to recognize a CD from the catalog, and what currently makes up that catalog. Secondly, we’ll explore other facets of the Cirque du Soleil music catalog by delving into the Singles and Other releases. And lastly by dipping into the realm of promos, specials and remixes.
A HISTORY IN BRIEF
Originally, Cirque du Soleil released its own music on LP, Cassette Tapes and Compact Discs through their own in-house label – Nâga – which was part of Cirque’s “Le Groupe du Soleil” Services division (one of the first attempts to incorporate Cirque du Soleil into a genuine business operation). The first release of Cirque du Soleil music was a vinyl 45 from LE FANFAFONIE, Cirque’s first band, which contained two songs from the 1985 tour. Although this vinyl 45 has never been re-released, the songs (“Le Cirque du Soleil” and “Le Funambule”) were featured on the Cirque “25” album, celebrating Cirque du Soleil’s 25th anniversary in 2009. Nâga would go on to release “Cirque du Soleil” (full album) in 1987, “Les Pingoins” (a vinyl 45) in 1988 and “Nouvelle Experience” (full album) in 1990.
In 1992, Cirque du Soleil music interests were released through the RCA/Victor label in the United States and Canada. During this era a number of albums were released: a second album entitled “Cirque du Soleil (volume 2)”, “Nouvelle Experience”, “Collection”, “Mystère” and “Mystère Live”, “Saltimbanco, “Alegría”, “Quidam”, “La Nouba”, “O”, and “Dralion”. However, the agreement with RCA/Victor ended in 2002. At that time Cirque du Soleil created its own music imprint – called Cirque du Soleil Records/Musique – and re-released select titles from their music catalog in association with BMG Canada (which itself was an imprint or subsidiary of RCA/Victor).
In 2004, Cirque du Soleil launched its own music label called Cirque du Soleil Musique, which they dedicated to the creation, production and marketing of music associated with current and future Cirque du Soleil productions, and to the creation of other new music through the support and development of emerging artists. From 2004 through 2008, Cirque du Soleil Musique products were distributed by ZING Distribution in Canada and by RED distribution in the U.S. Both are owned or affiliated with the SONY-BMG Music Group. It is interesting to note that RCA/Victor and BMG Classics are also now part of the Sony BMG music conglomerate.
Beginning in 2009, Cirque du Soleil Musique changed its Canadian distributor from ZING to “Justin Time Records”, an independent distributor. Justin Time Records re-released the Koozå CD and a 25th Anniversary Alegría CD (no changes in content), then continued with the release of Cirque 25. Cirque du Soleil continues to use RED in the U.S.; however, its logo is no longer prominent on the packaging.
TELLING THE DIFFERENCE?
Telling the difference between which label released what title is a monumental undertaking at times and is often tricky to determine, as generally the album cover artwork, insert booklet contents and packaging visuals did not change from label to label (although the recent incarnations by Cirque du Soleil Musique do sport change to the cover artwork), but differences can be discerned by examining the album’s catalog number, located on the spine of the album or on the album’s back cover.
This number will generally be displayed as a string of letters and numbers, hyphenated into three sections: a prefix, a selection code (often also denoting the product number) and a suffix. The album’s prefix helps determine the label and the suffix helps determine in what medium the album was released.
The Nâga releases are an exception to the rule and due to their being the first to market there are no surprises here. Many of their releases begin with a “CS” prefix (for Cirque du Soleil) followed by a catalog number denoting the month and year they were produced. As an example, Le Cirque Réinventé is denoted CS-1187 (vinyl), CS1987C (cassette) and CSCD-1187 (compact disc). From this we can gather that Le Cirque Réinventé was released in November 1987 – November 8, 1987 to be precise.
Fanfafonie 45 (Vinyl) Catalog # = CIR-001 (Vinyl) Released = Jan.01.1985 Run Time = 07:07 Cirque du Soleil (1) Catalog # = CSCD-1187 (CD) = CS1987C (Cassette) = CS-1187 (Vinyl) Released = Nov.08.1987 Run Time = 38:52 Les Pengoins 45 (Vinyl) Catalog # = CS-1188 (Vinyl) Released = Nov.xx.1988 Run Time = 04:20 Cirque du Soleil (2) Catalog # = CSCD-0790 (CD) = CS1990C (Cassette) = CS-0790 (Vinyl) Released = Jul.xx.1990 Run Time = 52:12 Nouvelle Expérience Catalog # = CSCD-0890 (CD) = CS1990C (Cassette) = CS-0890 (Vinyl) Released = Aug.09.1990 Run Time = 68:33
All RCA/Victor releases are denoted with a Catalog Number prefix of 09026. Example: Mystère Live (09026-68596-2) Also note that the suffix (-2) denotes a Compact Disc release. There are also (-1) Vinyl and (-4) Cassette notations where applicable. An RCA/Victor Logo is also prominently displayed on the album visual.
