Recorded live on July 12th 2008, at "Música Portuguesa Hoje" Festival, Lisbon, Portugal.
Recorded by Carlos Santos and Oasiul.
Mixed and mastered by Ernesto Rodrigues and Diogo Tavares.
Graphic design by Carlos Santos.
Production by Ernesto Rodrigues.
REVIEWS
Perhaps close to what one would expect: scratchy, thin drones punctuated by the rubbing of friction-filled surfaces, much air and space. It is all that, but also injects a kind of mystery--maybe it's the deep tolling that occasionally rises from the cello or a bit more emotive summoning from Rives. So, familiar yes, but fine integration of sounds and well paced, with verdant hills and valleys as well as the odd cwm. Brian Olewnick (Just Outside)
Se a impressão com que fiquei do concerto em que foram gravados estes 34 breves minutos (Música Portuguesa Hoje, CCB, 2008) não foi a melhor, devo dizer que em disco a música até funciona. São dois os planos associados pelos intervenientes (Rhodri Davies, Stéphane Rives, Ernesto Rodrigues, Guilherme Rodrigues e Carlos Santos), em alguns casos simultaneamente: uma gestão pontilhística das texturas e a sustentação de “drones” por várias camadas. Ainda assim, todos estes músicos já nos ofereceram mais gratificantes criações na área do chamado “reducionismo”. A esse respeito, a desilusão que na altura me provocou Davies – talvez “o” mais interessante harpista da música improvisada – confirma-se aqui. Rui Eduardo Paes
Szczerze powiem, z²e do p?yty przycia³gne³?o mnie nazwisko Rhodriego Daviesa, który obs?uguje tu harfe³ i elektronike³. Harfa to bardzo ciekawy i jednoczes´nie bardzo wymagaja³cy, trudny instrument o szerokiej palecie dz´wie³kowej. Davies jest naprawde³ bardzo wybitnym muzykiem.
35 minut nagranej live improwizacji, po którym mozna sie spodziewac´ tego cco tez² i na p?ycie sie³ pojawia, w tym wzgle³dzie p?yta jest dos´c´ przewidywalna.
Co na plus zatem?
Na pewno dobrze wyrez²yserowana dramaturgia, co dobrze s´wiadczy o umieje³tnos´ciach i wyczuciu muzyków.
i chyba na tyle prosze³ pan´stwa ;-)
zapraszam do s?uchania! Astipalea Records (Felthat Reviews)
A single 34-minute improvisation with harp, soprano sax, viola, cello, and electronics, none of these instruments being used conventionally or producing instantaly-recorgnizable sounds. Restrained improv, where it is played and left unplayed are equally important, where sounds rarely clash, without actually falling down to complacency. Esthetical rapture. François Couture (Monsieur Délire)
Au Música Portuguesa Hoje festival de Lisbonne, fut donnée l’année dernière une trentaine de minutes d’une musique électroacoustique élaborée par Rhodri Davies (harpe, électronique), Carlos Santos (électronique), Stéphane Rives (saxophone soprano), et puis Guilherme et Ernesto Rodrigues (violoncelle et violon). Plus d’une demi-heure, pour être tout à fait juste, d’une rencontre internationale s’entendant sur un amas de lignes de fuite, souterraines ou ascendantes, et de drones assemblés : là, un aigu perce, ailleurs, un autre renonce. L’improvisation s’immisce dans le paysage, attire à elle l’auditeur pour l’avaler ensuite. L’exercice est réussi, et l’épreuve : manifeste. Guillaume Belhomme (Le Son du Grisli)
Pierwszy dysk nagrany przez Ernesto i Guilherme Rodriguesow wespól z walijskim harfista I "elektronikiem" Rhodrim Daviesem francuskim saksofonista Stephenem Rivesem oraz portugalskim laptopista Carlosem Santosem, zawiera jedno nagranie zarejestrowane podczas ubieglorocznego festiwalu "Musica Portugesa Hoje".
