picture covers – real caves

caveinspiredmusic.com
PICTURE COVERS – REAL CAVES
FRANCE
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Abri-sous-roche à Les Eyzies
Les Eyzies, Dordogne
PC-RE-FR1 France 1978
LP: LE PERIGORD A TRAVERS SA MUSIQUE
TRADITIONNELLE
Perf: (Unknown)
(World)
Label: Junqué OC 33.134
Postcard Photo Ed. Yvon
Photo: (?)
Notes: The large, wide shelter cave
above the village of Les Eyzies that, in
part, houses the original Musée
National de la Préhistoire (Museum of Prehistory). In this photo we see the famous
statue of prehistoric man sculpted by Paul Dardé (1930). Often called erroneously
the statue of Cro-Magnon man it is much closer to being a representation of
Neanderthal man, although the sculptor named it “L’Homme primatif” [Primative
Man].
Ref: Eyzies de Tayac-Sireuil, L’Homme primitif, lascaux-dorgogne
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Aven Grotte Marzal
Saint Remèze, Ardèche
PC-RE-FR2 France 1962
1. LP: J.S. BACH – SUITES 1 & 2
Decca LXT 5664 A (mono)
Decca SXL 2300 (stereo)
2. LP: J.S. BACH – SUITES 3 & 4
Decca SXL 2301 (stereo)
Perf: Orchestre de Chambre de Stuttgart
(Classical)
Cond: Karl Münchinger
Prod. Co: Disques Decca
Photo: (color) Sousse Ohana
Notes: All three LPs use the same
color photo of a well-decorated alcove
with a dense assemblage of stalactites,
candlestick stalagmites, columns, etc. dominated by one thicker, tiered stalagmite
in the middle.
This scene is in the Salle des Colonnes [Hall of Columns] at the bottom end of the
show cave tour. This assemblage of formations is on a flowstone ledge well above
the cave floor. The cover photo has been printed in reverse. The actual scene is
shown here on left.
No doubt there was also an original mono release of the album Bach – Suites 3 & 4, but it was not found.
Ref: Aven Marzal, Grand Salle, net-ardeche
Aven Marzal, La Grotte, Official site, (in French), aven-marzal
Duckeck, Jochen & Oldham, Tony 2014, Aven de Marzal, showcaves
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Fontaine de Vaucluse
Vaucluse, Vaucluse
PC-RE-FR3 France 1996
CD: NAPOLÉON COSTE: GUITAR ROMANTIQUE
Perf: Frédéric Ben Attar (Classical)
Label: De Plein Vent DPV 9687
Artist: Jean-Joseph-Xavier Bidauld (Carpentras, 1758 –
Montmorency, 1846)
Title: François 1er à la Fontaine de Vaucluse
(Oil on canvas, ?)
Avignon, France; Musée Calvet
Notes: A surprising selection for the cover painting of this CD when
a more appropriate choice would have been either Gustave
Courbet’s painting of the Source du Lison (see below PC-RE-FR19)
or any other painting by Courbet showing cave resurgences in the
Franche Compté, where Coste was working.
The French King, Francois 1er, is shown signing his name on a
stone monument (the tomb of Laure) erected next to a large tree by the side of the trail leading to the
celebrated resurgence. Six of his courtesans and servants look on. A horse wrangler controls his spirited
white horse on the right while another wrangler holds two other horses on the right-bank of the Sorgue. The
resurgence is clearly visible in the distance just above the figures of the King and three men. A large
fortified chateau stands atop a high cliff-walled hill in the distance to the right of center. A church and other
buildings of the town of Vaucluse are clustered on the left bank at the base of this hill.
Many celebrated royalty and artists came on pilgrimage to visit this resurgence, which had been made
internationally famous through the 14th–century lyric poetry of Pétrarque (Petrarch), singing the praises of
his platonic love, Laure.
In the 16th century, François 1er arrived with great ceremony to visit Laure’s tomb at Vaucluse. Guigue &
Girard write that in this painting, “Bidauld does not hesitate to show François 1er in the presence of Laure’s
tomb.” Actually the King is performing an act of vandalism by writing graffiti on the monument. The
customary way of commemorating the passage of a famous person is to place a stone plaque at the site.
For more information on the cave-inspired music on this album see under Classical Music – Guitar.
