"Dead Lovers' Sarabande" (Face One)

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Sopor Aeternus & The Ensemble of Shadows chronology
"Dead Lovers' Sarabande" (Face One)

Studio album by Sopor Aeternus & The Ensemble of Shadows
Released	1999
Recorded	??
Genre	Darkwave
Length	64:23
Label	Apocalyptic Vision
Producer(s)	Anna-Varney
"Voyager" - The Jugglers of Jusa (1997)	"Dead Lovers' Sarabande" (Face One) (1999)	"Dead Lovers' Sarabande" (Face Two) (1999)

"Dead Lovers' Sarabande" (Face One) is the title of Darkwave band Sopor Aeternus & The Ensemble of Shadows' fifth album. It was released in 1999. "Dead Lovers' Sarabande" as a whole is a transitory death suite dealing with euthanasia, homoerotic necrophilia, decay and loneliness. The storyline of (Face One) is quite scattered, but seems to focus on visions and memories that the protagonist imagines, including travelling beyond the gates of Hell to resuce his/her lover, recreationally ingesting poison and using astral projection to connect with his/her lover. Whenever the protagonist is fully awake and alert, s/he mourns his/her lover. The music is a series of funeral dirges and chamber pieces. Anna-Varney later admitted that "Dead Lovers' Sarabande" was dedicated to, but not about the late Rozz Williams, former frontman of Christian Death.

"Dead Lovers' Sarabande" (Face One) was the first album by Sopor Aeternus to be released in multiple formats. A double-LP edition (with two picture-vinyl records) of 500 copies was released, along with an A5-sized CD box edition of 3000 copies. In 2004, "Dead Lovers' Sarabande" (Face One) was re-released on CD with newly packaged artwork, including a slightly altered cover.