Chamber Music From Hell

When Chris Opperman opens up his Purple Cow musical cookbook, he chops up a little bit of
Webern, sautés it with some Stockhausen, seasons it with a bit of Brecker Brothers, throws in a
pinch of Hans Zimmer and pours on some of Frank Zappa’s Famous Hot Rat Sauce, the musical
stir-fry that is “Chamber Music of Hell” arises from his dangerous kitchen. This musical entre is
mouthwatering and flavorful!

Chamber Music From Hell is a true concept album. It was inspired by Frank Zappa’s Final Studio
Album Jazz from Hell which was released in 1986. He explores what the musical world of “Hell”
would sound like. And I’ll tell you…he’s spot on. On the Album cover, we are introduced to a
bombastic inferno dominated by futuristic automated orchestral instrument transformer
robots! The second hint of hell is the album’s runtime. Upon uploading the CD onto my
computer for playback (yes I know I’m old…a CD) I was greeted by one hour and six minutes. 66
minutes…add another 6 and you get you know what!

Here are a few highlights from my electrifying and at times soothing tour through Opperman’s
musical underworld.

I was thrust into this mysterious world of music with a Music Concreté introduction reminiscent
of a Karlheinz Stockhausen or Edgard Varese composition. (Where is Everybody?) Opperman
uses these mysterious interludes with eerie sounds and manipulated voices as the seamless
transitions between the different attractions on our journey. It creates a non-stop feeling that
reminds us that big brother is always watching us down below the surface of the earth.

Owl Flight in my opinion is a true piece of program music. Through the many different cymbal
timbres, Opperman evokes the nocturnal bird’s flight and never-ending hunt for food and
survival. You can see the bird scouting, strategizing and executing it’s plan further proof that in
this world it’s every living thing for itself.

If a Robot ate a trombone and attempted to speak, Echoes of a Dark, Still Night would be the
result. The explosive performance of Jason Camelio evokes a 1980’s space age Sci-Fi feel hinting
influences of Michael Brecker and his use of the Electronic Wind Instrument. This piece is
haunting and emotional reminding me of Brecker’s solo interpretation of Song for Barry.

The Climax of the album is Are We Living in a Computer Simulation? Mike Keneally’s electric
guitar effortlessly improvises over Opperman’s constantly shifting meters finding inner peace
and a Zen-like musical flow in an ever-changing musician’s world of musical hell. Keneally’s
virtuosic melodic improvisation is chilling and proves that constant fast shredding guitar licks
are not necessary for an emotional, heartfelt and gut-wrenching performance.

After this electric performance in a space age dream, we begin Waking Up to a sea bed of calm
sounds. An angelic film score like orchestra and choir reminds us that there is always a glimmer
of hope and light even in darkness. This track was beautifully orchestrated, mixed, and
produced by Kurt Morgan. Morgan’s stellar musicianship, tasteful mixing, and refined and
consistent production style aided in presenting Opperman’s music with full transparency to the
listeners.

The final piece of the album, The Cribbage Variations was a phenomenal piece of 12 tone
classical chamber music with a forward momentum groove. To me, the two standout
movements Knock Knock Bach and The Show have demonstrated Opperman’s genius and his
wiliness to take musical risks into uncharted musical territory. This piece has cemented
Opperman in music history and he should be recognized for advancing the genre the most since
Schoenberg himself.

In Knock Knock Bach, Opperman merges the art of the fugue (popularized by J.S. Bach) with the
Tone Rows of Arnold Schoenberg and Anton Webern. Multiple voice interplay creates an
intriguing musical dialogue between all instruments of the fugue. Both Genres contain two very
difficult sets of rules that must be strictly adhered to when composing, however they have been
harmoniously fused by Opperman to create a unique musical result.

The Show is unique to 12-Tone music as no composer has ventured into the musical territory,
Through mathematical logic and reasoning, Opperman exhausted atonality and was able to
create a matrix that follows all the rules laid out by Schoenberg, but results in a tonal piece.
At 1:38 in the piece, I argue that this simple Db Major Triad will resonate in music history as
much as Wagner’s Tristan Chord. It is the pivot chord that brings atonal music into harmonious
tonal music. Rather than staying in Db Major he he quickly modulates to F minor and eventually
circles back to the matrix. No composer has done this successfully and Opperman is a true
pioneer. The eerie but hopeful C minor 7 add 9/11 chord is a stark reminder that we can still
have time to change the path of our world and keep it from diving it into deeper despair.

In an era where it is all about producing “THE” hit single, it is refreshing to listen to a coherent
album with beautiful musical flow and liner notes to enhance the listening experience.
Chamber Music from Hell is a True reflection of the disorienting and chaotic modern era we live
in, and a challenging time in world history. Opperman invites the listener to question the world
we live in today, asking if parts of it are hell and what can we do to take ourselves out of that
hell. If Frank Zappa were to release an album today, It would be Chamber Music from Hell.
Oppy…Frank would be very proud.