Le saut de l'ange / Les anges

Quartet Records and Gruppo Sugar present the premiere release of the complete score by iconic French composer François de Roubaix (Le samourai, Dernier domicile connu, Le scoumoune) for the Polar classic Le Saut de l'ange (aka Cobra and Angel´s Leap) (1971). Directed by Yves Boisset, the film starred Jean Yanne, Senta Berger and Sterling Hayden. The plot is about an electoral battle raging in Marseilles. The Corsican Clan, under the rule of the Orsini family, is being challenged by the next generation, younger gangsters who support the candidacy of Forestier, an estate promoter. To ensure his election and to get his hands on the city, Forestier stops at nothing and has the Orsini brothers liquidated one by one. During this clearing operation, a little girl is accidentally shot. Her father, Louis Orsini, a former mercenary, decides to take revenge...

François de Roubaix, a unique voice in French cinema, provides a haunting, melodic, delicate yet always unusual score dominated by the piano, synthesizer, sitar, accordion and strings – an eclectic combination recorded on his customary 8-track tape recorder at his Paris home studio.

Only two cues from Le Saut de l'ange were released on a single at the time of the film's release. Now, thanks to the discovery of the first-generation master tapes courtesy of Gruppo Sugar, we can offer this masterwork in its entirety. As a bonus, also courtesy of Gruppo Sugar, we have included the only two surviving tracks from the electrifying and cool score composed by de Roubaix for the TV series Les Anges. The package includes a 12-page full-color booklet with liner notes by Stéphane Lerouge.