Ritual Dance of the Young Zappa

Andre, , ,

CAL 110 (sleeve front)

At a young age, Zappa bought a copy of The Rite of Spring and loved every note:

The second 33 1/3-RPM record I bought was by Stravinsky. I found a budget-line recording (on Camden) of The Rite of Spring by something called ‘The World-Wide Symphony Orchestra.’ (Sounds pretty official, eh?) The cover was a green-and-black abstract whatchamacallit, and it had a magenta paper label with black lettering. I loved Stravinsky almost as much as Varèse.[1]

Much of my research relies primary sources. Lyrics, liner notes, bootlegs, interviews, and The Real Frank Zappa Book (FZ’s autobiography) make up the bulk of these sources. Along these lines, Avo Raup’s fantastic website Zappa Books–with its search-able database of interviews and zine articles–and Román García Albertos’ IINK (Information Is Not Knowledge)–a huge, cross-referenced database of lyrics and other album information–have been a tremendously helpful resources. But occasionally, I need to get right to the source. Such was the case with finding Zappa’s copy of Stavinsky’s The Rite of Spring.

In my current chapter (which examines cases of musical borrowings from Stravinsky in Zappa’s music), I make the argument that much of Zappa’s understanding of Stravinsky is influenced by the mythology surrounding the older composer. I wondered if there might be any juicy details on the liner notes that would provide some insight regarding the idiosyncrasies with which Zappa viewed Stravinsky. Armed with Zappa’s description I set out to find a copy of the same record…

As it turns out, Camden was a budget label for RCA Victor records, first introduced in 1955 (right about when Zappa would have been buying the record). Some quick Googling revealed that the Camden catalog did include a recording of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring! (I express surprise here due to prior aggravations brought on by tracing comments from The Real Frank Zappa Book…) CAL 110 features World Wide Symphony Orchestra performing The Rite!

341995093_7aa83c50f9The RCA Building in Camden, NJ
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ebot/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Further research revealed some interesting facts about the record. The World Wide Symphony Orchestra, it seems, was a pseudonym for the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. This particular record (CAL 110) was actually dubbed from 78 rpm discs of another recording by the SFSO conducted by Pierre Monteux. (Monteux, like the SFSO, isn’t mentioned anywhere on the record. Presumably, the motivation here was to re-release a back catalog of 78 rpm records in a more commercially-viable format using pseudonyms to avoid conflicting with sales of newer recordings of the same artists. It was, as Frank would say, strictly commercial.)

3359562292_d1a7096d70The Théâtre des Champs-Élysées
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kerolic/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Monteux, as any responsible Stravinsky scholar will jump to tell you, premiered The Rite at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris in 1915 1913 (noted, of course, for the riot it incited). Zappa doesn’t seem to have been aware that his record featured such a prestigious conductor.

And–lucky me–a quick WorldCat search found a copy of the record at UC Santa Cruz! (Which means I could request it and get my grubby hands on it right quick.) This turned out to be a little more difficult that expected (frustrations with an inefficient interlibrary loan system), but the record arrived yesterday! Green-and-black abstract whatchamacallit and all!

Unfortunately, being the budget label that it was, Camden seems to have cut costs by not including liner notes. Oh well… The adventure wasn’t a total bust. I got to listen to the record and pretend to be a young Zappa listening to “The Augers” for the first time.

I snuck off to a remote corner of the library and took a few pictures of the record as well. You can see where some helpful librarian has scratched out “World Wide” and entered the correct performer data. (I would have ripped the vinyl to mp3s, but it was “in library use only.”) Here are some scans of the sleeve and label. Enjoy!