Ref: Fontaine de Vaucluse, Soc. Spéléologique de Fontaine de Vaucluse, Sept. 26, 2009, dailymotion (◄VIDEO CLIP)
Fontaine de Vaucluse, Description & History, (in French), Wikipedia
Guigue, Julien & Girard, Joseph 1949, La Fontaine de Vaucluse, Éditions Rullière Frères, Avignon, p. 34-41, 55
Napoléon Coste – Guitar romantique CD, Frémeaux & Associés, fremeaux
Pétrarque (in French), Wikipedia & Petrarch (in English), Wikipedia
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Fosse Dionne
Tonnerre, Yonne
PC-RE-FR4 France 2001
CD: IVONNE ET TOINOU
Perf: Enfants de l'Ecole Municipale de
Musique de Tonnerre (Popular)
Label: EPM 1988402
Photos: (Color) Didier Varin
Notes: One cover shows a view looking down at the circular enclosed basin (15m in diameter) of this blue
resurgence where the dark underwater cave entrance can be seen. Running around the outside of the
stone-lined basin is a covered walkway.
The second CD cover was taken from the middle under the covered walkway looking off along the basin.
Reproduced in blue-gray monochrome under the printed texts inside the liner notes booklet are four other
photos showing this resurgence from different angles.
In the annals of French cave diving the Fosse Dionne has a long and significant history. The earliest
recorded dive was in 1908 and another in 1955 by Parisian divers directed by the famous cave diving
pioneer, Guy de Lavaur. Starting in 1976 several dives followed each other until December 1979 when a
very successful dive by Éric Le Guen pushed the resurgence to a depth of -61m at distance of 360m from
the entrance pool. (Chabert et al. 1982) In 1989 P. Jolivet slightly depassed Le Guen’s terminal point and
reached a depth of -70m at 370m from the entrance. (Anon. n.d.)
The profile map shown here is by Éric Le Guen dated 1979. (Chabert et al. 1982)
For more information on the cave-inspired music on this album see under Popular Music – France – POFR5).
Ref: Anon. n.d., Résurgence de la Fosse Dionne, Spéléo Club de Chablis, plongeesout
Chabert, Claude; Le Guen, Éric; & Maingonat, Georges 1982, La Fosse Dionne de Tonnerre, Mémoires du
Spéléo-Club de Paris, n. 8, Paris
Fontaine, Jean-Pierre; Loreau, J.-P. & Le Guen, Francis 1997, Tonnerre de la Fosse Dionne à Saint-Pierre, Société
d’Archéologie et d’Histoire du Tonnerre, Tonnerre
La Fosse Dionne, Wikipedia
Ivonne et Toinou, annesylvestre
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Gouffre de Cabrespine
Cabrespine, Aude
PC-RE-FR5 France 1999
CD: AU COEUR DE LA TERRE
Perf: Hervé Berteaux
(Contemporary)
Label: Nature et Découvertes
17105570
Photo: GGF
Notes: Cover has three calcite
discs suspended from the cave
ceiling and backlit. The taking angle of this photo does not really show the true shape and form of these
discs.
For more information on the cave-inspired music on this album see under Contemporary Art Music –
Speleolithophonic and also under Recorded in Natural Caves – France.
Ref: Anon. 2013, Nature et Découvertes (in French), Wikipedia
Anon. n.d., Gouffre de Cabrespine, Géologie (in French), gouffre-cabrespine
Gouffre de Cabrespine, Official Website, (in French), gouffre-cabrespine & (in English), gouffre-cabrespine
Gouffre de Cabrespine, Info (in French), Wikipedia
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Grotte de Bédeilhac & Grotte de Pradières
Bédeilhac, Ariège
PC-RE-FR6 France ca.1950s
LP: L’ARIÈGE FOLKLORIQUE
Label: (No label & no catalog no.)
Perf: Lyre Sauratoise (World)
Photo: (B & W) (?)
Notes: A general view looking east along the valley of Saurat
towards the village of Bédeilhac with the Sédour mountain on the
left and the Calamès mountain on the right. At the base of the
Sédour is the huge entrance of the Grotte de Bédeilhac. During
the making of the film, “Le Passé-Montagne,” in 1975, a small
one-engine plane landed and took off on the concrete floor inside
the entrance of this cave. Higher up on the Sedour mountain can
also be seen the wide arched entrance of the Grotte de
Pradières.
Ref: Grotte de Bédeilhac, Official site, grotte-de-bedeilhac
Montagne de Sédour, Carte postale (in French), valleedesaurat
La Passe-Montagne sur grand écran, La Dépêche du Midi, 12 Déc. 2012, (in French), ladepeche.fr
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Grotte de Bétharram
Saint-Pe-de-Bigorre, Hautes Pyrénées
PC-RE-FR7 France ca.1970s
LP: UNE ETOILE AU FOND DU GOUFFRE
Label: Cedima CED 25.01 (Gatefold)
Perf: (Nar.) Michel Lengliney (+11 actors) (Spoken Word)
Prod. Co: Cedima; Paris
Photo: (Color) (?)
