Chaos_cs759

Chaos cs759

REVIEWS

According to the Greek mythology, Chaos (kháos) was the first created being, from which came the primeval deities Gaia, Tartarus, Erebus, and Nyx. In Christian theology, the same term is used to refer to the gap or the abyss created by the separation of heaven and earth. In contemporary physics, or better to say contemporary science one uses the concept of deterministic chaos or chaos theory, popularized by "Jurrasic Park"
movies. Wikipedia says: "Chaos theory is an interdisciplinary area of scientific study and branch of mathematics focused on underlying patterns and deterministic laws of dynamical systems that are highly sensitive to initial conditions, and were once thought to have completely random states of disorder and irregularities." Note that deterministic
chaos deals with classical Newtonian physics, where in principle everything is deterministic, according to Pierre-Simon, marquis de Laplace!
For me as a theoretical physicists there are four most important properties of chaos:
1) Unpredictability. Trajectories of individual particles, when observed in time, seem to be unpredictable.
2) Sensitivity to initial conditions. Two trajectories that start infinitesimaly close one to another diverge exponentially in time. This is the famous butterfly effect. A buttery moving its wings in Australia might afect weather in Europe decisively on a few days time scale. The exponent controlling the speed of divergence of such close trajectories is called Lyapunov exponent, after Aleksandr Mikhailovich Lyapunov (1857-1918), a Russian mathematician, mechanician and physicist.
3) Strange attractors. Chaotic trajectories move typically on a very strange manifold with fractal dimension.
For instance a systems with 3 coordinates (i.e. three dimensional) might have a strange attractor, on whihc chaotic trajectories live, of dimension
say, 2.5, not not 3 and not 2!
4) Islands of regularity. In many systems transition to chaos occurs by the appearance of growing island in the space of trajectories, where chaos rules, but with still existing islands of regularity, where trajectories are regular and predictable.
Amazingly, all of these properties of chaos theory, find interpretation in the fantastic album of the quartet.
"Chaos" is a suite in 8 movements. Obviously, there is plenty of, at least apparently unpredictable moments free improvised parts. Obviously, each of the musicians sometimes enter a trajectory, corresponding to regular islands, with full coherence, regularity and consonance.
Yet, this situations are unstable and thus sensitive to initial conditions, and the "close" trajectories of two instrumentalists start to diverge. Of course, it is difficult to say how does it happen in the quantitative way, i.e. determine the Lyapunov exponent. Neither is possible to determine a strange attractor.
Wonderful, inspiring music!!! Maciej Lewenstein

I quattro portoghesi sono ormai veterani non solo dei loro strumenti, ma anche dell’avanguardia, di cui sono alfieri all’estremità occidentale dell’Europa.
Ernesto Rodrigues alla viola, Guilherme Rodrigues al violoncello, João Madeira al contrabbasso e José Oliveira alle percussioni sono autori di una suite divisa in otto movimenti e che a ragione prende il nome di ‘Chaos’
Sì, perché si tratta di una musica caotica, fatta di suoni irregolari estratti da strumenti che conosciamo solitamente sotto un’altra veste, ma con un suo fascino che emerge dal groviglio di suoni, di corde che si incontrano e scontrano, di percussioni che dialogano ora con l’uno ora con l’altro strumento o ponendosi come voce narrante contro tutti gli altri
Non ci sono vie di mezzo, o li si apprezza o li si odia, o ci si lascia coinvolgere dal caos o si cerca subito una via di uscita, di sicuro non li si ascolta in sottofondo senza prestargli la dovuta attenzione
La lunga parte VIII che chiude l’album si dispiega per quasi diciotto minuti, aggressiva, selvaggia, free nel senso più puro del termine, fuori da tutti i canoni.
È un album importante per la musica improvvisata in Europa, che sembra avere tratto energia da una fonte sconosciuta dopo la pausa dovuta al Covid. Vittorio Loconte (Kathodik)