CAL 110 (sleeve front)CAL 110 (sleeve back)

CAL 110 (side A)CAL 110 (side B)

The first record Zappa bought, by the way, was The Complete Works of Edgard Varèse, Vol. I (EMS 401). And if Zappa played the Stravinsky as much as he played the Varèse, this disc got a lot of attention. (By one account, Zappa claimed to have listened to The Rite of Spring more than “any man in the world”![2])

References:
[1] Frank Zappa and Peter Occhiogrosso, The Real Frank Zappa Book (New York: Poseidon Press, 1989), 34.
[2] Rip Rense, “A Unique Musical Force or Blasphemous Freak: Which Is Frank Zappa?,” The Valley News (June 27, 1976).
Ritual Dance of the Young Zappa

47,791 thoughts on “Ritual Dance of the Young Zappa”

  2. nike air max 2016 fluo

    naturally like your web site but you have to take a look at the spelling on several of your posts. Several of them are rife with spelling issues and I find it very troublesome to tell the reality however I’ll certainly come back again.

  7. oakley lifestyle

    I’m really enjoying the design and layout of your blog. It’s a very easy on the eyes which makes it much more enjoyable for me to come here and visit more often. Did you hire out a designer to create your theme? Excellent work!

  14. http://www.ideafutura.co.uk/Bvlgari-Pendant-with-Chain-in-18kt-Pink-Gold-with-Mother-of-Pearl-and-Pave-Diamonds-p-659.html

    Recieved this item prior to the date given in a really sweet gifts package . Some sort of picture that’s revealed for bracelet is actually what you will definitely recieve. This might be extremely fine but one awesome part concerning jewelry which wil…

  15. oakley holbrook danmark 0045

    I do agree with all of the concepts you’ve introduced for your post. They are really convincing and can definitely work. Still, the posts are very short for novices. Could you please extend them a bit from subsequent time? Thanks for the post.

  16. nikestore coupon

    That is really interesting, You’re an excessively professional blogger. I’ve joined your feed and look forward to in search of more of your excellent post. Additionally, I have shared your site in my social networks

  17. nike air max tr 365 le

    Just desire to say your article is as surprising. The clarity in your publish is just spectacular and that i could think you’re knowledgeable in this subject. Well along with your permission let me to seize your feed to keep updated with impending pos…

  22. replica hermes australia

    Recieved our item before the day presented in a really good gift package . Your visualize that is displayed for bracelet is actually exactly what you will definitely recieve. That is extremely fine however the beautiful part of precious jewelry that wi…

  25. salomon rx break precio 2014

    Greetings! Quick question that’s entirely off topic. Do you know how to make your site mobile friendly? My site looks weird when viewing from my iphone. I’m trying to find a template or plugin that might be able to correct this issue. If you have any…

  28. what does a nike sales rep do

    After exploring a number of the blog articles on your website, I truly appreciate your technique of writing a blog. I saved it to my bookmark webpage list and will be checking back soon. Please check out my website too and let me know how you feel.

  33. toms naturale 100

    I’m amazed, I must say. Seldom do I come across a blog that’s both equally educative and amusing, and let me tell you, you’ve hit the nail on the head. The problem is an issue that not enough men and women are speaking intelligently about. I am very…

  36. occhiali ray ban 3025

    My programmer is trying to convince me to move to .net from PHP. I have always disliked the idea because of the costs. But he’s tryiong none the less. I’ve been using WordPress on several websites for about a year and am concerned about switching to…

  38. toms a firenze jesolo

    Very nice post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wanted to say that I’ve truly loved surfing around your weblog posts. After all I’ll be subscribing on your feed and I’m hoping you write once more very soon!

  39. occhiali oakley palermo

    What’s Going down i am new to this, I stumbled upon this I have found It positively helpful and it has helped me out loads. I hope to give a contribution & assist other customers like its aided me. Great job.

  41. toms blu avalon film

    I’ve learn a few good stuff here. Definitely value bookmarking for revisiting. I wonder how so much attempt you set to create the sort of wonderful informative website.

  43. oakley garage rock milano

    Does your website have a contact page? I’m having problems locating it but, I’d like to send you an email. I’ve got some ideas for your blog you might be interested in hearing. Either way, great website and I look forward to seeing it develop over t…

  45. salomon mantra precio

    Do you have a spam issue on this blog; I also am a blogger, and I was curious about your situation; many of us have developed some nice practices and we are looking to trade solutions with other folks, be sure to shoot me an email if interested.

Comments are closed.