Notes: A poor photo showing "Le chaos" (The Chaos) with the
well-lit draperies in the upper left and the stairs and column in the
background out of focus and poorly lit. The shot was probably
taken on time exposure, using the existing cave lighting, resulting
in little depth of field.
For more information on this album see under Spoken Word – Children’s – French.
Ref: Grottes de Bétharram, Official site, betharram
Grottes de Bétharram, (in French), Wikipedia & (in English), Wikipedia
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Grottes de Choranche
Pont-en-Royans, Isère
PC-RE-FR8 United States 2000
CD: CANTUS UMBRARUM
Perf: Lightwave (Electronica)
Label: Horizon Music HM 1006-2
Photo: (Color)
Notes: The cover’s virtual compost
artwork probably is supposed to
represent a cave wall with a suggestion
of what may be distorted Paleolithic
cave paintings, even though this cave
has no paintings.
The back page of the liner notes has a
nice photo of the lake in the entrance
room with the massive clusters of soda straw stalactites hanging in the distance, a trade mark feature of
this extraordinary show cave. The two inner pages of the liner notes have an abstract collage in turquoise
blue with a repeated motif of the clusters of soda straw stalactites separated by horizontal streaks, all of
which could suggest bands of oscilloscope waves.
The CD label is a picture disc reproducing in the upper half the cave wall compost of the cover art and in
the lower half turquoise blue water. However, these motifs are so abstract that they this is not considered a
real cave picture disc.
For more information on the cave-inspired music on this album see under Electronica Music.
Ref: Grottes de Choranche, Official site, grottes-de-choranche
Grottes de Choranche, (in French), Wikipedia
Lightwave, Cantus Umbrarum CD, Discogs
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Grotte Cosquer
Cap Morgiou, Cassis, Bouches de Rhone
PC-RE-FR9 United States 1995
LP: TRUST
Perf: Patrick O'Hearn (Rock)
Prod. Co: Deep Cave Records;
P.O. Box 290; Bat Cave, NC, USA 28710
[email protected]
Label: Deep Cave 1001-2 (CRL# )
Photo: Fanny Broadcast/Gamma Liaison
Notes: One of the Paleolithic negative handprints found in the
Cosquer Cave in 1991. When the cave diver and discoverer of
this cave, Henri Cosquer, first saw this hand print he thought it
was a practical joke but it has since been dated by Carbon 14 to 27,000 BP. (Anon. n.d.)
Ref: Anon. n.d., Grotte Cosquer, The Discovery, usf.edu
Clottes, Jean; Courtin, Jean; et al 2011, Cosquer, the Cave beneath the Sea, bradshawfoundation
Grotte Cosquer, (in French) Wikipedia & (in English), Wikipedia
Patrick O’Hearn, Trust CD, Discogs
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Grottes des Hermites
Gorges de Franchard, Fontainebleau, Seine et Marne
PC-RE-FR10 France 2000
LP: J. B. Morin – La Chasse du cerf
Perf: Povr Soll Trompes de Chasse, Choeurs et Orchestre
(Contemporary Art Music)
Label: Erato STU 70541
Artist: Jean-Baptiste Oudry (1686-1755)
Title: Le cerf qui tient aux chiens sur les Roches de
Franchard, Forêt de Fontainebleau – 1737
(Oil on canvas)
Paris, Musée des arts décoratifs
Notes: The is a study for a painting ordered by King Louis XV in 1733 and preserved at the château de
Fontainebleau. A neoclassic work based on studies done in the forest in the Gorges de Franchard near the
old hermitage.
Spread out across the foreground are 17 men on horseback including the King on a white horse in the
center surrounded by his officers and three men with hunting horns. The painter is seated in the bottom
right corner dressed in a red coat and looking out at the viewer. The stag stands his ground on a rock
platform in the center as 8 dogs race up a sandy ramp and 14 more dogs charge down over the rocks. A
cave with two entrances is to the right of center and a
small shelter cave is to the left of center. In the upper right
background are the ruins of the old hermitage and seven
more men on horseback. A dilapidated wooden cross
stands on top of the promontory. The reproduction on the
LP cover crops the painting on the left and removes the
wooden cross.
With much artistic license this painting was almost
certainly inspired by the Grotte des Hermites (or Grotte de
l’Hermite) situated in the Gorges de Franchard, where
even today the Hermitage can be seen in the background
to the right.
