C O N C E R T I N O_I N_O´_M A G G I O R E
P E R_A R P A_E_N I T R O G L I C E R I N A

O t a c í l i o M e l g a ç o

[duration 55:13] all rights reserved

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The artist Otacílio Melgaço has two official curators in the virtual world. A curator (from Latin: ´curare´, meaning ´to take care´) is a manager or overseer. Traditionally, keeper of a cultural heritage institution (e.g., gallery, museum, library or, as the present case: sound archive) is a content specialist charged with an institution's collections and, highlighting the context in force here, involved with the interpretation of personal (heritage) material. Both, Mr. Paz and Mr. Campbell, are, therefore, reviewers of the Melgacian works. To learn more about their missions, tasks, assignments and responsibilities by means of valuable informations regarding the compositional process, the performative rhizomes and other special features, just click the following link: otaciliomelgaco.wixsite.com/preamblebypsp
(O.M.Team; P r e l u d e)

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"Sometimes, unpredictably, the Brazilian composer and instrumentalist Otacílio Melgaço performs live. These are very rare occasions. He calls them ´Manifestations´ or, more properly, ´Apparitions´. This is the case of <<Concertino in O' Maggiore per Arpa e Nitroglicerina>>. Any and all similarities with ´Eyes Wide Shut´ (a 1999 erotic mystery psychological drama film directed, produced, and co-written by Stanley Kubrick) are not mere coincidences. In the vicinity of the capital of the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil; on a date that belongs to other grains of a phantasmatic hourglass, a considerable space reserved for ceremonies was rented and a group of people closest to Melgaço only found out about the event a few days before. They were the astonished guests. Everything was done secretly, nothing was disclosed (starting with the tentacular Media). A confidentiality agreement was signed. On the night of the spectacle, smartphones and cameras were left in the entrance hall. Based directly on the graphic novels, each perplexed invited - even so, with due brief antecedence - received masks of some Ugo Eugenio Prat characters such as Rasputine (with which the harpist Alice Fiori was awarded), Moira Banshee O'Danann, Morgana Dias dos Santos Bantam, Esmeralda, Sükhbaatar, Louise Brookszowyc, Pandora, Soledad Lokäarth, Marina Seminova, Shanghai Li, Wee Lee Song, Venexiana Stevenson, Marianne, Sevan Vartkès, Aïda, Ferida Schnitzer, Pandora, Gold Mouth, Skull, Tarao, Slutter, Sbringolin, Tristan Bantam, Lévi Colombia, Cush, Cain Groovesnore, the ´Monk´, Shamael, Cangaceiro chef Corisco, Hasso von Manteuffel, Manfred von Richthofen - Le Baron Rouge, Mohammed Abdullah Hassan, Mad Mullah, Baron Roman von Ungern-Sternberg, Grigori Semenov, Soukhé Bator, Gabriele D'Annunzio, Frederick Rolfe, Lady Layard, Lord Byron, Edward John Trelawny, Ismail Enver or Enver Pasha, Leroy Parker aka Butch Cassidy, Harry Longbaugh aka the Sundance Kid, Etta Place, Hermann Hesse, Ernest B. Schoedsack, Tamara de Lempicka, Jenny Prentiss, Alonzo, Frank ´Paddy´ Slavin, Waka Yamada, Captain Bernier, George Comer, Matthew Henson, Joseph W. Boyle, Karl Adolf Clark or Otto von Busch, André Malraux, Rudyard Kipling, Virginia Prentiss, Jack London, James Joyce, Eugene O'Neill, John Reed, Constantine Cavafy, Winston Churchill, Henry de Monfreid, Hamed el Marjebi dit Tippo Tip, Emin Pasha, Richard Meinertzhagen, John Watt Beattie, Charles Anthony Johnson Brooke, Charles Vyner Brooke, Rajah Branco de Sarawak, Sylvia Brett, Eliah Corbett (Percy Fawcett), Onatis (Aristóteles Onassis), Ernestway (Ernest Hemingway), Nahum Zangwill (Israel Zangwill / Nahum Syrkin), Jeremiah Steiner (Rudolf Steiner)...and, Ladies and Gentlemen, forgive me if anyone else was forgotten. Yes, when Melgaço himself went on stage, for a few minutes, he also used one: Corto Maltese. [At the end, during the thanks, the vizard was different, the culminating: Hugo Pratt, of course].