"Twrf Neus Ciglau" niczym szczególnym nie zaskakuje; ba, jawi sie wrecz jako wzorcowy reprezentant charakterystycznej dla nurtu EAI laminarnej improwizacji, jednak nie jest to plyta przecietna. Zapewne dlatego, ze muzykom udalo sie z leniwie plynacych warstw akustycznych i elektronicznych dzwieków zestawic nieustannie intrygujaca i brzmieniowo urozmaicona forme, której fragmenty zachwycaja trudno uchwytnym nieoczywistym pieknem. Tadeusz Kosiek (Diapazon)
This quintet was captured on tape at 2008 at Lisbon's "Música Portuguesa Hoje" festival. The instrumentation comprises harp, soprano sax, viola, cello and electronics, the character of the performance definitely oriented towards "disquietingly acoustic" regions, all sounds tactfully positioned in barely ruptured reticence.
The set begins with a subdued measured escalation of electroacoustic humus in which we already notice a series of minimal movements drawing our absorption closer. After five minutes or so, strings become the object of a deeper attention in a superb superimposition of opaque droning and minutely introspective percussion, solitary notes and meagre plucks slightly altering an otherwise semi-frozen inspection of the propagations of these sounds in a restricted space. The electronics remain perceivable amidst skilled spurts: they keep coming in and out, either shuddering or just audible, the unclothed beauty generated by the arc of a noiseless whisper, a mere unbroken hiss enhanced by the air flowing through the saxophone's conduits.
The upper partials, principally in the higher ranges of the instruments, constitute the cutting blade that filters humdrum off reflection, an ever-difficult task in an improvising group, yet in this case a nonexistent problem given the inner-ear depth shown by the participants. The alternating of piercingly scraping layers of raucously squealing pitches with sections whose quintessence can be individuated in a fusion of quasi-silence and wretchedly foggy reverberation is the very basis of a masterful despoliation of the harmonic tissue, often punctuated by impressive convergence of timbres that almost sound pre-planned but surely aren't. Those are the instances in which the music flourishes entirely and, at large, the validating paradigm of the superiority of responsive give-and-take as opposed to the routine-drenched execution of a well known practice — something that, for example, onkyo has come dangerously close to nowadays. In a word, we detect the wholesomeness that free improvisation should hypothetically warrant, a lost quality in the bulk of modern "art" where counterfeit commitment soon morphs into trendy posture.
In the last third of the program the musicians appear intent in finding a definite place for each instrument, not exactly infringing rules, rather continuing to look for the ideal balance between uneasiness and unprocessed resonance. The stridency characterizing the instinctive counterpoint around the 28th minute is an example of this, and the restlessness of never-resolving "chords" finally gives room to a sort of conclusion in which the breathing, although still restrained, becomes somewhat more regular, if always with an eye open, nerves not allowed to relax completely.
A significant piece of work, especially when considering that it was recorded live (luckily, audience and metropolitan noises — often seriously distracting factors — remained outside this time), Twrf Neus Ciglau easily ranks among the best in the recent cluster of releases by the horizon-expanding Creative Sources label. Massimo Ricci (The Squid’s Ear)
Rounding off the show is an excerpt from an improvisation entitled 34'18" featuring the work of Portugese violinist Ernesto Rodrigues and his son Guilherme Rodrigues. Recorded in Lisbon in December of 2008 and released under the name Twf Neus Ciglau, this piece is very experimental and a fairly challenging listen. That said, I hope you like it as much as I do!