Photo by D. Brison, 2007
Ref: Anon. 2012, Gorges de Franchard, Sentier Denecourt n°7, fontainebleau-photo
Chabert, Claude & Jacques, & Jean Taine 2011, Contribution à l’inventaire des grottes de Seine-et-Marne, Grottes et
Gouffres, n. 163, Déc. 2011, p. 19
Jean-Baptiste Oudry, Bio, (in French), Wikipedia & (in English), Wikipedia
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Grotte de Lascaux
Montignac, Dordogne
PC-RE-FR11 Japan 1971
CD: STRAVINSKY – The Rite of Spring & Eight Instrumental
Miniatures for Fifteen Players
Perf: Los Angeles Chamber Ensemble & Los Angeles
Philharmonic Orchestra (Classical)
Cond: Zubin Mehta
Label: London (JPN) SLA-1023
Photo: (?)
Notes: The red and black reindeer paintings on the left wall of the Main
Hall.
Ref: Grotte de Lascaux, (in French) Wikipedia & (in English) Wikipedia
Grotte de Lascaux, Virtual Visit of the Cave, Official site, culture.fr (◄VIDEO)
Zubin Mehta, Stravinsky, The Rite of Spring CD, goo.ne.jp
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PC-RE-FR12 United States 1995
CD: INNER RUNES
Perf: The Tunnel Singer [aka. Lee Ellen Shoemaker] (New Age)
Label: Tunnel Singer 1
Artist: (Prehistoric)
Notes: The smooth, gray walls of a tunnel recede and open out to a path
through a garden in the distance. A figure in silhouette stands just inside
the backlit entrance to the tunnel. Superimposed on the walls and floor of
the tunnel in the foreground are two Paleolithic paintings (somewhat
modified and distorted) from the Axial Gallery in the Lascaux Cave: in the
bottom left is the “Falling Horse” in orange and maroon instead of ochre
and black with its ears pointed forward instead of back and in the top right
is a distorted cow, possibly one of the “Red Cows” judging by the way its
thin horns point downward.
Ref: Bataille, Georges 1955, Lascaux Or the Birth of Art, Skira, Switzerland, p. 74, 81
The Tunnel Singer, Inner Runes CD, Amazon
The Tunnel Singer, Inner Runes CD, CDBaby
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PC-RE-FR13 Australia 2000
CD: THE MAN WHO PAINTED CAVES
Perf: David Antony Clark (New Age)
Label: (Australia) White Cloud 11041
(Spain) Resistencia RESCD 102
Artist: (Prehistoric)
Notes: A poor copy of the "Chinese Horse" (Cheval chinois) on the right
(west) wall of the Axial Gallery. Many disfiguring errors have been made
in this reproduction especially regarding the colors, the overall
proportions, and the rendering of the horse's head, mane, forelegs, and
tail. The only thing the copyist seems to have gotten right is the hind
legs.
The simplified form of this horse was imprinted in faint pink six times,
ringed around the center hole, on the label of the compact disc itself.
For more information on the cave-inspired music on this album see under New Age Music.
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Grotte de Lombrives
Ussat les Bains, Ariège
PC-RE-FR14 The Netherlands 1996
CD: ECHOS DE LOMBRIVES
Perf: Lex van den Brul (Classical & Popular)
Label: (LP) (Label ?) DMM BOSP 9
(CD) (Label ?) LR NL 96001
Photo: A. Kloosterman
Notes: The cover shows the Cathedral in the Lombrives Cave.
Notes: An LP and CD presenting a live concert in the Cathedral Chamber of the Grotte de Lombrives at
Ussat les Bains in the Ariege department. Since the mid-1980s concerts have been given in this huge room
on a fairly regular basis during the summer session and sometimes at Christmas time. The Salle de la
Cathédrale (shown on tis cover), 250m from the entrance, is as big as the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in
Paris.
For more information on the cave-inspired music on this album see under Contemporary Art Music –
Hommage au Sabarthez and also under Music Recorded in Natural Caves – France.
Ref: Brüser, Wolfgang 2011, Personal disc collection, Dechenhöhle, Lemathe, Germany, 7 Oct. 2011
Echos de Lombrives CD, Rozekruis Pers, rozekruispers
Gadal, Antoine n.d., La Grotte de Lombrives – Cathédrale des Cathares, (in French), gadal-catharisme
Grotte de Lombrives, Info (in French), Wikipedia
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Grotte de la Sainte-Baume
Saint Zacharie, Var
PC-RE-FR15 France 1970
LP: Joseph HAYDEN – CONCERTO POUR ORGUE &
SYMPHONIE CONCERTANTE
Perf: Orchestre de Chambre de La Sarre (Classical)
Label: Musidisc RC 670
Artist: Jean-Marc Nattier (1685-1766)
Title: A Reclining Lady as the Penitent Magdalene
(Oil on canvas)
Private Collection
Notes: A woman in white robes, the penitent Mary Magdalene, is
reading a book and reclining on the rocks next to a pool surrounded by
spiky desert-like vegetation. In the background is a natural bridge and
beyond that a waterfall and a few small buildings. Mary Magdalene is
not shown in a cave, but the natural arch is no doubt the artist’s way of suggesting the cave.
