Wolfgang Puschnig & Wolfgang Mitterer – Obsoderso (CD2044)

A saxophone, a church organ and electronics in one of the most unusual duo albums of the 1980s. Wolfgang Puschnigplays alto saxophone and Wolfgang Mitterer plays the pipe organ, keyboards and live electronics. They recorded in 1985 in the parish church of St. Andrä in Lienz in East Tyrol, Austria.

The church acoustics are part of the music. The organ’s huge sound and the natural reverb of the space meet electronic sounds and Puschnig’s expressive alto. The result is somewhere between new music, free improvisation and jazz. The 23-minute title piece “Obsoderso” builds slowly into a dense, almost orchestral sound world. Shorter pieces like “Ostinato” and the wonderfully named “Holladijodldijo”, a nod to Alpine yodelling, show the duo’s sense of humour. The album ends with the long, meditative “Ive”.

This is a must for anyone interested in electroacoustic music, experimental jazz or the sound of the organ beyond church music. Released on Moers Music. When you buy here, you’re buying directly from the label, and we only sell originals.

The Side Story

For Wolfgang Mitterer, this recording was a homecoming. He was born in Lienz in 1958, so the church where the album was made is in his hometown. He studied organ and composition in Vienna and then spent a year at the electronic music studio EMS in Stockholm. Obsoderso combines both: the church organ and electronics. Mitterer went on to become one of Austria’s most important contemporary composers and a pioneer of electroacoustic music. He has played the organ in a quarry and in a disused fortress, and his work has been performed at festivals like Donaueschingen and steirischer herbst.

Wolfgang Puschnig was born in Klagenfurt in 1956 and co-founded the Vienna Art Orchestra with Mathias Rüegg. He plays on the Vienna Art Choir albums From No Art to Mo(z)art and Five Old Songs, which are also available from Moers Music. Around the time of this recording, Carla Bley brought him into her groups. After Obsoderso, he and Mitterer kept working together, among other things in the Pat Brothers with Linda Sharrock and Wolfgang Reisinger.

Tracklist

1. Obsoderso – 22:55

2. Ostinato – 1:29

3. Rotationen 1 – 8:08

4. Holladijodldijo – 8:03

5. Ive – 15:03

Total running time: approx. 56 minutes

Personnel

• Wolfgang Puschnig – alto saxophone

• Wolfgang Mitterer – pipe organ, electronics, keyboards

Details

• Format: CD

• Label: Moers Music

• Catalog no.: CD2044

• Recorded: 1985, Parish Church St. Andrä, Lienz, East Tyrol, Austria

• Price: €14.00