Artist: Blue Chip Orchestra
P: 1988
Boleros, footsteps on the concrete floor of endless concert halls, leading to the mysterious "Suite Eleya" and, following an aural trip lasting 52’42'’ minutes, dismisses the listener into the "Dali Dom".... We are talking about the first album of the BLUE CHIP ORCHESTRA, conducted by Hubert Bognermayr.
A fascinating fusion of classical influences, new age music, modern technology and original composing techniques. The pioneer of computer-acoustic music HUBERT BOGNERMAYR Oratorio For Music- Computer and Voices founded BCO in1988.
The result is a mix of sounds and styles ranging from Gregorian chants to opera, choral music to disco, and classical to avantgarde - all with less tendency to become aural wallpaper than the majority of new age. Blue Chip Orchestra opens with some carefully recorded percussion samples awash with reverb (as is the whole LP) before launching into a gentle electronic bolero. Over the top, pianos and clarinets are fused with powerful synthesised strings and a sampled choral wash.
It all blends into a coherent soundscape where the line between sampling and acoustic instruments is faintly drawn, often becoming indistinguishable. Throughout the album, the BCO manage to avoid most of the obvious clichés. They adopt conventional rhythms and time signatures, weaving classically-based melodies into an enticing relaxing whole. Overall, it must be said that listening to this CD is an extremely pleasant experience.
All of the sounds are beautifully prepared, the production is immacu-ate and the composition thoughtful and well structured. HUBERT BOGNERMAYR on the Instrumentarium of his BLUE CHIP ORCHESTRA: "The music electronics offered by the music industry are much too boring for our orchestra, optically as well as in their possibilities for practical application. Our soloists - among them are trained designers, painters, sculptors and sound researchers - build for this reason the appropriate new instruments for their pieces of music. With the DonauTuba our brass soloist reaches the sound intensity of several orchestra brass sections along the lines of the lower brass registers.
He can change the sound characteristics of the DonauTuba in an instant and can solo in any digitalized horn sound desired. It's made out of a horn column over 2 meters high with three very differently dimensioned brass acoustic funnels. In the base of the horn column there is a microprocessor. This is continually being programmed with new brass sounds from the sound research department of our Blue Chip Academy. Vibration is caused by a computerguided membrane that makes the powerful air column in the tube of the DonauTuba, as well as the brass funnels, vibrate.
Further instruments of the BCO: Sonic Sail Mirror Percussion, Center Ultrasonic, Harp, Bottle, Cello, Sound Spiral, Autozither Binary Dulcimer.