Mary Magdalene spent the last part of her life living as a hermit in a cave in France. Tradition has
designated this cave as the Grotte de la Sainte-Baume located part way up the long escarpment of the
Sainte-Baume Massif, southeast of St. Zacharie in the Var department. Inside the large cave chamber
(20m by 24m) is a chapel with a raised main altar and several side altars. Behind the main altar is a spring.
“Nattier appears to have combined the traditional penitent wilderness setting and reclining pose with
contemporary fashion. Such syntheses of contemporary figures and antique or historicizing subjects were
Nattier's specialty, and became a type for which he would ultimately gain his fame in the court of Louis XV.
“The identity of the sitter in the present portrait is unknown, though the nineteenth century scholar Fernand
Engerand hypothesized that it may portray, rather ironically given the penitent subject matter, Louis XV's
first official mistress, Louise Julie de Mailly-Nesle.” (Anon. 2014)
The painting shown here was sold in a Sotheby’s auction in New York on Jan. 30, 2014. However, this one
is a slightly different variant from the one on the LP cover. The latter shows more of the pool at the bottom
of the painting and some of rocks, the dead tree, and the building in the distance are different.
Ref: Anon. 2014, Jean Marc Nattier & Studio, A Reclining Lady as the Penitent Magdalene, Sotheby’s, sothebys
Alor-Treboutte, Josiane & Lucchesi, Alexis 1997, Randonnées dans le massif de la Sainte-Baume, Edisud, Aix-enProvence, p. 106-107
Engerand, Fernand 1897, Nattier, peintre des favorites de Louis XV, Revue de l'Art Ancien et Moderne, Novembre
1897, p. 332
Escudier, Joseph 1925, La Sainte-Baume, Lib. Letouzey, Paris, p. 16-31
Grotte de la Sainte-Baume, Official site (in French), saintebaume
La Grotte de Sainte Marie-Madeleine à la Sainte-Baume, (in French), mariemadeleine.fr
Massif de la Sainte-Baume, Data (in French), Wikipedia & (in English), Wikipedia
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PC-RE-FR16 Germany 2002
CD: GIOVANNI MARIA TRABACI - KEYBOARD MUSIC BOOK 1 – 1603
Perf: Sergio Vartolo
(Classical)
Label: Naxos 8.553550-52 (3XCDs)
Artist: Jusepe de Ribera (ca.1590-1652)
Title: St. Mary Magdalene
(Oil on canvas, ? )
Madrid, Museo de Prado
Notes: This cover has the famous painting by Ribera of Mary
Magdalene in front of her cave where she reputedly spent the last
part of her life living as a hermit.
Over the centuries many paintings of Mary Magdalene in her cave
were made by other famous artists – Escuela de Muillo (Prado
Museum); Pompeo Battoni (Staatsgalerie, Dresden); and Elisabetta
Sirani (Musée des Beaux-Arts, Besançon).
Ref: Grotte de la Sainte-Baume, Official site (in French), saintebaume
Giovanni Maria Trabaci – Keyboard Music Book 1 CD, Amazon.fr
Giovanni Maria Trabaci – Keyboard Music Book 1 CD, CDUniverse
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Grotte du Trou à l’homme & Porte d’Aval
Étretat, Seine Maritime
PC-RE-FR17 France 1974
LP: DEBUSSY – LA MER & TROIS NOCTURNES
Label: Philips 6538 013
Perf: Orchestre Symphonique de Detroit (Classical)
Artist: Claude Monet (1840-1926)
Title: Grosse mer à Étretat, 1868-1869
(Oil on canvas, 66.2cmx1m31cm)
Musée d’Orsay, Paris
Notes: A detail of the left portion of Monet’s painting shows eight
figures in stand in the wind on the beach watching the storm waves
crash against the cliffs as they wait for the fishermen to return. In the
distance the waves smash against the cliffs with the Porte d’Aval on
the right and the black Grotte du Trou à l’homme just left of center.
This large solution cave in chalk is over 50 meters long. The cave got its name from an incident following a
ship wreck. In 1792 a Swedish ship wrecked violently on these cliffs and all hands were lost. However, as
they went to bury the sailors one of was found alive. His body had been recovered on the ledge at the back
of this cave. He told how he had fought in the wild seas and had abandoned all hope, but the waves threw
him up onto the ledge.