Catalog # - Released - Album Title ====================================================== 09026-61486-2/4 - Oct.09.1992 - Saltimbanco 09026-61531-2/4 - Mar.23.1993 - Nouvelle Experience 09026-62686-2/4 - Mar.29.1994 - Mystère 09026-62701-2/4 - Sep.27.1994 - Alegría 09026-62523-2/4 - Nov.08.1994 - Le Cirque Réinventé 09026-68596-2/4 - Aug.14.1996 - Mystère Live 09026-68601-2/4 - Jan.14.1997 - Quidam 09026-68989-2/4 - Oct.28.1997 - Collection 09026-63358-2/4 - Nov.19.1998 - "O" 09026-63454-2/4 - Mar.23.1999 - Alegria: Le Film 09026-63502-2/4 - Jun.22.1999 - La Nouba 09026-63559-2/4 - Oct.26.1999 - Dralion
All BMG/CDS Musique releases are denoted with a Catalog Number prefix of 40000 or 74321. Justin Time Records releases can be distinguished by a catalog number prefix of 68944. The suffix here is omitted as all releases were in Compact Disc format. A Cirque du Soleil Musique logo is prominently displayed on the album back cover.
Released - Catalog # - Album Title ================================================================ Jan.24.2001 - BVCF-31076 - Saltimbanco (Extra Tracks) Japan Feb.19.2002 - 74321-91493-2 - Quidam (Extra Tracks) Mar.19.2002 - 74321-91655-2 - Saltimbanco (Extra Tracks) Jun.11.2002 - 74321-93442-2 - Alegria (Extra Tracks) Nov.05.2002 - 74321-93928-2 - Varekai Dec.17.2002 - xxxxx-xxxxx-x - Varekai (Split Track) Feb.19.2003 - 40000-504453-3 - Quidam (Extra Tracks) May.21.2003 - BVCF-31117 - Quidam (Extra Tracks) Japan xxx.xx.2003 - 40000-504448-9 - La Nouba (re-release) xxx.xx.2003 - 40000-504451-9 - "O" (re-release) xxx.xx.2003 - 40000-504452-6 - Mystère Live (re-release) xxx.xx.2003 - 09026-62686-2 - Mystère (re-release) xxx.xx.2003 - xxxxx-xxxxx-x - Dralion (re-release) Sep.01.2003 - 40000-504640-7 - Tapis Rouge (Solarium) Oct.01.2003 - 40000-503805-1 - Varekai (Bonus CD & DVD) Dec.01.2003 - 40000-503654-5 - Tapis Rogue (Solarium)
All current Cirque du Soleil Musique releases are denoted with a Catalog Prefix combination explained as follows. Remember this number will generally be displayed in a string of letters and numbers, hyphenated into three sections: a prefix, a selection code (often also denoting the product number) and a suffix.
Prefix: C Cirque D du S Soleil M Musique C Core Music (Show Music) N New Music J Jewel Case D Digipak P Promo L Limited Edition Selection: 10 Canadian Release 20 US Release 50 Russian Release xxx Product ID Suffix: -1 Vinyl -2 CD -4 Cassette
Therefore, as an example, the Saltimbanco (2005) album is denoted: CDSMCJ-10005-2 in Canada and CDSMCJ-20005-2 in the United States accordingly.