I'll try to randomly throw together some preeminent curiosities:

It is a lo-fi recording, as it would not be officially released but was instead part of the artist's sphinxlike personal archives. After many requests from other musicians and friends, Otacílio finally decided to make it available to the public. I add: we are almost reaching the last quarter of the year 2023 and, right now, there is [I don't need to go into details] a terrifying conflict in the Middle East. Certainly the most convulsive in a long time. Not losing sight of the title of such resounding launched Oeuvre, somehow, I think this also influenced O.M.'s decision, as a nod that demonstrates the concerns and a certain audible expression of someone who finds it cardinal to bring to light an active focus on crucial issues of Humanity, and, thus, open a distinct type of propositional channel for reflections, dialogues, actions;

The reverberating Piece lasts 55 minutes and 13 seconds, so it was played live and therefore is not divided into two parts. This was a Bandcamp contingency that could not support the weight of the primal file and, as a result, embracing such solution was inevitable. Therefore, to reproduce the quintessencial Experience, you must listen to both tracks, in sequence, as one. Nonetheless there is a positive point: what became a ´continuazione´ (continuation) highlights even more another of Melgaço's most extraordinary ingenuities: he chose instruments that - throughout the first half of this, here, culminating fragment - had the initial letters (some, when they accept translation, in Portuguese) N, I, T, R, O, G, L, I, C, E, R, I, N, A. More specifically:
N a q q a r a
I g i l
T a b l a
R a b e c a
O b o é
G a i t a D e F o l e
L i r a
I c h i g e n k i n
C a s t a n h o l a
E u f ô n i o
R e a l e j o
I e t a
N e y A n b a n
A t a b a q u e
As this is a sui generis record, one or the other sounds more explicit, some not so much, however, whether through their physical bodies present on stage or by means of impeccable simulations of timbres starting from other sonorous sources, every instrument was, directly or indirectly, at the forefront of the limelight and its apotheotic conjunction was quite noticeable by the entire audience;

If we now have a notion of where ´Nitroglicerina´ (Nitroglycerin) is and not only through what I have just revealed above ... yet the term is also a great metaphor for several other explosive elements that appear in both the compositional and symbolic approach, if it is a Concertino for Arpa (´Harp´ in Italian): where it is? There are details that clearly, yea, come from it but, in much of the Work, how can we recognize l'Arpa? This is another inflection point from Melgaço: he interfered in the coloratura of such a stringed musical instrument that has individual cords (plucked with the fingers) running at an angle to its soundboard ... and thus presents us with a new perspective that transubstantiates (or ´nitroglycerinizes´?) the Harp. An example: there is a high degree of sustain in the sounds, all the notes played simultaneously continue to vibrate to the point of generating a complex ´monolith´ unveiling a continuous combination of, ergo, ´monoliths´, therefore, ´multiliths´ that expand the understanding of what a harpistic identity would be. Another instance: there are many effects to which the instrument is connected and so let's imagine what a distortion, a delay and chorus, flanger, phaser et cetera can accomplish as a transfigurative intervention in a timbre that is conventionally known. And so on. In short, if this was visible live, whoever listens later to the recording remains faced with the constant and enigmatic challenge that Otacílio proposes: detecting and following the odyssey that the ´transHarp´ goes through throughout such strangely excitant small Concert;

In fact, concomitantly with the Nausícaaa Ensemble, O.M. goes through several instruments throughout the entire performance of the Concertino, as a matter of fact, how can I say it?, as a hybrid flâneur (there and here, who acts-and-leads): Melgaço ´wanders´ through each one. Sometimes he will be listened on the keyboards (which, by the way, were changed to closely resemble the new harpistic sound, providing an intriguing dialogic-dialectic doppio - doppelgänger -), on the double bass, on the myriad of percussions, horns, whistles, noises and the list goes on.

