Sadeness (Part I)

"Sadeness (Part I)" is a song by German musical project Enigma, released in October 1990 by Virgin Records as the lead single from their first album MCMXC a.D. (1990). It was written by Michael Cretu, Fabrice Cuitad and Frank Peterson, and produced by the last. The song features a French lyric whispered by Cretu's then-wife Sandra and became an international hit, reaching number one in 14 countries. In the United States it peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on both the Dance Club Play and 12-inch Singles Sales charts. Its accompanying music video was directed by Michel Guimbard, featuring a scribe dreaming of wandering into The Gates of Hell. A sequel to the song, "Sadeness (Part II)", featuring Anggun, was released on Enigma's eighth studio album, The Fall of a Rebel Angel (2016).

"Sadeness" was written by Michael Cretu (under the pseudonym Curly M.C.), Frank Peterson (under the pseudonym F. Gregorian), and Fabrice Cuitad (under the pseudonym David Fairstein). The song was named "Sadeness (Part I)" on its single release in Germany, and "Sadness Part I" on its single release in the United Kingdom and Japan. It is a sensual track based around "questioning" the sexual desires of Marquis de Sade; hence the German release name of "Sadeness", as opposed to the English word of "Sadness" used in the UK release. The track reached number one faster than any new release in German history - before its video clip had even been finished. The record company Virgin had done virtually no promotion on the song. Sales took off mainly on the strength of radio and club play.

In the 2017 book Stars of 90's Dance Pop: 29 Hitmakers Discuss Their Careers by James Arena, producer Frank Peterson recalled: "Well, we finished the song, and we were in total awe of ourselves. Michael's manager, who also managed Sandra, came out to Ibiza with us for a weekend, and we played him the track. He was sitting there listening and said, "That's very heavy going. You'll never get that on radio." We started thinking, "Oh shit." An hour later, our contact at Virgin tells us his secretary and other people at the office are fucking amazed by the song. He said he didn't get it, but everyone else seemed to love it. So pretty quickly the song came out."

The track makes use of the following:

"This is what I totally believe—the song combined so many things. It was culture, it was hip, it was new sounding, and people couldn't tell where in the world it came from. American, French, Italian? They had no idea. It sounded so familiar, but yet so foreign at the same time. I think that was the key to its success."

Ned Raggett from AllMusic commented, "Snippets of monks invoking the Almighty effortlessly glide in and out of a polite but still strong breakbeat, shimmering, atmospheric synth and flute lines and a Frenchwoman whispering in a way that sounds distinctly more carnal than spiritual (as her gasps for breath elsewhere make clear)." Keith Clark from Bay Area Reporter called the song "suggestive". Larry Flick from Billboard magazine described it as "brilliant and quirky", remarking that "it is currently the fastest-selling single in German recording history." He added that it "has already raised the ire of religious groups for its use of traditional Gregorian chants within the context of orgasmic groaning and a tribal hip-hop groove." Leah Greenblatt from Entertainment Weekly described it as a "incense trance". Irish Evening Herald called it "one of the most seductive dance records of the past couple of years". Swedish Expressen noted that church song are used "as a very reliable vocal generator".

Dave Sholin from the Gavin Report wrote, "Listeners may not have a clue what it's about, but the mood created by this totally unique production will keep 'em glued and wanting more. Not only have the Germans demolished the Berlin Wall, they had the good sense to make this a number one "sod - as in (Marquis De Sade) ness." A reviewer from Music Week described it as "chanting monks and a sensual muttering rolling over a hypnotically rolling slow beat". Ian Cranna from Smash Hits noted the "atmospheric lines" of the song in his review, adding that it's "combining medieval monks' chants and wispy, wistful synthesiser driftings over hippety-hoppety beats." Bob Mack from Spin called it "the Dark Ages disco cut". He added that "the track starts with a standard call and response—but it's one of monks doing Gregorian chants. After the beats kick in, synth washes buoy the flute flourishes, while French spoken words and heavy female panting get the point across." Kimberly Chrisma from The Stanford Daily felt the result of combining Gregorian chant with "pulsating synthesizers" was "an ambient fantasia that made the heart throb and the mind tingle."

Reviewing MCMXC a.D. for Rolling Stone, Chuck Eddy praised "Sadeness (Part I)", commenting on the unlikeliness of a hit single "[combining] the accidental da da appeal of Focus's 'Hocus Pocus' or Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody' with the sort of trendy, hipster credentials that come from getting played real often in gay discos," deeming this to contribute to the song being treasurable and adding: "Sprinkled with Gregorian chants, Vincent Price crackles, pidgin-French porn and who knows what else, the record suggests a monastery's worth of Franciscan friars droning their evening amens and then sneaking down the fire escape for a midnight massage session with the farmer's daughter down the lane." In 2011, Tom Ewing of Freaky Trigger wrote that, when the song was released, Enigma were "operating at least within shouting distance of credibility", with ambient music having become popular again, but believed that time had not been kind to the song, saying it "sounds today like an almost parodically generic chillout track. Its mysteries have evaporated – what remains is a ponderous mix of particularly banal elements. Gregorian chant? Synthesised pan pipes? Give over!"