QUATERNA REQUIEM (WIERMANN & VOGEL)

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

I actually got a little excited hearing that first track for the first time along with the next two tracks too actually because they sounded so much better than the music that is on their debut. Just more alive, more depth, less classical and fancy. Well the excitement lasted about 27 minutes then we get the title track called a "Suite" that is over 50 minutes long broken down into 14 songs. And also a return to the sounds of that first album that I gave 3 stars to. So 3.5 stars seems right, in fact ProgShine who is from Brazil says this is a solid 3.5 star record and not their best. He prefers the one studio album I don't have from 1994 called "Quasimodo" and there's no violin on it!

Oh well and I hate to be so dismissive towards this 78 minute recording that must have taken months and months to compose and arrange. And on top of that played by some incredible musicians.

The synths don't exactly work for me most of the time sounding so modern they should have stuck with the piano and organ that is used less frequently on here. Not much electric guitar but the acoustic on the opener dominates for the first 4 minutes. The bass and drums have a back seat here even if both have their moments. Oh there's two guests both playing on the opener only adding flute and oboe.

This is almost too clean if you know what I mean although "Toccata" has some ripping organ. We have the pretty "Madrugada" with 10 1/2 minutes of mostly piano and violin. The title track at over 12 minutes is the longest and very hit and miss. "Aquartha" sounds odd, almost jumbled the way the violin and synths collide. This track at least has some upfront bass I appreciate.

Not my music but this gets some high grades.

Taking the background of these recordings into consideration, this would be perfect fit for a painting exhibition, but quite far from what Quaterna Requiem had released so far.With Wiermann and Vogel being the main contributors, this one sounds mostly like a Folk/New Age record with tighter links to the atmospheric instrumentals of compatriots SAGRADO CORACAO DA TERRA than the refined Symphonic Rock of Quaterna Requiem.The music is a mix of soft Classical, New Age, Renaissance-period and Folk inspirations, dominated by the heavy use of acoustic piano and the omnipresent violin drives of Vogel, showered by occasional keyboard themes, bass lines and a few string parts.Very relaxing music with a mellow mood, all instrumental, serving the scope of its release.Absolutely no dynamics or grandiose parts, the two musicians focused on creating ethereal soundscapes and move far from the more complex deliveries of their main act.Last track ''Fugato'' offers though the familiar style of the group with full display of drums and guitars and even some organ in the process, this follows the Symphonic Rock lines established by the Brazilian veterans, featuring nice interplays and dreamy solos with a strong Classical background.

Consider this as an off-shoot release of Quaterna Requiem.Mainly background, mellow musicianship with piano and violin in evidence, not progressive, but quite atmospheric and suitable for a romantic dinner.For die-hard fans of the band...2.5 stars.

QUATERNA RÉQUIEM is a long love, I'm not a biggest fan, but they always released high quality material in the Symphonic Prog vein and it's been a long time since their previous studio album, the great and epic Quasímodo (1994).

I've heard about this new album, O Arquiteto (2012), more than a years ago, was a really slow birth to the band, but here it is, a conceptual album that deals, like the name says, with the Architects and their works.

As one would expect from the band, Symphonic Prog is all the way through with pianos, violinos and keyboards, and we can notice on the first track 'Preludium' and also on the second 'Mosaicos' with its piano, acoustic classical guitar by Roberto Crivano and keyboards layers.

From time to time I must confess that I felt that the sounds are a bit cheese here and there, sometimes they do bother my audition of the album, like in the case of some keyboards and specially in the bass tone, too low sometimes and sometimes sounds too much 'amateur'. But in the cases of the violins they're terrific, Kleber Vogel does an amazing job on O Arquiteto (2012) and also the Claudio Dantas drums are very good, usually every drum sound bothers me in new albums, they're actually good here. And of course, the work in the keys by Elisa Wiermann is always welcome since she is a kind of soul to the band's overall sound.

But, instrumental albums in general bothers me after 30 minutes or so, even the best ones, no exception here, specially that the album has over 67 minutes, too much for me. By the time at the 8th track, the third part of the Suite 'O Arquiteto', 'Frank Lloyd', I was a bit bored. It's beautiful, but I guess it's not every second of the album for me.

And yeah, at the 10th track I was waiting for the end of the album, with the cheese keyboard intro, and this isn't good in any audition of a new album.

At the end I wanted to really love this album, but I just can't, this is a solid 3.5 stars and nothing more than that. I will for sure give it some more spins, but I really can't say that O Arquiteto is their best album.

