ENSEMBLE AMBROSIUS
''THE ZAPPA ALBUM''
OCTOBER 17 2000
49:59
1. Night School (arr. E. Lievonen)/4:32
2. Sofa (arr. O. Virtaperko)/3:06
3. Black Page #2 (arr. O. Virtaperko)/3:00
4. Uncle Meat (arr. O. Virtaperko)/2:50
5. Igor's Boogie (arr. E. Lievonen): Igor's Boogie (arr. E. Lievonen)/1:10
6. Zoot Allures (arr. O. Virtaperko)/3:13
7. Big Swifty (arr. O. Virtaperko)/1:57
8. T'Mershi Duween (arr. E. Lievonen): T'Mershi Duween (arr. E. Lievonen)/1:52
9. Alien Orifice (arr. O. Virtaperko)/4:31
10. The Idiot Bastard Son (arr. O. Virtaperko)/3:10
11. Rdnzl (Arr. O. Virtaperko)/2:48
12. The Orange County Lumber Truck (arr. O. Virtaperko)/0:55
13. Echidna's Arf (of You) (arr. E. Lievonen)/3:49
14. Inca Roads (arr. O. Virtaperko)/9:15
15. G-Spot Tornado (arr. E. Lievonen)/3:51
"Arf!" exclaims the prairie rabbit on the cover of The Zappa Album -and for a good reason.The rabbit's utterance captures perfectly the fundamental spirit of Ensemble Ambrosius' The Zappa Album: the music and legacy of Frank Zappa (1940-1993).
A composer, guitarist and innovator par excellence, Zappa never shied away from avant-garde and always opted for the most daring, the most demanding solutions throughout his career. This trailblazing artistic integrity is greatly in evidence in the Zappa Album, a new release from Ensemble Ambrosius, a group that plays contemporary music with Baroque instruments, such as the harpsichord and the Baroque oboe.
The challenge Ensemble Ambrosius chose to face in The Zappa Album was simple and daunting at the same time: to translate Zappa's music into the Baroque instrumental idiom. The combination is improbable, yet it works perfectly in The Zappa Album. Zappa's idiosyncratic and often difficult compositions ranging from his legendary output of the 1960s with the band Mothers of Invention to his more classically oriented Synclavier works of the 1990s are played in the new album with verve and skill.
So much so, that when the master's widow Gail Zappa, who controls the rights to Zappa's music, heard Ensemble Ambrosius' rendition of Zappa for the first time, she immediately approved the whole project, making The Zappa Album one of the few recordings of Zappa performed by other artists ever released in co-operation with The Zappa Family Trust. Ms. Zappa, however, had a one request. Zappa himself had always emphasized the significance of conceptual continuity in his art, which time and again returned to same themes and topics.
This in mind Ms. Zappa asked if the rabbit on the cover of The Zappa Album could utter one of Zappa's keywords: Arf! Ensemble Ambrosius was more than happy to oblige.
Ensemble Ambrosius is based in Helsinki, Finland. Ambrosians are young professional musicians, who share rigorous training in early music and mutual interest in all forms of contemporay music: pop, rock and classical.
REVIEW
by François Couture
In a nutshell, this CD presents a baroque music ensemble playing the music of Frank Zappa. Surprising, isn't it? Well, the surprise turns into delight upon listening to The Zappa Album. Ensemble Ambrosius is a young Finnish ensemble playing contemporary music on baroque-era instruments (cello, violin, oboe, harpsichord, dulcimer, and chamber organ). Eric Lievonen and Olli Virtaperko started from scratch to transcribe and arrange a selection of songs covering the whole palette of Zappa's writing. The repertoire includes old favorites like "Black Page #2," "Sofa," "The Idiot Bastard Son," and the inevitable "Inca Roads," but also more obscure tracks like "Night School," "T'Mershi Duween," and "Echidna's Arf (Of You)." Ensemble Ambrosius succeeds in borrowing from the master's comedy music, big-band music ("Big Swifty"), Synclavier works ("Night School," "G-Spot Tornado"), complex mid-'70s music, etc., and delivers it all in suite-like form, fitting it all together just like Zappa used to do -- except it's played on baroque instruments, with no percussion at all, and it works just fine. Pleasure peaks include the virtuosic "Uncle Meat" and "Alien Orifice," a beautiful zither playing the melody in "RDNZL" and the surprising segueing of "The Orange County Lumber Truck" with "Echidna's Arf (Of You)." The only below-average moment is "The Idiot Bastard Son," which would have been better off without vocals (all other tracks are instrumentals). Zappa fans will find in this Zappa Album a chance to rediscover some tunes in a very different and charming context. This is the most original Zappa tribute album released yet. Strongly recommended.
ABOUT
The story of the most unique approach to cross-over music began in 1995, as three early music students from Finland tried out playing some Frank Zappa’s music with baroque period instruments. What started as a merely one-time musical joke led soon to an ambitious laboratory of contemporary music, resulting the cd The Zappa Album (2000), an unheard combination of Baroque and rock.
Selected as “The Record of Year 2001” by the Belgian Broadcasting Company and “The Record of Month 1/2000” by The Observer, London, The Zappa Album brought a exceptional contribution to the musical heritage of Frank Zappa. Since that the ensemble has widen its repertoire to the direction of ethno-jazz-oriented material and contemporary classical music. Ensemble Ambrosius is based in Helsinki, Finland. In addition to regular domestic performances, Ensemble Ambrosius has given concerts in Great Britain (2002), Sweden (2003,2004, 2005), Belgium (2004) Russia (2007) and Germany (2010).
