''Oh Moscow'' is a 1991 live album by English

experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs when ...

musician and composer

Lindsay Cooper Lindsay Cooper (3 March 1951 – 18 September 2013) was an English bassoon and oboe player and composer. 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 t ...

. It is a recording of a

song cycle A song cycle (german: Liederkreis or Liederzyklus) is a group, or cycle (music), cycle, of individually complete Art song, songs designed to be performed in a sequence as a unit.Susan Youens, ''Grove online'' The songs are either for solo voice ...

of the same name performed at the 7th Victoriaville Festival in Quebec, Canada on 8 October 1989. The work was composed in 1987 by Cooper with lyrics written by English film director and screenwriter

Sally Potter Charlotte Sally Potter (born 19 September 1949) is an English film director and screenwriter. She is known for directing ''Orlando'' (1992), which won the audience prize for Best Film at the Venice Film Festival. Early life Potter was born an ...

. The song cycle reflects on the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

that divided Europe at the time.

Background

''Oh Moscow'' was composed in 1987 by

, an English

musician from

Henry Cow Henry Cow were an English experimental rock group, founded at the University of Cambridge in 1968 by multi-instrumentalists Fred Frith and Tim Hodgkinson. Henry Cow's personnel fluctuated over their decade together, but drummer Chris Cutler, b ...

and the Feminist Improvising Group. The song texts were written by English film director, screenwriter and singer

. Cooper had worked previously with Potter in the Feminist Improvising Group, and composed music for some of Potter's films, including ''The Gold Diggers'' (1983). After Potter had been to the Soviet Union several times on filming projects, Cooper and Potter began discussing ideas for a composition about the effects of the

. When organizers of the annual Zurich Jazz Festival in Switzerland contacted Cooper in 1987 and enquired whether she had something new to perform, she decided to write ''Oh Moscow'' for the festival. Cooper scored the work for a multi-national group comprising English, German, Czech and Danish musicians, and she cites her collaborations with jazz pianist and composer

Mike Westbrook Michael John David Westbrook (born 21 March 1936) is an English jazz pianist, composer, and writer of orchestrated jazz pieces. He is married to the vocalist, librettist and painter Kate Westbrook. Early work Mike Westbrook was born in Hig ...

as an influence in her approach to writing ''Oh Moscow''. Andrew Jones wrote in his book ''Plunderphonics, 'Pataphysics & Pop Mechanics: An Introduction to Musique Actuelle'', that ''Oh Moscow'' "virtually defects and demands stylistic asylum". He said that the music includes "cool '50s jazz", a "vaudeville showstopper", with touches of

Soft Machine Soft Machine are a British rock band from Canterbury formed in mid-1966 by Mike Ratledge (keyboards, 1966–1976), Robert Wyatt (drums, vocals, 1966–1971), Kevin Ayers (bass, guitar, vocals, 1966–1968) and Daevid Allen (guitar, 1966–196 ...

flamenco Flamenco (), in its strictest sense, is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura and ...

and gypsy music. ''Oh Moscows first performance was at the Zurich Jazz Festival on 31 October 1987, which was followed by successful performances in Europe, North America and Russia between 1988 and 1993, making it Cooper's best known work. This album is an unedited recording of the group's performance at the 7th Victoriaville Festival in Quebec, Canada on 8 October 1989. At the Victoriaville concert Cooper introduced ''Oh Moscow'' to the audience with these words: "The songs tonight are about the cold war, a silent war that cuts deep." Little over a month later the

Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (german: Berliner Mauer, ) was a guarded concrete barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and East Germany (GDR). Construction of the Berlin Wall was commenced by the government ...

was pulled down and the Cold War came to an end.

Performances

The multi-national group

assembled to perform ''Oh Moscow'' consisted of Cooper (England; bassoon, alto saxophone),

(England; vocals), Elvira Plenar (Croatia/Germany; piano, synthesizer), Alfred Harth (Germany; tenor saxophone, clarinet),

Phil Minton Phil Minton (born 2 November 1940) is a British avant-garde jazz/ free-improvising vocalist and trumpeter. Minton is a highly dramatic baritone who tends to specialize in literary texts: he has sung lyrics by William Blake with Mike Westbrook's ...

(England; trumpet, vocals),

Hugh Hopper Hugh Colin Hopper (29 April 1945 – 7 June 2009) was a British progressive rock and jazz fusion bass guitarist. He was a prominent member of the Canterbury scene, as a member of Soft Machine and other bands. Biography Early career Starting in ...

(England; bass guitar) and

Marilyn Mazur Marilyn Mazur (born January 18, 1955) is an American-born Danish percussionist. Since 1975, she has worked as a percussionist with various groups, among them Six Winds with Alex Riel. Mazur is primarily an autodidact, but she has a degree in ...