The opening ''Ramoniana'' is a short smooth symphonic suite with strong Classical content, based on lovely acoustic guitars and flutes.''Aquartha'' is a totally different beast, being an hybrid of Symphonic Rock and complex Fusion with violin in evidence, nice synth work and a couple of good guitar explosions.The long eponymous track sees the band back in a symphonic mood, a great composition of energetic Progressive Rock with dominant violins leading the way and a combination between organs and synths to support, the somewhat plastic keys though hold this one from being a masterpiece.''Tempestade'' is very close to the style of SAGRADO CORACAO DA TERRA, keyboards are being held off to the background to give the basic role to piano and violins,another decent track split between melody and dissonance.''Madrugada'' is off to a low start close to Classical Music, again grandiose piano and calm violins lead the way from start to end in a rather depressive atmosphere, which lasts a bit too long to be fully appreciated.With ''Toccata'' Quaterna Requiem return to the energy of the opening tracks, excellent blend of bombastic violins with atmospheric synths with a nice guitar ending solo, a great outro to say the least.

What really prevents this album from being a really stunning release is definitely the techniques and instrumentation used, still the material is of high calibre and even a couple of tracks are true stand-outs.Strongly recommended, especially for fans of Symphonic Rock or high-class instrumental Progressive Rock...3.5 stars.

But then, a wonderful trick of the light transpires in the form of "Os Reis Malditos", which might just be the most accomplished piece of either of Elisa's dear progeny. A suite of minimalist mantras mostly on stately organs coloured by bombastic bass and mournful lead guitars, it rivals the best by much better known names while never stooping to mimicry. One can certainly point to CAMEL but I don't know that they were ever this intense, and I also thought of Scandinavian guys GROOVECTOR, but again ratcheted up a dozen off notches. The termination is as a 70s epic played live, drawn out and percussively embellished, but it's really about allowing the artists to decompress rather than vaunt their skill.

If "Aquintha" returns to the cheesy 70s sounds, this time it is more Wakeman-esque winsomeness than Emersonian pomp, and as such slightly warmer but ultimately not recommended. Luckily "Irmãos Grimm" returns to the more ambitious and involved aspect of the Quaterna Requiem toolkit. The first 5 minutes are a bit meandering, but the inspiration is more apparent thereafter during the quiet and well developed passage that begins with a deep harpsichord-like theme beneath ambient synths and whale-like lead guitar. Martial drums, a favourite of the group, herald the next segment of scintillating organ succeeded by simply elegant lead by José Roberto Crivano that we follow to a happy ending.

The final value of the album may rest in the title cut simply because it runs half of its total length. "Quasimodo" is a set of a half dozen or so pieces with deliberate breaks between them. The quasi classical character of group is evident in the crumhorns and recorders of Sergio Dias, and later the ancient aura is re-established by Benedictine monk voices espousing the virtue of our hunchbacked protagonist no doubt. Wierman's organ playing is lovely here. Gentle harpsichord features prominently in several of these movements. Don't expect GRYPHON here; this is a lot more deliberate, stately, and ultimately convincing. Maybe I just like a sense of gravity and commitment about my medieval prog. The tempo is varied but usually on the sedate side, and the last few minutes are downright ambient. Somehow the ending seems a bit lacking in climactic power, but perhaps I need to brush up on the story.

I apologize for a rather lengthier review than is my wont. "Quasimodo", while perhaps less consistent than "Velha Gravura", leaves me equally sated. At its best, which is often enough, it's a devotional work where faith is in the music, and I have a hunch you'll be back at it many times.

If Elisa Wiermann leads the group and grants herself free reign on keyboards, "Velha Gravura" succeeds as much in spite of as because of her contribution. The violins of Kleber Vogel are the real leaders, dominant in most tracks and toeing the line between effusive warmth and jazzy cool. QUELLA VECCHIA LOCANDA at their best might be a helpful point of reference. While Wiermann's synths occasionally border on strident, and she may have been better to limit herself to her brilliant organ and piano workouts, Vogel's strings take chances and succeed brilliantly. "Aquartha", "Tempestade" and "Madrugada" together form the core of this precise yet vivacious disk. "Aquartha" is perhaps the standout, a quasi medieval romp reminiscent of PAUL BRETT's "Eclipse" but with that angular Latin attack. The rhythm section, consistent throughout, shines especially brightly here.

I should also mention the opening tune which finds sprightly flute and oboe in charge and recalls the achievements of SOLARIS. The title piece, while being the most ambitious, borrows so from CAMEL's "Rhayader" as to be a distraction, the blatant idolatry hijacking clarity for about 12 minutes. Luckily, this is but a misstep on a disk that keeps sounding better to me, like an old engraving that magically returns to focus, proving that what is old is new again, only better.

It's quite easy to characterize the band's music: instrumental, keyboard-orientated symphonic prog rock. The biggest influences of this brazilian band are Camel, Yes and UK, and the similarities are too obvious in some specific moments (especially the title track, which sounds a bit too much like "Snow Goose" around the 4th minute. Great piece anyway).

However, the band's perfectionism and obvious love for symphonic prog rock wins in the end of every listen. "Velha Gravure" is a great album from start to finish, full of energy, and inspiration that might appeal not only to the fanatics of the subgenre.

The things that hold me from characterizing this album a masterpiece is the excessively polished sound of the synths in most tracks (typical of many late 70's and neo-prog bands), which is not exactly my cup of tea and the relatively poor sound.

Apart from the title track, it is really impossible to mention some standout songs here. Brilliant album.