By climbing a short steel ladder to the ledge along the cave wall one reaches a man-made tunnel at the
back end of the cave, which leads through the promontory to the pebble beach on the west side, Plage de
Jambourg, and further on to the large Manneporte arch. For the map of this cave with information on the
Porte d’Aval see below PC-RE-FR20.
Many other renowned artists did paintings of the cliffs, arches, and caves at Étretat: Eugène Boudin,
Eugène Delacroix, Paul Huet, Camille Corot, and Gustave Courbet (see below PC-RE-FR20).
Ref: L’Aiguille creuse (roman), (in French), Wikipedia & (in English), Wikipedia
Anon. 2015, La grotte? Non, le Trou à l’homme !, History & Photos (in French) ), etretat-normandie.fr
Claude Monet, Grosse mer à Étretat, Musée d’Orsay, musee-orsay.fr
Dejardin, Robert 2015, L’Aiguille creuse CD, Collections, n. 79, Déc. 2015, p. 17 & 29
Delarue, Bruno 2014, Les peintres à Étretat 1786-1940, Éditions Terre en vue, Fecamp
Lindon, Raymond 1963, Étretat: Son histoire, ses légendes, Éditions de Minuit, Paris, p. 100-103, 147-148
Martel, Edouard Alfred 1930, La France Ignorée – Tome 2, Des Ardennes aux Pyrénées, Librairie Delagrave, Paris,
p. 286
Maurice Leblanc, L’Aiguille creuse CD, Bibliothèque National Français, Catalogue général, bnf.fr
Maurice Leblanc, L’Aiguille creuse, BD de André-Paul Duchâteau & Jacques Geron, Claude Lefranq Editeur, 48p.
Promenade entre les falaises d'Étretat, francedigitale
Rodet, Joel 1983, Karst et littoral du Bec de Caux, Karstologia, n. 2, 2e semestre 1983, Association Française de
Karstologie, Nimes, p. 28 and Abstract of this paper online, speleogenesis.info
The Story of the Trou a l’Homme (Manhole), etretat
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PC-RE-FR18 France 2004
Boxed Set CD: L’AIGUILLE CREUSE
Label: Livraphone LIV 197C (6XCDs)
Perf: Jean-Claude Rey, Jean-Marie Fonbonne, Evelyne Lecuq, &
19 other actors
(Spoken Word)
Artist: Claude Monet (1840-1926)
Title: The Cliff, Étretat, Sunset, 1882-1883
(Oil on canvas, 60.5x82cm)
North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, NC
Notes: Two black figures in formal wear, presumably Arsene Lupin,
one in the foreground and the other further away, have been
embedded over the Monet painting.
The painting is a general view looking west from the beach at
Étretat to the cliffs. At the base of the cliffs just to the right of the
man’s head on the left is the faintly darker triangular arch of the Trou à l’homme cave.
Ref: Anon. 2015, La grotte? Non, le Trou à l’homme !, History & Photos (in French) ), etretat-normandie.fr
Claude Monet, The Cliff, Étretat, North Carolina Museum of Art, artnc
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Pont d’Arc *
Vallon Pont d’Arc, Ardèche
PC-RE-FR19 France 1982
45: CHANTE L’ARDÈCHE
Perf: Jean Pierre (World)
Label: Arpin 008
Photos: (Color) Michel Jose
Notes: The cover photo shows the east side of this massive natural bridge spanning the Ardèche River at
the northwestern end of the Ardèche Gorge. The bridge is the remnant of a former huge cave that the river
once traversed.
The shot of Jean Pierre playing his organ was laid in over the bridge shot.
For more information on the cave-inspired music on this album see under World Music – France – WD-FRFK1 & 13.
Ref: Gorges de l’Ardèche, (in French), Wikipedia
Jean Pierre chante l’Ardèche, Encyclopé Disque
Pont d’Arc, Wikipedia
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Porte d’Aval
Étretat, Seine Maritime
PC-RE-FR20 Spain 1980
LP: Los Tesoros de la Música Clásica – Vol. 2 –
Tchaikowsky: SINFONIA NO. 5
Perf: Orquesta Filarmónica del Estado de Hamburgo
(Classical)
Label: Sarpe TCM-2
Artist: Gustave Courbet (1819-1877)
Title: Falaise d’Étretat, après l’orage (Detail), 1869
(Oil on canvas, 133x162)
Paris; Musée d’Orsay
Notes: A detail from the bottom
right portion of this masterpiece by
Courbet. The entire work shows the
beach looking west at Étretat to the marine arch, Porte d’Aval, and the
limestone cliffs at the base of which can be seen the 52-meter long
solution marine cave, Trou à l’Homme. The entrance of one of three
more short caves can also be made out in the painting at the waterline
between the main cave and the arch. This detail shows only the arch
itself and the entrance to one of the small caves. It is also possible to
make out (beyond the second fishing boat) the small figures of women
washing clothes in the fresh water that resurges in the pebbles of the
beach.
