VELHA GRAVURA

Once I bought a CD just because I found the band name so beautiful. The group was called Quaterna Requiem, and all I knew was that they were a prog band from Brazil. Their debut album was titled "Velha Gravura." The LP was released in 1990, followed by the CD two years later. Lucky for me, I enjoyed the album, and to this day, I still like listening to the instrumental masterpiece with its sophisticated blend of classical music, folk, jazz-rock, symphonic, and progressive music.

However, it's unfortunate that the CD's sound pressure is quite thin, which affects the dynamics of the music. Hopefully, the album will be remastered someday. The efforts of the five musicians certainly deserve a better fate. Keyboardist Elisa Wiermann and drummer Cláudio Dantas, not entirely coincidentally the founders of the band, play with drive and passion. The most talented band member, undoubtedly, is violinist Kleber Vogel, who creates a wide range of atmospheres with his acoustic instrument. Sometimes he whirls, sometimes he sounds melodramatic. Most of the time, he chooses a nuance somewhere in between. And then there's guitarist Jones Júnior. While he can play decently, you won't hear an Andy Latimer-like solo from him. Instead, it's mainly the violin that colors the canvas. The whole is neatly held together by bassist Marco Lauria and the aforementioned drummer Claudio Dantas. I want to praise the latter, the former only occasionally.

The CD contains eight tracks. The first six tracks are the regular material from the LP, while the following two tracks are bonus tracks without guitarist Jones Junior. That doesn't really make much of a difference, though.

The album kicks off with the light-hearted Ramoniana, compositionally consisting of two pieces. The first few minutes are dedicated to classical music with violin, acoustic guitar, flute, and oboe, while the rhythm then shifts towards folk. It's not the most exciting piece of music on the album, something that can't be said about the following Aquartha. It's full of tempo and mood changes. In this jazz-rock-infused composition, we really hear a band because there are synchronized runs at every turn.

Next, the Brazilians present a track of more than twelve minutes. This Camel-like title track Velha Gravura is in my ears the most formidable of the album. Delicious riffs on the Moog and dazzling drum breaks come your way as if it's the most natural thing in the world. The band continues with Tempestade where Vogel sounds like Jean Luc Ponty in his most progressive years, and because Wierman's keys sound so fat here, you can give five thumbs up. Don't be misled, though; the time indication on the cover and on the internet is three minutes too long. In Madrugada Vogel shows how much melancholy he can evoke from his instrument, and that is considerable. Additionally, Wiermann adds beautiful keyboard parts under his graceful playing. Toccata is a baroque-tinged piece full of bombastic and pompous organ sounds. Of course, it's Vogel again who brings refinement to this concluding track.

Cárceres and Elegia are the bonus tracks with the most added value. Especially the cinematic atmosphere of Elegia enriches the palette.

In the end, I'm glad the CD came my way back then. "Velha Gravura" may not be a top-notch quality album, sometimes different criteria apply.

Orginally posted on www.progenrock.com