(Denmark; drums). Charles Hayward later took over on drums, followed by Peter Fairclough and

Chris Cutler Chris Cutler (born 4 January 1947) is an English percussionist, composer, lyricist and music theorist. Best known for his work with English avant-rock group Henry Cow, Cutler was also a member and drummer of other bands, including Art Bears, Ne ...

, although Mazur drummed again on the North American tour in October 1989. *1987 **31 October: Zurich, Switzerland (

on drums) – ''Oh Moscows debut performance *1988 **11 March:

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...

, Switzerland (Marilyn Mazur on drums) **12 March:

Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

, Switzerland (Marilyn Mazur on drums) **13 March:

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

, Germany (Marilyn Mazur on drums) **10 June:

Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...

, Germany ( Charles Hayward on drums) **11 June:

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

, Germany (Charles Hayward on drums) **12 June: Frankfurt, Germany (Charles Hayward on drums) **20 October:

Leverkusen Leverkusen () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, on the eastern bank of the Rhine. To the south, Leverkusen borders the city of Cologne, and to the north the state capital, Düsseldorf. With about 161,000 inhabitants, Leverkusen is o ...

, Germany (Charles Hayward on drums) *1989 **10 February:

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

, Netherlands (Charles Hayward on drums) **12 February: Williamsburg, Germany (Charles Hayward on drums) **13 February:

Hildesheim Hildesheim (; nds, Hilmessen, Hilmssen; la, Hildesia) is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany with 101,693 inhabitants. It is in the district of Hildesheim, about southeast of Hanover on the banks of the Innerste River, a small tributary of the Lei ...

, Germany (Charles Hayward on drums) **15–16 February:

East Berlin East Berlin was the ''de facto'' capital city of East Germany from 1949 to 1990. Formally, it was the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet sector of Berlin, established in 1945. The American, British, and French sectors were known as ...

, Germany (Charles Hayward on drums) **18 February:

West Berlin West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...

, Germany (Charles Hayward on drums) **15 July:

Nickelsdorf Nickelsdorf ( hu, Miklóshalma or Miklóshalom, hr, Mikištrof) is a town in the district of Neusiedl am See in the Austrian state of Burgenland. Geography Nickelsdorf is the only town in the municipality. It has an important border crossin ...

, Germany (Charles Hayward on drums) **9 September:

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...

, Germany (Charles Hayward on drums) **4 October:

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Canada (Marilyn Mazur on drums) **5 October:

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, MA, United States (Marilyn Mazur on drums) **6 October:

Hartford Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

, CT, United States (Marilyn Mazur on drums) **8 October:

Victoriaville Victoriaville is a town in central Quebec, Canada, on the Nicolet River. Victoriaville is the seat of Arthabaska Regional County Municipality and a part of the Centre-du-Québec (Bois-Francs) region. It is formed by the 1993 merger of Arthabask ...

, QC, Canada (Marilyn Mazur on drums) – recorded and released on the ''Oh Moscow'' album *1990 **17 July:

Imola Imola (; rgn, Jômla or ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Bologna, located on the river Santerno, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. The city is traditionally considered the western entrance to the historical ...

, Italy (Charles Hayward on drums) **3 November:

Tampere Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city in the Pirkanmaa region, located in the western part of Finland. Tampere is the most populous inland city in the Nordic countries. It has a population of 244,029; the urban area has a population o ...

, Finland (Peter Fairclough on drums) *1991 **25 September:

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, Russia (

on drums) **28 September:

Volgograd Volgograd ( rus, Волгогра́д, a=ru-Volgograd.ogg, p=vəɫɡɐˈɡrat), geographical renaming, formerly Tsaritsyn (russian: Цари́цын, Tsarítsyn, label=none; ) (1589–1925), and Stalingrad (russian: Сталингра́д, Stal ...

, Russia (Chris Cutler on drums) *1993 **22 May:

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, England (Chris Cutler on drums) Source: Hugh Hopper Chronology. In 1999 an orchestral arrangement of ''Oh Moscow'' by Veryan Weston was performed at the

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

Opera House in Italy. In November 2014 half of the songs from the song cycle was performed live by Harth, Minton and Potter with Cutler, Weston and others in ''A Celebration of Lindsay Cooper'' concerts, two in England and one in Italy.

Reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

reviewer Michael G. Nastos wrote that ''Oh Moscow'' is "a defiant musical challenge to Europe, the United States, and other politically charged climes". He said that the lyrics are "provocative" and the balance of composition and improvisation makes the work "captivating". Nastos described the album as "the ultimate in urban landscape sound sculpture", and said that " storically and musically it deserves to be judged with the highest reverence".

Track listing

All tracks composed by

; song texts written by

. Source:

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

Personnel

– composer, bassoon, alto saxophone *

– lyricist, vocals * Elvira Plenar – piano, synthesizer * Alfred Harth – tenor saxophone, clarinet *

– trumpet, vocals *

– electric bass guitar *

– drums Source:

References

Cited works

* * {{Authority control 1991 live albums Works about the Cold War