Vienna Art Orchestra - The Minimalism of Erik Satie (hat ART, 1984)

 This post is by Dan

Mathias Rüegg (arr, comp); Wolfgang Puschnig (as, bcl, fl, ss); Wolfgang Reisinger (perc); Harry Sokal (ss, ts, fl); Roman Schwaller (ts, cl); Christian Radovan (tb); John Sass (tba); Woody Schabata (vib); Lauren Newton (vo); Hannes Kottek (t, flhn); Karl Kian (tr, flhn)

Recorded September 20-22, 1983 and March 14, 1984

The Vienna Art Orchestra (VAO) was founded in 1977 by Mathias Rüegg (pictured). His orchestra recorded a dozen albums during the 1980s, quite an accomplishment for a large ensemble. The music draws from classical forms, minimalist "new music," big band jazz, all while injecting a wry sense of humor. Most of the VAO's albums resemble nothing else.

On The Minimalism of Erik Satie, the VAO use extended song forms that go well beyond "minimal" in the literal sense yet retain the spirit of minimalism as a musical genre. A key voice in the proceedings is that of vocalist Lauren Newton, who sings wordless soprano sounds over several of the ensembles. 

The most remarkable music on the album are the three "Vexations" that comprise the whole second record of the original LP release. Each Vexation has a number. "Vexation No. 1801" is a nearly 9-minute duet between Roman Schwaller on tenor sax and Woody Schabata on vibes. Newton and Schabata duet for another 9:44 on "Vexation No. 1611." The album closes with "Vexation No. 2105," an extraordinary duet performance by Schabata and Wolfgang Puschnig on bass clarinet, which clocks in at 23:15. 

One might reason that the Vexations sequence is overkill and that listeners might tune them out after a few minutes. To the contrary, I find the whole album to be riveting and engaging, especially the Vexations suite. 

I don't know very much about Schabata, who is Austrian and was 28 years old at the time of this recording. His contributions to the VAO in the 1980s are very impressive.