Catalog # - Released - Album Title - RunTime ============================================================== CDSMC-10001 - xxx.xx.xxxx - Cirque du Soleil - 52:12 CDSMC-10002 - xxx.xx.xxxx - Nouvelle Experience - 68:33 CDSMC-10003 - xxx.xx.xxxx - Saltimbanco 1992 - 60:23 CDSMC-10004 - xxx.xx.xxxx - Saltimbanco EXT - 73:36 CDSMC-10005 - Feb.17.2005 - Saltimbanco 2005 - 60:13 CDSMC-10006 - xxx.xx.xxxx - Mystere Studio - 55:23 CDSMC-10007 - Jul.20.2004 - Alegria - 61:28 CDSMC-10008 - xxx.xx.xxxx - Alegria EXT - 69:29 CDSMC-10009 - Aug.16.2005 - Mystere Live - 52:27 CDSMC-10010 - JUn.14.2005 - Quidam - 46:29 CDSMC-10011 - xxx.xx.xxxx - Quidam EXT - 58:21 CDSMC-10012 - xxx.xx.xxxx - Collection - 53:52 CDSMC-10013 - Aug.16.2005 - "O" - 63:13 CDSMC-10014 - xxx.xx.xxxx - Alegria Le Film - 55:04 CDSMC-10015 - Aug.16.2005 - La Nouba - 53:45 CDSMC-10016 - Jul.12.2005 - Dralion - 50:32 CDSMC-10017 - xxx.xx.xxxx - Varekai - 69:21 CDSMC-10018 - Jul.20.2004 - Varekai SE - 69:21/40:14 CDSMC-10019 - Oct.19.2004 - Tapis Rogue Solarium - 57:42 CDSMC-10020 - Jul.25.2006 - Tapis Rogue Delirium - 69:03 CDSMC-10021 - May.17.2005 - Solarium/Delirium - 57:42/69:03 CDSMC-10022 - Sep.21.2004 - Le Best Of - 49:20 CDSMC-10023 - Mar.22.2005 - Zumanity - 63:31 CDSMC-10024 - Oct.18.2005 - KA - 57:43 CDSMC-10025 - Oct.03.2006 - Corteo - 56:03 CDSMC-10026 - Jul.25.2006 - Delirium - 62:07 CDSMC-10027 - Nov.01.2007 - Wintuk - 47:26 CDSMC-10028 - May.01.2008 - Koozå - 68:26 CDSMC-10029 - May.26.2009 - ZAIA - 74:31 CDSMC-10030 - Jun.23.2009 - Cirque 25 - 55:19/54:50 CDSMC-10031 - Oct.13.2009 - ZED - 55:44 CDSMC-10032 - Dec.13.2012 - Believe - 64:29 CDSMC-10033 - Apr.27.2010 - OVO - 73:49 CDSMC-10034 - Oct.12.2011 - Totem - 65:50 CDSMC-10042 - Nov.21.2011 - IRIS - 67:02 CDSMC-10045 – Nov.06.2012 – Le Best Of 2 - 55:00 CDSMC-10046 – Nov.20.2012 – Amaluna - 60:15
SOME QUESTIONS
Even if the new Cirque du Soleil Musique catalog encompasses most of the previous releases, a number of incongruities and other conundrums appear.
Q. How are Cirque du Soleil Volume 1 and 2 different?
In 1987, Cirque du Soleil released the music for Le Cirque Réinventé on their own in-house label – Nâga – and titled the CD/LP release “Cirque du Soleil”, as the show had yet been titled. In 1989, Cirque du Soleil released a second version of the show’s music and subtitled the release “Volume 2” so as to avoid confusion between the two different albums. In 1992, when Cirque du Soleil music interests were released through the RCA/Victor label in the United States and Canada, only Volume 2 was re-issued; therefore Volume 2 is the more widely known issue. And to confuse matters further, the RCA/Victor release did not include the “Volume 2” notation. To answer the question outright; yes both Cirque du Soleil Volume 1 and 2 are different. Volume 1 has a few selected tracks that were not re-recorded for Volume 2 and Volume 2 features a few tracks from Volume 1 re-recorded as the show evolved and including new tracks. Neither album is currently available in the Cirque du Soleil Musique label catalog, but you can find Volume 2 for purchase via iTunes.
Q. How are Mystère and Mystère (Live) different?
Before the Cirque du Soleil Musique releases started in 2005, little confusion existed between these two titles; however, after the CDS Musique releases, one title was dropped – “Mystère” – and the other renamed – “Mystère Live” to “Mystère” – but the latter is still the live recording. To help clarify: In 1994, RCA/Victor released the studio recording of the production Mystère, entitled “Mystère.” Two years later (in 1996), RCA/Victor released a live compilation of the show it entitled “Mystère Live”, which included new arrangements and music based on the show’s changes that year. While both albums were distributed under the RCA/Victor and BMG/Cirque du Soleil Musique alliances, the original studio (1994) album was not selected for distribution under the Cirque du Soleil Musique label (created in 2004). Instead, Cirque du Soleil chose to rename “Mystère Live” to simply “Mystère” and change the album artwork. The studio recording featuring musical compilations by René Dupéré from the original debut of Mystère is no longer in production or available in the Cirque du Soleil Musique catalog.