Thank you everyone! Mark Allender (Bowed Radio)
Com este disco voltamos à “clássica” estética CS, com um registo de improvisação controlada, num constante jogo de energia e contenção. Esta gravação tem o bónus de contar com dois extraordinários convidados internacionais: o inglês Rhodri Davies (na harpa e electrónicas, frequentemente considerado um dos líderes da improvisação “near silence”, ou pelo menos da cena londrina) e o francês Stéphane Rives (saxofone soprano). A estes junta-se a habitual dupla Rodrigues (Ernesto na viola, Guilherme no violoncelo) e ainda Carlos Santos (no laptop, também responsável pela imagem gráfica das capas da editora). Gravado ao vivo no festival “Música Portuguesa Hoje”, que aconteceu em 2008 no CCB, este intervenções instrumentais cautelosas evoluem para ambiências densas, por vezes até pantanosas, outras vezes deixam-se ficar imersas numa camada fina de ruído branco. Entre esta amplitude de atmosferas, o quinteto desenvolve uma cautelosa viagem sónica. Creative Sources vintage. Nuno Catarino (Bodyspace)
Beaucoup de cordes (Rhodri Davies à la harpe, les frères Rodrigues à l'alto et au violoncelle), un peu d'électronique (Rhodri Davies toujours, accompagné de Carlos Santos) et un peu de saxophone (l'extraordinaire Stéphane Rives au soprano) pour cet album au titre énigmatique publié sur le label portugais Creative Sources il y a deux ans. Sur cette unique piste de 35 minutes, un quintet radical compose et agence des textures, mélange des timbres et explore des territoires sonores vastes et nouveaux. Une musique texturale avant tout, qui se concentre sur le son dans sa dimension collective et interactive, Twrf Neus Ciglau est une pièce aux allures fantomatiques et inquiétantes qui a su abolir tous les repères musicaux tout en proposant une nouvelle approche fraiche et radicale. Une approche envoutante où des nappes se superposent et composent un son vivant, qui se meut lentement mais surement à travers son apparence monolithique. Je n'ai pas présenté les musiciens qui sont tous relativement connus pour leur virtuosité et leur talent dans la composition de textures; ainsi, sur Twrf Neus Ciglau, chacun pose un son qui fait doucement réagir le reste du quintet, et la pièce ne cesse d'évoluer vers de nouveaux espaces composés d'harmoniques, de drones, de bourdons, de nappes, de souffles, de bruits et d'attaques surgissant aussi brusquement qu'elles disparaissent. Bien évidemment, il y a de nombreuses techniques étendues, la musique est réduite à son aspect purement timbrale, mais elle n'est pas non plus figée dans un son collectif immuable et imposant. La musique de ce quintet évolue et bouge énormément tout en sachant prendre le temps nécessaire au déploiement de chaque texture abordée.
Les strates se superposent et les textures s'enchainent à travers des transitions infimes et imperceptibles, quand elles ne s'enchainent pas à travers le silence. Silence peu présent en apparence mais qui semble accaparer chaque musicien qui sait s'arrêter dès qu'il le faut, car les textures ne sont jamais surchargées et sont toujours claires malgré le nombre assez important d'instrumentistes. Twrf Neus Ciglau propose des structures axées sur la texture et le timbre, sur un son collectif avant tout mais qui ne noie pas pour autant les individualités dans des masses monolithiques. J'emploie plus volontiers le terme de nappes que de masses d'ailleurs car la composition des timbres est toujours limpide et une place conséquente est accordée au silence. Une œuvre riche qui navigue à travers des espaces sonores profonds et envoutants, comme à travers un long fleuve vert, une pièce qui sait en résumé voyager à travers des espaces expérimentaux et radicaux certes, mais toujours musicaux, car le timbre est réellement considéré comme une caractéristique musicale et artistique, et non comme un espace de refus catégorique de la musicalité. Un voyage extrême et passionnant, recommandé! hjulien (Improv Sphere)
A single 34 minute live recording at Musica Portuguesa Hoje Festival in Lisbon, 2008 from this excellent set of expressive and contemplative electroacoustic performers. (Squidco)
Ernesto Rodrigues (Lisbon, August 29th 1959) has been playing the violin / viola for 50 years and in that time has played
all genres of music ranging from contemporary music to free jazz and free improvisation, live and in the studio.
The relationship with his instruments is focused in sonic and
textural elements as well as the use of extended techniques....more
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