''THE ZAPPA ALBUM''
OCTOBER 17 2000
49:59
1. Night School (arr. E. Lievonen)/4:32
2. Sofa (arr. O. Virtaperko)/3:06
3. Black Page #2 (arr. O. Virtaperko)/3:00
4. Uncle Meat (arr. O. Virtaperko)/2:50
5. Igor's Boogie (arr. E. Lievonen): Igor's Boogie (arr. E. Lievonen)/1:10
6. Zoot Allures (arr. O. Virtaperko)/3:13
7. Big Swifty (arr. O. Virtaperko)/1:57
8. T'Mershi Duween (arr. E. Lievonen): T'Mershi Duween (arr. E. Lievonen)/1:52
9. Alien Orifice (arr. O. Virtaperko)/4:31
10. The Idiot Bastard Son (arr. O. Virtaperko)/3:10
11. Rdnzl (Arr. O. Virtaperko)/2:48
12. The Orange County Lumber Truck (arr. O. Virtaperko)/0:55
13. Echidna's Arf (of You) (arr. E. Lievonen)/3:49
14. Inca Roads (arr. O. Virtaperko)/9:15
15. G-Spot Tornado (arr. E. Lievonen)/3:51
"Arf!" exclaims the prairie rabbit on the cover of The Zappa Album -and for a good reason.The rabbit's utterance captures perfectly the fundamental spirit of Ensemble Ambrosius' The Zappa Album: the music and legacy of Frank Zappa (1940-1993).
A composer, guitarist and innovator par excellence, Zappa never shied away from avant-garde and always opted for the most daring, the most demanding solutions throughout his career. This trailblazing artistic integrity is greatly in evidence in the Zappa Album, a new release from Ensemble Ambrosius, a group that plays contemporary music with Baroque instruments, such as the harpsichord and the Baroque oboe.
The challenge Ensemble Ambrosius chose to face in The Zappa Album was simple and daunting at the same time: to translate Zappa's music into the Baroque instrumental idiom. The combination is improbable, yet it works perfectly in The Zappa Album. Zappa's idiosyncratic and often difficult compositions ranging from his legendary output of the 1960s with the band Mothers of Invention to his more classically oriented Synclavier works of the 1990s are played in the new album with verve and skill.
So much so, that when the master's widow Gail Zappa, who controls the rights to Zappa's music, heard Ensemble Ambrosius' rendition of Zappa for the first time, she immediately approved the whole project, making The Zappa Album one of the few recordings of Zappa performed by other artists ever released in co-operation with The Zappa Family Trust. Ms. Zappa, however, had a one request. Zappa himself had always emphasized the significance of conceptual continuity in his art, which time and again returned to same themes and topics.
This in mind Ms. Zappa asked if the rabbit on the cover of The Zappa Album could utter one of Zappa's keywords: Arf! Ensemble Ambrosius was more than happy to oblige.
Ensemble Ambrosius is based in Helsinki, Finland. Ambrosians are young professional musicians, who share rigorous training in early music and mutual interest in all forms of contemporay music: pop, rock and classical.
REVIEW
by François Couture
In a nutshell, this CD presents a baroque music ensemble playing the music of Frank Zappa. Surprising, isn't it? Well, the surprise turns into delight upon listening to The Zappa Album. Ensemble Ambrosius is a young Finnish ensemble playing contemporary music on baroque-era instruments (cello, violin, oboe, harpsichord, dulcimer, and chamber organ). Eric Lievonen and Olli Virtaperko started from scratch to transcribe and arrange a selection of songs covering the whole palette of Zappa's writing. The repertoire includes old favorites like "Black Page #2," "Sofa," "The Idiot Bastard Son," and the inevitable "Inca Roads," but also more obscure tracks like "Night School," "T'Mershi Duween," and "Echidna's Arf (Of You)." Ensemble Ambrosius succeeds in borrowing from the master's comedy music, big-band music ("Big Swifty"), Synclavier works ("Night School," "G-Spot Tornado"), complex mid-'70s music, etc., and delivers it all in suite-like form, fitting it all together just like Zappa used to do -- except it's played on baroque instruments, with no percussion at all, and it works just fine. Pleasure peaks include the virtuosic "Uncle Meat" and "Alien Orifice," a beautiful zither playing the melody in "RDNZL" and the surprising segueing of "The Orange County Lumber Truck" with "Echidna's Arf (Of You)." The only below-average moment is "The Idiot Bastard Son," which would have been better off without vocals (all other tracks are instrumentals). Zappa fans will find in this Zappa Album a chance to rediscover some tunes in a very different and charming context. This is the most original Zappa tribute album released yet. Strongly recommended.
ABOUT
The story of the most unique approach to cross-over music began in 1995, as three early music students from Finland tried out playing some Frank Zappa’s music with baroque period instruments. What started as a merely one-time musical joke led soon to an ambitious laboratory of contemporary music, resulting the cd The Zappa Album (2000), an unheard combination of Baroque and rock.
Selected as “The Record of Year 2001” by the Belgian Broadcasting Company and “The Record of Month 1/2000” by The Observer, London, The Zappa Album brought a exceptional contribution to the musical heritage of Frank Zappa. Since that the ensemble has widen its repertoire to the direction of ethno-jazz-oriented material and contemporary classical music. Ensemble Ambrosius is based in Helsinki, Finland. In addition to regular domestic performances, Ensemble Ambrosius has given concerts in Great Britain (2002), Sweden (2003,2004, 2005), Belgium (2004) Russia (2007) and Germany (2010).