We will embark on a saga that will suggest a manifoldness of soundscapes, flirting with natural concretenesses, ethnic incidentalities, avant jazz, concert music, hints of Brazilianness and the references continue, ...which can be perceived both under the auspices of the inviting Prattian universe or remaining on the wings of a Musicality that in itself is a multiverse. The two prisms, if simultaneous, also harmonize with each other surprisingly.

These are words from the proper Hugo: ´He's dreaming with his eyes open, and those that dream with their eyes open are dangerous, for they do not know when their dreams come to an end´. Wouldn't it be quite plausible to intuit that the Italian fumettista, disegnatore & scrittore could be referring to Otacílio Melgaço?" (Pablo S. Paz; Argentinean musicologist)

"Corto Maltese is a series of adventure and fantasy comics named after the character homonym, an adventurous sailor. It was created by the Italian Hugo Pratt in 1967. The comics are highly praised as some of the most artistic and literary graphic novels ever written and have been translated into numerous languages and adapted into several animated films. The series features Maltese, an enigmatic sea captain who lives in the first three decades of the 20th century. Born in Valletta on the island of Malta on 10 July 1887, the son of a sailor from Cornwall, and a gypsy from Seville. In his intrepid experiences full of real-world references, Corto has often crossed with real historical characters like the American author Jack London and his nurse Virginia Prentiss, the American outlaw Butch Cassidy, the German World War I flying ace Red Baron, and many others.

Specifically in <<Concerto in O' Minore per Arpa e Nitroglicerina>>, the spacetime is Dublin, October 1917. The members of the Irish revolutionary army, united under the flag of the nationalist political party Sinn Féin, have two bitter pills to swallow: the death of Pat Funnican, symbol of the revolution, and the betrayal of O'Sullivan, who transformed from a companion into a mercenary in the pay of the English. Corto Maltese, which supplies weapons to the rebels fighting for the country's independence, will soon discover, however, that in war it is not always easy to distinguish heroes from traitors. '- You were lucky... you could have lost your life tonight. - Impossible.... I haven't decided the date of my death yet.'

It's not about death but life (and its adventurous decisions); it's not selectly in the Republic of Ireland (Poblacht na hÉireann) that the absorption of this stunning live Piece by Otacílio Melgaço will take place but effectively in Le Tour du Monde - not - en Quatre-Vingts Jours but, as concise as the most condensed of explosive casings, in almost an hour.

Melgaço engenders a ´gioco-di-specchi´ with an excerpt from Pratt's spawn, insofar as he generates such duologue-in-reverse (dance & contra-dance): a Concerto will be amalgamated into Concertino, on the other hand, what was - in terms of supposed tonality - Minor (Minore), will be effervesced in Major (Maggiore). Submerge another clue left by Otacílio, when, intermediated by an apostrophe, its initials - OM - appear, inflammable, in the title he retraced.

<<Concertino in O´ Maggiore per Arpa e Nitroglicerina>> is not an interpretation or rereading - in sonic form - of Signore Hugo Maltese or Corto Pratt but inevitably an hOMage. A sort of Melgacian Rosa Alchemica, I presume. À L’Éden de l'Est. À L’Ouest de L’Éden." (Caio Campbell; Anglo-Brazilian semiologist and musician)

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I - Ugo Eugenio Prat, better known as Hugo Pratt (15 June 1927 – 20 August 1995), was an Italian comic book creator who was known for combining strong storytelling with extensive historical research on works such as Corto Maltese. He was inducted into the Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame in 2005. In 1946 Hugo Pratt became part of the so-called Group of Venice with Fernando Carcupino, Dino Battaglia and Damiano Damiani;

II - Corto Maltese (whose name derives from the Andalusian argot and means "quick hands") is a laconic sea captain adventuring during the early 20th century (1900–1920s). A "rogue with a heart of gold", he is tolerant and sympathetic to the underdog. Born in Valletta on July 10, 1887, he is the son of a British sailor from Cornwall and an Andalusian–Romani witch and prostitute known as "La Niña de Gibraltar". As a boy growing up in the Jewish quarter of Córdoba, Maltese discovered that he had no fate line on his palm and therefore carved his own with his father's razor, determining that his fate was his to choose. Although maintaining a neutral position, Corto instinctively supports the disadvantaged and oppressed.

