ENTRE UM SILENCIO E OUTRO

Marco Antonio Araujo is a brazilian guitarist who used to play instrumental music, blending rock with folk. On this album, he changed his usual formula by playing a more intimate music, close to classical chamber music. In fact, he is backed by 2 cellists, and one flautist, a completely different line-up than the previous one which formed the band Mantra. This album is dedicated to the memory of Araujo's teacher of composition, Esther Scliar, explaining the change of direction on this album and his will to showcase his composition skills. The music is truly beautiful, one could even wonder if it hadn't been composed by a most renowned classical composer, the level of complexity being so relevant in this record. The album consists of two tracks (three more on the reissued edition, in the same vein) crafted to form a suite. The overall feel to the music is very european, the cello giving a touch of romanticism and the flute a touch of classicism, only the guitar has the typical latine tone, reminding the solo works of Egberto Gismonti, to whom he was nevertheless compared. Fortunately, the album is not focusing on Araujo's guitar work, rather the quartet works as an ensemble, each of the musician contributing equally to this record. The music presented here should appeal more to the usual classical music listener, than the prog fan. However, when comparing this record to Araujo's other ones, I much prefer the classical texture of this music than the prog-rock Araujo played with Mantra. It just seems to be a more mature work. Unfortunately, the great Araujo died prematurely in 1986. This album will remain for me the best testimony of his art. NB : as this record belongs IMHO to the realm of classical music and is not a progressive rock piece of music, I didn't gave it the 5 stars it would deserve if progarchives were a site devoted to classical music !

Marco Antonio Araujo´s third album is a lot different from his previous two. This is really classical chamber music and, in this field, very good. The original record had only two tracks (each for one side of the vinyl LP, Fantasia Nº 2 (Romance) on side A and Fantasia Nº 3 (Folhas Mortas) on side B. Just classical guitar, two cellos and a flute.

On the CD reissue someone must have thought this work to be too radical classical music for his taste and decided to put three bonus tracks BEFORE the main course. Those are really alternative versions of some Araújo´s previously released songs with different arrangements. On those tracks he is, as usual, backed by his electric group Mantra (which included his brother Alexandre on lead guitar).

A very good work indeed, showing off Araujo´s skills as classical songwriter for chamber music, but has nothing to do with his early releases nor with his follow up Lucas. While those three CDs are prog music wiht lots of classical influences, Entre Um Silêncio e Outro IS classical music in the most radical sense of the word. If you like this kind of music, go for it.

If PA was a classical music site the rating would be four stars at least. For the average prog lover this music may be a bit too radical, save for the bonus tracks, which shows interesting alternative arrangements of some of his earlier stuff. In PA 3 stars in all should be more fitting, I guess. Good, but definitly not his essential work.

Marco Antônio Araújo's Entre um Silêncio e Outro casts Marco as Brazil's answer to Anthony Phillips, presenting epic compositions stuffed with classical and historical folk influences and dripping with romanticism - plus a little influence from the folkier side of Italian prog creeping in here and there. Comprising, in its original release, the two side-long Fantasia nos. 2 and 3 suites, it's a gentle and eerily beautiful soundscape which compares favourably to other folk- rooted prog-tinged sonic experiments like Mike Oldfield's Hergest Ridge. Hazy and impressionistic as its smudgy watercolour cover art, Entre um Silêncio e Outro is an album which deserves a little more recognition from the prog community.