The Squid's Ear Magazine


Cooper, Lindsay: Oh Moscow (Les Disques Victo)


 

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product information:

Personnel:



Lindsay Cooper-basson, alto and sopranino saxophones

Alfred 23 Harth-tenor sax, clarinet

Hugh Hopper-bass

Marilyn Mazur-drums

Phil Minton-trumpet, voice

Elvira Plenar-piano, synthesizer

Sally Potter-voice


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UPC: 777405001528

Label: Les Disques Victo
Catalog ID: VICCD015
Squidco Product Code: 1085

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 1991
Country: Canada
Packaging: Jewel Tray
Recorded live at the 7th Victoriaville Festival, 8th October 1989.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"Recorded live at the Victoriaville Festival in Canada about six weeks before the cold war ended, bassoonist/alto saxophonist Cooper (formerly of Henry Cow and the Feminist Improvisors Group) joined forces with singer/lyricist Sally Potter to present a defiant musical challenge to Europe, the United States, and other politically charged climes. The music here is very similar to that of Henry Cow, but is even more outspoken. Cooper's reed playing works closely in the interior of the ensemble, which also includes Phil Minton (vocals, trumpet), Alfred "23" Harth (tenor sax and clarinet), Elvira Plenar (piano), ex-Soft Machine member Hugh Hopper (electric bass guitar), and Marilyn Mazur (drums). This one-hour unedited performance has many stark, bitter moments and some truly inventive playing. Starting and ending with a tricky time figure, "England Descending" features Potter's cries of "I thought the war was over" and "Once bigger than our size, now as we really are...small."Minton's amazing vocals and a decidedly anti-American sentiment ("We bought your movies-cars-music, and we lost ours") highlight "The Allies." The scathing "On German Soil" moves from abject anger to circus calliope during one wild, bassoon-led segment. Harth's Albert Ayler-esque tenor rages on "England," screeches ferociously during "Liberty Bonds," and joins Cooper on the lone instrumental "Oh the Passing of Time, Europe." There are some quieter moments: a lilting piano fires the European lament "Lovers"; the waltzing, Weill-like "Curtain Descending" showcases Potter's shadowy vocals; and a Balkan segment introduces the somber "Prayer." The lyrics here are certainly provocative, but what's most challenging is the music itself -- creative composition shaped by Cooper but with just enough improvisation to make it captivating. This is the ultimate in urban landscape sound sculpture, performed by an absolutely extraordinary band. Historically and musically it deserves to be judged withthe highest reverence."-Michael G. Nastos, All Music


Artist Biographies

"Lindsay Cooper (3 March 1951 Ð 18 September 2013) was an English bassoon and oboe player, composer and political activist. Best known for her work with the band Henry Cow, she was also a member of Comus, National Health, News from Babel and David Thomas and the Pedestrians. She collaborated with a number of musicians, including Chris Cutler and Sally Potter, and co-founded the Feminist Improvising Group. She wrote scores for film and TV and a song cycle Oh Moscow which was performed live around the world in 1987. She also recorded a number of solo albums, including Rags (1980), The Gold Diggers (1983) and Music For Other Occasions (1986).

Cooper was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in the late 1970s, but did not disclose it to the musical community until the late 1990s when her illness prevented her from performing live. In September 2013, Cooper died from the illness at the age of 62, 15 years after her retirement."

-Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lindsay_Cooper)
6/11/2025

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Phil Minton comes from Torquay. He played trumpet and sang with the Mike Westbrook Band in the early 60s- Then in dance and rock bands in Europe for the later of part of the decade. He returned to England in 1971, rejoining Westbrook and was involved in many of his projects until the mid 1980's.

For most of the last forty years, Minton has been working as a improvising singer in lots of groups, orchestras, and situations, all over the place. Numerous composers have written music especially for his extended vocal techniques. He has a quartet with Veryan Weston, Roger Turner and John Butcher, and ongoing duos, trios and quartets with above and many other musicians.

Since the eighties, His Feral Choir, where he voice-conducts workshops and concerts for anyone who wants to sing, has performed in over twenty countries."

-Phil Minton Website (https://www.philminton.co.uk/8-2/)
6/11/2025

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Sally Potter made her first 8mm film aged fourteen. She has since written and directed nine feature films, as well as many short films (including THRILLER and PLAY) and a television series, and has directed opera (Carmen for the ENO in 2007) and other live work. Her background is in choreography, music, performance art and experimental film. ORLANDO (1992), Sally Potter's bold adaptation of Virginia Woolf's classic novel, first brought her work to a wider audience. It was followed by THE TANGO LESSON (1996), THE MAN WHO CRIED (2000), YES (2004), RAGE (2009) and GINGER & ROSA (2012),and THE PARTY (2017). Her latest film, THE ROADS NOT TAKEN premiered at Berlin Film Festival in 2020.

Sally Potter is known for innovative form and risk-taking subject matter and has worked with many of the most notable cinema actors of our time. Sally Potter's films have won over forty international awards and received both Academy Award and BAFTA nominations. She has had full career retrospectives of her film and video work at the BFI Southbank, London, MoMA, New York, and the Cinematheque, Madrid. She was awarded an OBE in 2012. Her book Naked Cinema - Working with Actors was published by Faber & Faber in March, 2014.

Sally Potter co-founded her production company Adventure Pictures with producer Christopher Sheppard."

-Sally Potter Website (https://sallypotter.com/about)
6/11/2025

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.


Track Listing:



1. England Descending 7:46

2. The Allies 5:30

3. Lovesr 4:10

4. Oh The Passing Of Time, Europe 4:12

5. Liberty Bonds 6:38

6. On German Soil 7:20

7. Curtain Descending 3:10

8. Prayer 9:57

9. Forgotten Fruit 4:23

10. Oh Moscow 6:21

Related Categories of Interest:

Song Based Music
RIO (Rock in Opposition)
Rock and Related
Alfred Harth
Before April-2006
Victo
Song Based Music
RIO (Rock in Opposition)
Rock and Related
Alfred Harth
Before April-2006

Search for other titles on the label:
Les Disques Victo.


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