Mladi Raziskovalci V. — Oskar Longyka

Rodrigues/Rodrigues/Madeira Oliveira
Chaos
Creative Sources CS 759 CD

Two notable instances of high strung and determined Chamber-Improv give new meanings to the idea of a string quartet. Unconventionally organized, ԞσΛծϛ matches Slovenian violinist Oskar Longyka and Italian violist Alberto Mastracci with Austrian pianist Jure Bergant and another Slovenian Tobias Kochseder playing bandoneon for a brief improvisation that draws on the members’ experience in notated and folkloric music. 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.

Concise, but not short on ideas, ԞσΛծϛ directed by Longyka, is a workshop piece dealing with death and searching, but soon moves past its slow-moving introduction to unite string vibrations and glissandi with quick keyboard stabs and tremolo shakes from the bandoneon. Once established the harmonized exposition begins to fray as buzzing string shuffles snake around the squeeze box’s sizzling sighs and stutters. It’s up to pinpointed piano tones to corral thick string vibrations and bandoneon squeezes into a logical progression that swells and dwindles as it evolves. Contrasted speed and story telling alternate from then on as the strings’ double and triple stopping brush up against melodic piano asides with both accentuated by squeeze box drones. Lyrical interludes give way to prestissimo pressure and vice versa, as both sides of the equation are emphasized with equal efficiency until a buzzing bandoneon continuum confirm the piece’s evolution and culmination.

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

Track Listing: ԞσΛծϛ: 1. ԞσΛծϛ A

Personnel: ԞσΛծϛ: Oskar Longyka (violin); Alberto Mastracci (viola); Jure Bergant (piano) and Tobias Kochseder (bandoneon)

Track Listing: Chaos:1. Chaos I2. Chaos II 3. Chaos III 4. Chaos IV  5. Chaos V 6. Chaos VI 7. Chaos VII 8. Chaos VIII

Personnel: Chaos: Ernesto Rodrigues (viola); Guilherme Rodrigues (cello); João Madeira (bass) and José Oliveira (percussion)