Werner Pirchner: EU

“

Werner Pirchner is exceedingly difficult to classify. The title of this release, EU, is not about geography or politics, but refers to the dialectic (in German) between "E-Musik" (E = ernsthaft = "serious" music) and "U-Musik" (U = Unterhaltung = popular music). "EU" suggests that the music on this recording is a synthesis of both. It is probably impossible to explain or truly understand Pirchner outside the Austrian, or even more specifically, Tyrolean context. This context is defined by the experience of growing up in a rural, strictly Catholic, highly conservative, and extremely patriarchal society -- and rebelling against all of it. Pirchner's first work Ein halbes Doppelalbum was, as a result, very much a Spike Jones-ian, Frank Zappa-ish, antimilitaristic, anti-Catholic, anti-patriarchal manifesto. EU, despite the "U" component, is much closer to the Austrian classical tradition, where it continues a line set out by Schubert, Mahler and Schönberg (with influences of Satie), but is always rooted in Austrian folk music and more often than not has a recognizable jazz component. This release is the result of a mammoth project in the mid-1980s when Pichner recorded several of his compositions for a wide variety of instruments and ensembles. The individual pieces are so distinct from each other that a more detailed review of each of them seems necessary. The "Sonate vom rauhen Leben" ("sonata of the rough life") is a meditative piece for two accordions and voice that merges Eastern and traditional Austrian components. The "Streichquartett für Bläserquintett" ("string quartet for wind quintet") is in parts almost reminiscent of Mahler, whereas the "Good News from the Ziller Valley" is an almost atonal tone poem for solo violin that draws somewhat from Berg. The "Kammer-Symphonie (chamber symphony) 'Soirée Tyrolienne'" is at the first glance a concerto for strings and horns, but soon enough the sounds of cowbells, saws and hammers introduce a disruptive element, and as the melodic lines increasingly morph from classical into traditional folk you find yourself moving from a concert hall to a Tyrolean mountain hut. "Do You Know Emperor Joe", a piece for brass quintet dedicated to the 18th century Austrian Emperor Joseph II, instigator of numerous social and political reforms, uses several well-known musical motifs and gives them bizarre twists and turns; the result is a not-so-flattering musical image of Austrian society. Most notable here is the second movement, which includes comic rural scenes with spontaneous yodelling, faux Western-style war cries of American Indians with the hilarious chants of "Kaufts an Lavendel!" ("buy some lavender!" - totally unexplainable to non-Austrians). The finale contains a stiff, deconstructed version of "God Save the Queen", which then transforms into a fairly inebriated version of Strauss's Blue Danube Waltz, also with spontaneous yodelling and other indigenous Austrian sounds. The "Two War- & Peace-Choirs" are a continuation of Pirchner's antimilitaristic/anti-Catholic compositions from the Doppelalbum, but more in the guise of classical music and with lyrics that are reminiscent of the poetry of Ernst Jandl, when lines such as "ist es nicht fein Soldat zu sein" ("isn't it nice to be a soldier") are interspersed with "rrrrrra-ta-ta" machine gun sounds and the whole piece ends in an "Amen, amen, amen" chant. The "Kleine Messe um "C" für den lieben Gott" ("small mass around 'C' for God Father") for solo organ is pieced together from motifs of Catholic church music and Austrian folk, whereas the "Solo Sonata for Bass Vibes" is perhaps the most impressionist piece, and also the only one that is anywhere close to a jazz sound, or, for that matter, close to the kind of music usually associated with the ECM label. Devoid of cultural references or a political sub-text, it is a lightweight piece that everyone can enjoy, even if it lacks the sardonic humour of most of Pirchner's compositions. EU is an excellent overview of some of Pirchner's most important compositions from the 1970s and 1980s. While some of it must seem totally puzzling to non-Austrians, it is certainly highly original, challenging music full of twists and turns and with a great sense of humour. --rateyourmusic.com

”

Tracks:

Sonate vom rauhen Leben
Streichquartett für Bläserquintett
Good News From The Ziller Valley
Kammer-Symphonie Soirée Tyrolienne
Do You Know Emperor Joe
Two War- & Peace-Choirs
Kleine Messe um C für den lieben Gott
Solo Sonata For Bass-Vibes

Werner Pirchner: accordion, bass-vibes, voice
Ernst Kovacic: solo-violine
Kurt Neuhauser: cathedral organ