Post by ChrisB on Dec 2, 2015 13:38:33 GMT
December 2015 - Ensemble Ambrosius - The Zappa Album (Release date: 2000)
Label: BIS (Northern Lights series) / Cat. No. B0000508S2
A long time fan of Frank Zappa's music, I have a big collection of his recordings but, of the orchestral work he did, most of them are flawed in some way. I was delighted when I discovered this record a few years ago and since then, I've played it quite a lot. The performances are by Ensemble Ambrosius, a Finnish chamber music ensemble that plays modern music on baroque instruments.
No doubt, classical music fans, lovers of baroque music, haters of baroque music and Zappa freaks alike will all recoil in horror at the very thought of this concept, but trust me, it works!
It all began in 1995, three students of early music tried to play some of Zappa’s music with baroque period instruments as a bit of a joke. Then things got serious and it resulted in the release of this CD in 2000.
The thing I like about this recording is that the music lends itself so well to being played in this style and, to the Zappa aficionado, there are lots of echoes of passages from the early Mothers of Invention albums, which sort of make you think that Frank was quite strongly influenced by this style of playing - a realisation that came as a bit of a surprise to me when I first heard the 'Uncle Meat' album as a teenager, which is peppered with harpsichords and processed woodwind instruments. (Interesting fact for rock fans - Jimi Hendrix first tried a wah-wah pedal with his guitar, borrowing it from FZ after he heard it being used with a clarinet by the Mothers during a show in New York).
The choice of pieces comes from throughout Zappa's career - from the early Mothers in the mid to late 1960's to the work he wrote for the Synclavier in the 1990's. It's striking to people who know this music in its original form, that the pieces rely heavily on things that do not feature at all in baroque music like a rock rhythm section and electronics and synthesizers, then you hear that the musicians didn't have access to any scores and one can't help wondering if the whole thing might just be a really bad idea. On listening though, it's obvious that the record is a bit of a triumph of adaptation but also of the transcriber's art.
Highlights for me are:
'Sofa', one of my favourite Zappa pieces and something he recorded in several different styles throughout his career. Here, the lack of a rock drum kit and bass guitar are made up for with the use of a baroque mandolin - interesting!
'Zoot Allures', Big Swifty, Alien Orifice (really much nicer than it sounds!) and 'Orange County Lumber Truck'
The final track - 'G-Spot Tornado' was composed on the synclavier and Zappa thought it was a piece that could not be played to his satisfaction by human musicians but was delighted when the Ensemble Moderne did so. That performance appears on the album called 'The Yellow Shark' and is Germaine Greer's absolute favourite piece of music ever, for what it's worth!
The album was released with the full approval of the Zappa Family Trust - one of a very small number of approved releases of his music performed by other musicians.
There's a great reference from the ensemble about the choice of image for the CD cover - "The rabbit also has unusually large ears, which remind of the often forgotten fact that somewhere far beyond the MTV world there do exist music that is primarily meant for listening".
Anyway, I hope that this album choice might finally hit the spot for some people who have never been able to properly connect with Zappa's music. I'll choose something more conventional next time, I promise!
Some reviews:
'Record of Year 2001' by the Belgian Broadcasting Company.
"The Zappa Album marks a uniquely compelling listening experience."
- The Observer (London), cd of the week, (January 7, 2001)
"I never imagined that Zappa's uniquely unclassifiable pop/classical concoctions would sound so vital, convincing and idiomatic. Artistic & sound quality: 10/10" - www.classicstoday.com
"An astounding record." - Record Buyer (February, 2001)
"Zappa appears in different clothes, to excellent effect." - Gramophone (January, 2001)
"A must-buy for any sensible Zappaist." - Dagens Nyheter (December 8, 2000)
The Ensemble Ambrosius has performed in the UK, Sweden, Belgium, Russia and Germany.
The music doesn't seem to be available on You Tube in the form of an entire album so here it is, track by track, as far as is possible.
Label: BIS (Northern Lights series) / Cat. No. B0000508S2
A long time fan of Frank Zappa's music, I have a big collection of his recordings but, of the orchestral work he did, most of them are flawed in some way. I was delighted when I discovered this record a few years ago and since then, I've played it quite a lot. The performances are by Ensemble Ambrosius, a Finnish chamber music ensemble that plays modern music on baroque instruments.
No doubt, classical music fans, lovers of baroque music, haters of baroque music and Zappa freaks alike will all recoil in horror at the very thought of this concept, but trust me, it works!
It all began in 1995, three students of early music tried to play some of Zappa’s music with baroque period instruments as a bit of a joke. Then things got serious and it resulted in the release of this CD in 2000.
The thing I like about this recording is that the music lends itself so well to being played in this style and, to the Zappa aficionado, there are lots of echoes of passages from the early Mothers of Invention albums, which sort of make you think that Frank was quite strongly influenced by this style of playing - a realisation that came as a bit of a surprise to me when I first heard the 'Uncle Meat' album as a teenager, which is peppered with harpsichords and processed woodwind instruments. (Interesting fact for rock fans - Jimi Hendrix first tried a wah-wah pedal with his guitar, borrowing it from FZ after he heard it being used with a clarinet by the Mothers during a show in New York).
The choice of pieces comes from throughout Zappa's career - from the early Mothers in the mid to late 1960's to the work he wrote for the Synclavier in the 1990's. It's striking to people who know this music in its original form, that the pieces rely heavily on things that do not feature at all in baroque music like a rock rhythm section and electronics and synthesizers, then you hear that the musicians didn't have access to any scores and one can't help wondering if the whole thing might just be a really bad idea. On listening though, it's obvious that the record is a bit of a triumph of adaptation but also of the transcriber's art.
Highlights for me are:
'Sofa', one of my favourite Zappa pieces and something he recorded in several different styles throughout his career. Here, the lack of a rock drum kit and bass guitar are made up for with the use of a baroque mandolin - interesting!
'Zoot Allures', Big Swifty, Alien Orifice (really much nicer than it sounds!) and 'Orange County Lumber Truck'
The final track - 'G-Spot Tornado' was composed on the synclavier and Zappa thought it was a piece that could not be played to his satisfaction by human musicians but was delighted when the Ensemble Moderne did so. That performance appears on the album called 'The Yellow Shark' and is Germaine Greer's absolute favourite piece of music ever, for what it's worth!
The album was released with the full approval of the Zappa Family Trust - one of a very small number of approved releases of his music performed by other musicians.
There's a great reference from the ensemble about the choice of image for the CD cover - "The rabbit also has unusually large ears, which remind of the often forgotten fact that somewhere far beyond the MTV world there do exist music that is primarily meant for listening".
Anyway, I hope that this album choice might finally hit the spot for some people who have never been able to properly connect with Zappa's music. I'll choose something more conventional next time, I promise!
Some reviews:
'Record of Year 2001' by the Belgian Broadcasting Company.
"The Zappa Album marks a uniquely compelling listening experience."
- The Observer (London), cd of the week, (January 7, 2001)
"I never imagined that Zappa's uniquely unclassifiable pop/classical concoctions would sound so vital, convincing and idiomatic. Artistic & sound quality: 10/10" - www.classicstoday.com
"An astounding record." - Record Buyer (February, 2001)
"Zappa appears in different clothes, to excellent effect." - Gramophone (January, 2001)
"A must-buy for any sensible Zappaist." - Dagens Nyheter (December 8, 2000)
The Ensemble Ambrosius has performed in the UK, Sweden, Belgium, Russia and Germany.
The music doesn't seem to be available on You Tube in the form of an entire album so here it is, track by track, as far as is possible.
Thanks Chris, I think FZ understood his own limitations!