Monday, Feb. 25, 1991

GRAPEVINE

By DAVID ELLIS

What do you get when you combine Gregorian chants, a disco beat and quotations from the Marquis de Sade delivered in a breathless whisper? Only the most popular dance music in Europe. Sadeness is currently a No. 1 hit in 13 countries and is stealing the show at cutting-edge discos in the U.S. Romanian-born producer Michael Cretu calls his odd creation Enigma music. Cretu claims the ancient music of the Catholic Church -- "a rather mysterious and absolutely paradoxical club" -- provides the perfect companion to De Sade's sensualist prose.

With reporting by Linda Williams