The character embodies the author's skepticism of national, ideological and religious assertions. Corto befriends people from all walks of life, including the murderous Russian Rasputin (no relation with the historical figure, apart from physical resemblance and some character traits), British heir Tristan Bantam, voodoo priestess Gold Mouth and Czech academic Jeremiah Steiner. He also knows and meets various real-life historical figures, including Jack London, Ernest Hemingway, Hermann Hesse, Butch Cassidy, James Joyce, Gabriele D'Annunzio, Frederick Rolfe, Joseph Conrad, Sükhbaatar, John Reed, White Russian general Roman von Ungern-Sternberg, Enver Pasha of Turkey and Sergei Semenov, modelled after Grigory Semyonov. His acquaintances treat him with great respect, as when a telephone call to Joseph Stalin frees him from arrest when he is threatened with execution on the border of Turkey and Armenia.

Corto's favourite book is Utopia by Thomas More, but he never finishes it. He also read books by London, Lugones, Stevenson, Melville and Conrad, and quotes Rimbaud.

Corto Maltese stories range from straight historical adventure to occult dream sequences. He is present when the Red Baron is shot down, helps the Jívaro in South America, and flees Fascists in Venice, but also unwittingly helps Merlin and Oberon to defend Britain and helps Tristan Bantam to visit the lost continent of Mu.

Chronologically, the first adventure, Corto Maltese: The Early Years, happens during the Russo-Japanese War. In other albums he experiences the Great War in several locations, participates in the Russian Civil War after the October Revolution, and appears during the early stages of Fascist Italy. In a separate series by Pratt, The Desert Scorpions, Corto is said to be missing in action in Spain during the Spanish Civil War;

III - www.youtube.com/watch?v=QArxO6gQYCw

...for purposes of pragmatism and clear exegesis,
quotes have Wikipedia as a source...

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Between two parentheses...
(Atonalism, Twelve-Tone, Serialism, Musique Concrète... Acousmatic. Eletroacoustic. Magnetic Tape. Expressionism, New Objectivity, Hyperrealism, Abstractionism, Neoclassicism, Neobarbarism, Futurism, Mythic Method. Electronic...Computer Music, Spectral, Polystylism, Neoromanticism, Minimalism and Post-Minimalism...are addressed by Melgaço. Paradoxically New Simplicity and New Complexity also.
Art Rock, Free Jazz, Ethnic Dialects, Street Sounds are occasional syntax elements.
All the possibilities mentioned above and others that were not mentioned are the usual accoutrements of the composer/instrumentalist to establish his ´babelic´ glossary. We can prove this in a short passage of a single composition up along the entirety of a conceptual phonograph album. All distributed over a career and idiosyncratic records. Have we a universe before us and I propose to see it through a telescope, not a microscope.
I propose not handle very specialized topics here. Otherwise would be, with the exception of musicians and scholars, all hostages of a hermetic jargon. Because more important is to present Otacílio Melgaço to the general public and not to a segment of specialists. Faction of experts not need presentations, depart for the enjoyment beforehand. For this reason there is no niche here for intellectual onanism and encrypted musical terminology. The reason for these parentheses is to establish such elucidation. The non-adoption of technicalities leads to more panoramic, amplifier reviews. Are You always welcome. Those who do not dominate contemporary music and are introduced to the world of ubiquitous O.M. [autodidact and independent artist who, being more specific, does not belong to schools or doctrines; artist who makes Music and that´s enough; music devoid of labels or stylistic, chronological, historical paradigms or trends] and Those who belong to the métier and turn to enjoy propositions they know and also delving into advanced Melgacian sound cosmogonies...
I conclude poetically. ´Certeza/Certainty´ by Octavio Paz. ´Si es real la luz blanca De esta lámpara, real La mano que escribe, ¿son reales
Los ojos que miran lo escrito? De una palabra a la otra Lo que digo se desvanece. Yo sé que estoy vivo Entre dos paréntesis.´ If it is real the white light from this lamp, real the writing hand, are they real, the eyes looking at what I write? From one word to the other what I say vanishes. I know that I am alive between two parentheses.
We´re all more and more a-l-i-v-e now.)
- P.S.P.