Trois cordistes et un percussionniste portugais nous disent construire – déconstruire un Chaos. Ernesto Rodrigues à l’alto, son fils Guilherme au violoncelle, Joao Madeira à la contrebasse et José Oliveira à la percussion nous offrent ici une manière de tourbillon interactif dense, hérissé, tout en cisaillements, zébrures hyperactives toutes cordes enflées par les frottements pressurant les cordes enflées par ces vibrations forcenées, saturant l’espace tout en maintenant une bonne lisibilité de chaque instrument. Et cela dans les trois premiers (I, II, III) « Chaos » numérés de I à VIII. Il semble loin le temps où les deux Rodrigues et leurs acolytes incarnaient le minimalisme bruiteur et grinçant et le réductionnisme. Avec José Oliveira , Ernesto avait gravé Sudden Music en 2001 (Creative Sources cs2cd), au début de leur aventure avec ce label. Des dizaines et dizaines d’albums jalonnent leur parcours et leur association présente avec Madeira et Oliveira pour ce n° 759 du catalogue CS est tout sauf fortuite : ces quatre-là jouent comme les cinq doigts de la main dans un gant … multidimensionnel comme le démontre le Chaos IV où les échanges sont dosés, alternés avec glissandi, moirages désarticulés, harmoniques irréelles, et les frappes précises et sélectives du percussionniste. Au fil des morceaux, la musique collective se diversifie et l’invention ludique monte en graine avec forces détails, mouvements fugaces, imbrication de frottements, col legno, suraigus, grondements qui s’enlacent et se charadent poétiquement, le bassiste poussant les graves charnus sur la touche avec ses gros doigts. Les deux Rodrigues jouent en tandem comme si leurs centres nerveux étaient en osmose totale, reliés par les fils d'une écoute transitive organique comme de très rarement. Il faut noter le jeu affairé mais discret et ouvert, crépitant et pointilliste du batteur qui laisse tout l’espace aux aiguillonnements des archets virevoltant sur les cordes. Sonorités frissonnantes et cascades de vibrations boisées, chœurs multiphoniques, utopie du jeu « ensemble ». Une ivresse nous surprend, les Chaos révèlent un ordonnancement naturel qui s’échappe de la rationalité et bouleverse nos perceptions. Jean-Michel Van Schouwburg (Orynx)

