In the Gardens of Pharao
Praised as one of Germany's premier progressive bands in the 70s  and early 80s, Popol Vuh was founded in 1969 by keyboardist Florian Fricke.  The band took its name from the title of the Quiche Mayan Indians' bible.  Popol Vuh's first album, Affenstunde (The Time of the Monkey King) was a  strong reflection of Fricke's interest in Mayan lore and his attraction to  the devotional aspects of music. Popol Vuh successfully combined sacred  musical traditions from around the world with classical, jazz and rock  elements. Although the band employed acoustic instruments from a variety of  Western and ethnic sources, it created quite a stir as one of the first  ensembles to use the Moog synthesizer in the early 70s. As such, Popol Vuh  influenced several generations of electronic and contemplative artists.  Popol Vuh also gained considerable attention for its scores to films by the  celebrated German director, Werner Herzog, including Nosferatu and Aguirre,  The Wrath of God.