Anthony Moore - 1972 - Secrets Of The Blue Bag

Anthony Moore

1972

Secrets Of The Blue Bag

01. Secrets Of The Blue Bag 1 14:21
02. Secrets Of The Blue Bag 2 11:13
03. Secrets Of The Blue Bag 3 19:35

Bassoon [Fagott] – Wolf Schreiber
Cello – Rolph Braun
Soprano Vocals – Geeske Hof-Helmers
Violin – Toni Sen, Patrick Strub

Recorded Live at Wümme, Sunday February 20, 1972.

"The one hundred and twenty different combinations of the first five notes of the diatonic scale are combined and recombined. It is a homage to the coding/decoding engines of early computer history and their tireless labour. In 1971, when the piece was written, I had just come across Raymond Lully and his rotating encryption device which consisted of moveable concentric rings, a mechanical system for the treatment of information developed in the late 13th century. This inspired the idea of Secrets of the Blue Bag. Incidentally, the Blue Bag was an early Chinese expression for the sky, or universe."

Really lovely work from Anthony Moore – a contemporary composer in the early 70s, but one with strong ties to the art work world too! The set was done right before Moore's debut album with Slapp Happy – and features a string trio and a female voice – all spun out in these long, cyclical passages – at a level that's almost like a meeting of older string chamber modes and the energy of the Terry Riley generation! The album's sub-titled as "A Story For John Cage" – but has a vibe that's much more lovely and tuneful than any of his music – and which is almost a precursor to some of the work to come on the Obscure or Editions EG labels.

Another in the growing series of archive exhumations that have highlighted Anthony Moore's career, Secrets of the Blue Bag was titled for a Chinese description of the sky, and was originally recorded (and released) in 1972, at a time when Moore's experiments were still known only to a select few cognoscente. Of course his work with Slapp Happy and beyond, as a solo artist, vastly increased his audience, although it will be the hardcore fans alone who will truly return to this album on a regular basis. Primarily instrumental, the music is based around the 120 combinations that can be drawn from the first five notes of the diatonic scale, and was apparently inspired by Moore's discovery of the encryption engine developed by the 13th century hermeticist Raymond Lully. Opening with a simple repetition of the scale, played on violin, the piece builds to an ensemble of strings, bassoon, and voice, and puts one most in mind of a very English Philip Glass.