Q. What are the Extended CDs?
In 2002, the BMG/Cirque du Soleil Musique alliance re-released three studio albums with two extra tracks apiece: Saltimbanco, Alegría and Quidam (denoted EXT on the catalog listing above). All extra tracks were recorded live under the big top and tacked on to the original studio album masters. The extended editions were also released without the consent of the composers and have since been discontinued, but not necessarily due to any objections. The extra editions were specifically marked as having additional tracks with banners on the front and back covers, and have extra credits inside their booklets.
Q. Why is there more than one Saltimbanco CD?
Other than the original studio album (denoted “Saltimbanco (1994)”) and the Extended edition album (denoted “Satimbanco (Extended)”), one other commercially available album exists under the Saltimbanco moniker. Its official title is simply “Saltimbanco” but denoted (2005) because the album’s music was re-recorded, re-mixed, re-sequenced and re-released that year making it different from the original studio and limited Extended edition albums that have been previously released by either RCA/Victor or BMG/Cirque du Soleil Musique alliances. There were also new songs recorded and one from the original recording cut (“Adagio” and “Cantus Melopee” were added, “Urgence” was cut). The “Saltimbanco (2005)” album is the only one currently in production and available. Additionally, there is one other Saltimbanco album in the Cirque du Soleil repertoire – “Saltimbanco Live in Amsterdam” – that we’ll talk about in a future installment.
Q. Why is there more than one Varekai album?
Cirque du Soleil took a different approach to the Varekai album when it was released on CD in 2002. Rather than a direct studio recording of the music as heard during the show, they decided to branch out and create the album as an “experience”; therefore, the music, while quite familiar, took on a totally different tone than what you hear under the Grand Chapiteau, including the addition of repetitive voice-overs on three of the tracks. About a year after releasing the first Varekai CD (which includes the original show visual), Cirque du Soleil Musique took certain critiques to heart and repurposed the voice-overs onto their own tracks AND released a second CD compilation that included a bonus CD, which included some tracks recorded live of music that doesn’t appear on the main CD, as well as 2 remixes. A DVD of two music videos from the soundtrack was also included. A third album was released when Cirque music interests changed, discontinuing the “bonus” extended CD but keeping the new repurposed track listing. The third album is the only one of the three in print today.
Q. Why is there a large numbering gap between the TOTEM and IRIS CDs?
From the time the “new” catalog was incorporated to the release of Totem (CDSMC-10034) everything about the catalog not only made sense but was in order. But with the release of IRIS a little less than a month after Totem, a large gap of “missing” numbers appeared. Our interests were piqued, so we asked a friendly source at Cirque du Soleil Musique who advised us the albums numbered between 10034 and 10042 are for CDs commercially released in the Russian Market (as Cirque du Soleil RUS) and are as follows:
CDSMC-10035 – Zarkana “Whenever” (Ralfie Remix)
CDSMC-10036 – Saltimbanco
CDSMC-10037 – Le Best Of
CDSMC-10038 – Corteo
CDSMC-10039 – Varekai
CDSMC-10040 – Cirque 25
CDSMC-10041 – Zarkana “Whenever” (Chus & Ceballos Remix)
CDSMC-10043 – Alegría
CDSMC-10044 – Koozå
Why these Russian releases were denoted this way rather than the more logical 50005 (Saltimbanco), 50007 (Alegria), 50017 (Varekai), 50022 (Le Best Of), 50025 (Corteo) and 50028 (Koozå) we’ll never know. According to our source these numbers are just internal designations. Although we can certainly understand that, wouldn’t you want to have a catalog identification system that made sense? Up until now it had, but that’s the nature of the business!
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Next time we’ll explore other music associated with the Cirque du Soleil catalog, such as Cirque du Soleil show music not released by Cirque du Soleil Musique (The Beatles LOVE, VIVA ELVIS, Michael Jackson THE IMMORTAL, and Journey of Man), Employee Only presses and other promotional singles!