Gustave Courbet did several paintings of the cliffs at Étretat but most of
his landscapes portray the limestone country of the Franche Comte
region in eastern France. In the history of art, he is known as the
precursor of the French school of realism in the 19th century and he also
ranks as the most prolific painter of caves with over 25 different known
works showing real or imaginary caves.
The map of the promontory and the marine arch by Joël Rodet (1992)
shows (counterclockwise from top) the Trou à l’Homme; small cavites nos. 3, 4, & 5; the arch; Grotte de la
Porte d’Aval; and Trou au Chien (34m) with its two entrances. These are all natural caves dissolved in
chalk.
Ref: Courthion, Robert 1995, Tout l'oeuvre peint de Courbet, Flammarion, Paris, p. 112-113
Hoyez, Bernard 2010, A la découverte géologique des falaise d’Étretat, Planet Terre, Station 15 & 16, L’École normale
supérieure de Lyon, ens-lyon.fr
Martel, Edouard Alfred 1930, La France Ignorée – Tome 2, Des Ardennes aux Pyrénées, Librairie Delagrave, Paris,
p. 286
Promenade entre les falaises d'Etretat, francedigitale
Rodet, Joel 1983, Karst et littoral du Bec de Caux, Karstologia, n. 2, 2e semestre 1983, Association Française de
Karstologie, Nimes, p. 28 and Abstract of this paper online, speleogenesis.info
Los Tesoros de la Música Clásica – Vol. 2, Tchaikowsky: Sinfonia N° 5 LP, Discogs
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Source du Lison
Nans-sous-Sainte-Anne, Doubs
PC-RE-FR21 United Kingdom 1981
LP: NAPOLÉON COSTE: MUSIC FOR GUITAR & OBOE
Perf: Simon Wynberg & John Anderson (Classical)
Label: Chandos ARB 1031
Artist: Gustave Courbet (1819-1877)
Title: La Source du Lyson (sic), 1864
(Oil on canvas, 54x45cm)
Berne, Switzerland; Private collection
Notes: A magnificent jacket cover showing a detail of the lower
half of Courbet's second oil painting of the Source du Lison,
which he did during his stay with Max Buchon at Salins in 1864.
This painting is now in a private collection in Berne, Switzerland
and was used for this cover through the co-operation of the Berne
Museum of Fine Arts.
The Source du Lison is a major cave resurgence where a
considerable flow of water reappears after a short siphon passage coming from the nearby Creux Billard, a
collection pit.
“Située au fond d'une reculée, la source du Lison est une résurgence des zones calcaires… avec un débit
moyen de 7,3 m3 par seconde. Le Lison prend sa source à 2 km de Nans sous Saint Anne dans un cadre
spectaculaire au pied d'une falaise.“ (Anon. n.d.)
[Situated at the end of a blind valley, the Lison Spring is a karst resurgence… with an average flow of 7.3
m³ per second. The Lison has its source 2km from Nans-sous-Saint-Anne within a spectacular setting at
the foot of a cliff.]
For more information on the cave-inspired music on this album see under Classical Music – Guitar.
Ref: Anon. 2012, La Source du Lison (in French), lieux-insolites.fr
Anon. n.d., Balade à Nans sous Ste Anne, Source du Lison, (in French), recoin.fr
Brison, David 1998, Caves Celebrated in Recorded Music & Songs (sic), Al Ouat’ouate, Nouvelle série n. 11, 1998,
p. 99, 101, 106
Brison, David 2013, Caves Painted by Gustave Courbet, (Unpublished Inventory), p. 2-3
Frachon, Jean-Claude & Cailhol, Didier 2006, Nans-sous-Sainte-Anne, Karstologie (in French) neuf.fr
Jeffery, Brian 1982, Preface to the sheet music of Napoleon Coste's La Source du Lyson, Opus 47, Tecla Editions,
London, p. [2]
Source du Lison, Description (in French), Wikipedia
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Unidentified Cave No. 1
Château de la Treyne, Lacave, Lot
PC-RE-FR22 France 1969
LP: Ketelbey – DANS LE JARDIN D’UN MONASTERE
Perf: Choeurs et Nouvel Orchestre Symphonique de Londres
Label: Classique Royal 220.014
Photo: (Color) Ch. Olivier/ Zeno
Notes: At the base of the limestone cliffs along the Lot River beneath
the Château de la Treyne three cave entrances can be seen in the
photo, two of these on the left probably connect into one cave or all
three may be connected.