W pierwszej dzi? ekspozycji kwartowej znajdujemy rodzin? Rodrigues w Lizbonie, w towarzystwie kontrabasu i perkusjonalii. Spotkanie wydaje si? nad wyraz ciekawe, nie pierwszy raz bowiem altowiolinista Ernesto i wiolonczelista Guilherme zdaj? si? toczy? zaciek?e spory dramaturgiczne, si?gaj?c po elementy, które ??cz? swobodn? kameralistyk? i post-jazz, zw?aszcza ten, który zg?asza inklinacje ku eskapadom free jazzowym. Naszym bohaterom w dziele kreacji na styku dwóch estetyk bardzo pomaga doskona?y kontrabasista, Joao Madeira, który nieustanie stawia pytania o gatunkowe granice.
Pierwsze kilka improwizacji skonstruowanych jest w formie 4-5 minutowych opowie?ci. Muzycy buduj? tu narracje zarówno z zadziornych, preparowanych d?wi?ków, jak i cierpliwie cedz? czyste, bardziej delikatne frazy. Mamy zatem na scenie trzy kreatywne smyczki, które liczy? mog? w ka?dym momencie na wsparcie delikatnych perkusjonalii, niepozbawionych warstwy rytmicznej, ale nade wszystko ilustracyjnych. Muzycy nie sil? si? tu na ?adne przystawki, od razu kreuj? umiarkowanie dynamiczn? sytuacj?, s? te? w stanie w krótkim czasie uzyska? niemal post-industrialne brzmienie, które puentuj? potem spor? porcj? melodii. W drugiej cz??ci improwizacja nabiera pewnej intryguj?cej taneczno?ci, a frazy niebanalnej ?piewno?ci. Kameralistyka buduje tu emocje, a akcenty post-jazzu udanie j? przyozdabiaj?. W trzeciej ods?onie dostajemy jeszcze elementy post-barokowe, upstrzone wieloma nerwowymi akcjami. Zaraz potem arty?ci bior? g??boki oddech i bawi? si? d?wi?kami w okolicach ciszy. Preparowane i rezonuj?ce frazy do?? szybko dostaj? si? we w?adanie dynamiki, cho? ca?o?ci bli?ej do free chamber ni? do jazzu. Pi?ta historia kontynuuje w?tki, stawia te? na dzia?ania w trybie call & responce. W szóstej cz??ci ka?dy ze smyczków zdaje si? frazowa? w swoim indywidualnym stylu, a zwinne perkusjonalia klej? zwart? narracj? w ca?o??. Gar?? coraz wi?kszych emocji udanie podprowadza nas pod dwie ostanie improwizacje, które trwaj? na albumie zdecydowanie najd?u?ej. Pierwsza z nich budowana jest wieloma akcjami perkusjonalnymi, zarówno na werblu i talerzach, jak i gryfach instrumentów strunowych. Dobre tempa, oceany emocji, to prawdziwy hard-core chamber, tak?e dzi?ki mnogo?ci ostrych, zgrzytliwych zagra? ze strony ka?dego z muzyków! Ostatnia opowie??, to niemal trzecia cz??? p?yty i zdaje si? reasumowa? wszelkie plany artystyczne, jakie mieli muzycy przyst?puj?c do nagrania. Nerwowe preparacje na starcie, wsparte na deep drummingu. Dynamika tym razem ?ciele si? wedle regu?y up & down. Mamy efektowne, post-jazzowe spowolnienie, potem festiwal kameralnych didaskalii. Równie urokliwa zdaje si? by? faza dronowego slow-motion. Na fina? arty?ci puszczaj? wodze fantazji i szyj? nam niemal free jazzow? intryg?. Andrzej Nowak (Trybuna Muzyki Spontanicznej)

All Portuguese, Chaos’s eight sections feature the father and son team of Ernesto Rodrigues viola and Guilherme Rodrigues cello, joined by bassist João Madeira and percussionist José Oliveira. The Rodrigues have a long affiliation with Free Music, while Madeira and Oliveira move between pure improv and Free Jazz.
Pressure and percussiveness are emphasized on Chaos. But with the stressed accents coming from four directions, lyrical motifs also enter the performance. Layering is as important as linear motion as high-pitched string arcs are stacked up with double bass strokes in the middle and Oliveira’s woody clips and pops on the bottom. As Madeira’s andante pumps advance the exposition, viola and cello interjections break up the exposition to prevent passivity. Encompassing tropes include speedy string stops and strums, squeezed staccato runs, positioned bell-ringing, cymbal scratches and rim shots. These motifs are emphasized for extended or briefer interludes that sweep along until culminated in the elongated penultimate and final tracks. With multiple tones soaring from the bassist and rugged ruffs from the drummer, the andante density of “Chaos VII” is challenged by stridently pitched strings. Yet as a harbinger of what entails on the nearly 18-minute final selection, the kinship among supple drums pushes and intense arco shrilling serves its purpose. Nearly every motif that has been proposed during the preceding seven track is expanded on “Chaos VIII”. But, also as before, the chaos described in the track titles is moderated by the narratives’ broken octave balance. Swift sul ponticello cello stops abut moderato double bass plucks, and later on a concentrated lilting interlude is interrupted by col legno string pops and woody drum emphasis. Winding each players’ timbres together into swells and stops, Madeira’s and Oliveira’s gradual lessening of tension leads to a rounded, almost lyrical finale. Ken Waxman (JazzWord)