Issue 230 - The sound of vegetables

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Basic

Vocabulary: Vegetables

Look and listen.

 

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The news story

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The sound of vegetables

The Vienna Vegetable Orchestra has made a new CD called The Green Album.

The Vienna Vegetable Orchestra is a band with 10 people.The orchestra started 21 years ago and they have played their vegetable instruments in many places in the world, including the Royal Festival Hall in London and the Yuen Long Theatre in Hong Kong.

The band plays on instruments made of fresh vegetables. They use carrots, leeks, celery, pumpkins, aubergines and courgettes to make different instruments; for example, recorders, marimbas, saxophones, horns and drums.

The musicians have to make new instruments for every concert. On the morning before a concert, they go to the market to buy vegetables. Then they spend the rest of the day making their vegetable instruments for the concert in the evening.

The new CD has 14 pieces of original music in different styles. There are a number of minimalist compositions, there is a hip-hop piece and another one that uses West African rhythms.

“Many people think we are just a comedy show,” one of the musicians said. “But when they hear our music they are surprised, because we make really interesting music with our vegetables,” he said.

After the concert they make a soup with all of the vegetables, and they give it to the people in the audience.

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Intermediate

Grammar: Word formation

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The news story

Read and listen to the news story.

The sound of vegetables

The Vienna Vegetable Orchestra has released a new CD with the title The Green Album.

The Vegetable Orchestra is a 10-person band from Vienna. It was started 21 years ago and they have played on their vegetable instruments in many places in the world, including the Royal Festival Hall in London and the Yuen Long Theatre in Hong Kong.

The band plays on instruments made of fresh vegetables, including carrots, leeks, celery, pumpkins, aubergines and courgettes. They make different instruments; for example, recorders and marimbas made of carrot, and saxophones and horns made of combinations of cucumbers and peppers.

The instruments are fragile, and the musicians have to make new ones for every concert. On the morning before a concert, the musicians go to the market to buy vegetables, and they spend the rest of the day making their instruments for the evening’s concert.

There are 14 tracks on their new CD of original music in different styles. There are a number of minimalist compositions, there is a hip-hop piece and another one that uses West African rhythms.

“Many people think we are just a comedy show,” one of the pumpkin percussionists said. “But when they hear our music they are surprised, because we make really interesting music with our veggies,” he added.

After the performance they make a soup out of all the vegetables, and they serve it to the audience. “For me it’s a multi-sensory experience – the audience can hear the music, see the music, smell the music and finally taste the music,” he said.

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Advanced

Vocabulary: Ways of cutting

Choose the best word to complete the sentence.

The news story

Read and listen to the news story.

The sound of vegetables

The Vienna Vegetable Orchestra has released a new CD entitled The Green Album.

The Vegetable Orchestra is a 10-person band based in Vienna. Founded 21 years ago, the orchestra has performed on their vegetable instruments all over the world, including the Royal Festival Hall in London and the Yuen Long Theatre in Hong Kong.

The band plays on instruments made of fresh and dried vegetables, including carrots, leeks, celery, pumpkins, aubergines and courgettes. Over the years they have invented around 150 instruments, including recorders and marimbas carved out of carrot and saxophones and horns made of combinations of cucumbers and peppers. “We also attach special miniature microphones to some vegetables to make them come alive,” explained the carrot marimba player of the group.

The edible instruments are fragile and orchestra members have to create new ones for every concert. On the morning before a show, the musicians go to the local produce market to shop for vegetables and spend the rest of the day carving, slicing and peeling them, turning them into instruments for the evening’s concert.

The 14 tracks of their new CD include references to a surprising range of musical styles. A number of the original compositions are inspired by the minimalist music of Steve Reich. There is also a hip-hop track featuring a radish and a spring onion oboe over the deep rumble of a pumpkin beat, as well as a piece borrowing rhythms from West African kora music.

“Many people think we are just a funny cabaret act,” one of the pumpkin percussionists said. “But they are surprised to find that we create really interesting music with our veggies,” he added.

After the performance all the vegetables are cooked into a soup, which is served to the audience. “For me it’s a multi-sensory experience – the audience can hear the music, see the music, smell the music and finally taste the music,” he said.

Interview: listen to more about the topic

Think about your answers to the following questions. Then listen to somebody answering the same questions. Were your answers similar?

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