Ref: Château de la Treyne, Lot, lacorreze
Ketelbey – Dans le jardin d’un monastere LP, le-disque-vinyle
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Unidentified Cave No. 2
PC-RE-FR23 France 1976
Flexi-Disc: DANS LES ENTRAILLES DE LA TERRE AVEC NORBERT CASTERET
Speleo: Norbert Casteret
Nar: ( ?) (Spoken Word - Documentary)
Label: Radio Vision RV 202
Photo: (Black & white) (?)
Notes: The photo on the gatefold cover of these flexi-discs shows a caver
chimneying along a vadose sculptured passage. This photo was probably
taken by Jacques Jolfre who took all the 16 color slides included with this
documentary flexi-disc,
For more information on this album see under Spoken Word Documentary
– France.
Ref: Jolfre, Jacques 1992, Norbert Casteret: Explorateur d’abimes, Ed. Milan,
Toulouse
Kalliatautis, Gérard, Letter dated June 20, 2000, Vénissieux (Lyon), France
_____________________________________________________
Unidentified Cave No. 3
PC-RE-FR24 France ca.1980
LP: CANTATE POUR LE CANTENAIRE DE SAINTE BERNADETTE
Nar: Jean Desailly
Perf: Orchestre de Chambre de Rennes (Religious)
Label: (?)
Photo: (Color) (?)
Notes: The color photo shows a cave entrance very similar in shape to
the Grotte de Massabielle at Lourdes, but this is a wild cave or cave
shelter somewhere else. There is no altar or statue of the Virgin, instead
we see two nuns and a postulant nun, bent over, kneeling, or standing in
front of the cave.
This Cantate for the Centennial of Saint Bernadette with music by JeanPaul Lécot was first created at Lourdes on July 26, 1979 and recorded at
the Église de la Trinité in Paris on Jan. 27, 1980.
Ref: Dejardin, Robert 2012, Disque vinyle – Musical, Collections, n. 68, Avril 2012, p. 29
_____________________________________________________
Unidentified Cave No. 4
PC-RE-FR25 France 1985
Cassette: LA PROTECTION DU MILIEU SOUTERRAIN
Nar: (?)
(Spoken Word - Documentary)
Label: Radio Vision RV 290
Photo: (Black & white) (?)
Notes: A caver standing surrounded by several short and one long
stalagmite in a cave presumably somewhere in France.
For more information on this album see under Spoken Word Documentary
– France.
_____________________________________________________
Unidentified Cave No. 5
PC-RE-FR26 France 2001 or 2005
CD: TRANSPARIÉTAL
Perf: Suarri & Emmanuel Dilhac (Contemporary Art)
Label: La Café qui brûle (No Catalog No.)
Photo: (Color) Wilford O’yl
Notes: Looking up out of a large pit somewhere in France. The
designer of this CD cover, Gwendal Legrand, wrote that he used this
photo by an archaeologist that he knew, but that he didn’t know the
name of the pit which was probably located in southwestern France.
The photographer-archeologist, Wilford O’yl, is an active member of
the Spéléo Club de Périgueux in the Dordogne, so no doubt this pit
is somewhere within their stomping grounds.
The view looking up the breakdown and rubble slope at the base of
the pit shows the climbing rope hanging down on the extreme right
and a couple of long creeper vines on the left side of the opening.
Superimposed on the photo are several crystalline shapes in outline
and solid forms. Inside the liner notes folder a detail of this cover
photo is reproduced in dull sepia as background to the text; A
slightly different photo looking up out of this pit but taken further
down the debris slope is shown in vignette on the back side of the liner notes.
None of the avant-garde music here is cave-inspired. Several pieces are lithophonic music performed by
striking slate, schist, basalt, or other rocks. The release date given by Discogs is 2001, however, the
Emmanuel Dilhac site gives it as 2005.
Ref: Dilhac. Emmanuel n.d., Emmanuel Dilhac, Disographie, emmanuel-dilhac
Dilhac. Emmanuel n.d., Emmanuel Dilhac, Parcours musical, emmanuel-dilhac
Legrand, Gwendal 2015, Letter dated 3 August 2015, St. Avit de Vialard, Dordogne
Saurri & Emmanuel Dilhac, Transparietal CD, Discogs
caveinspiredmusic.com