D e u s E x M a c h i n a

O t a c í l i o M e l g a ç o

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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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"I choose two precedents to be mentioned. The appropriate because, to a certain extent, they represent a lineage from which Melgaço also comes.

[A prologal remark:

Mostly, a work of art exists to be contemplated in its entirety. A book is written to be read to the end, a movie is projected on the screens to be witnessed until the last scene (as well as a play, a dance spectacle) and so on. With music, the same thing happens. But not always ...

If we reflect on the possibility of recording a musical composition, depending on its duration, even today it becomes either very difficult or impracticable. If in full. About the first example I will quote, the complete performance (with eight hundred and forty repetitions!) may last anything between fourteen and twenty-eight hours! The second, takes centuries to be fully executed! Accordingly, the hypothesis of hearing these precious inventions from the first note to the last one becomes quite complicated in one case and impossible in the other. If we consider the second, for an inexorable reason: we will die long before the final bars. Not even the first one (there are divergences if the composer really wanted so many repetitions but if so) was ´hypothetically´ made to be recorded once in an album (or ...) and so merely have the ´repeat´ key pressed (for another eight hundred thirty-nine times). Inasmuch as we know that there will always be differences from one cell to another, which were made to be given to light by human hands. Therefore, including considering the one that lasts ´barely´ between fourteen and twenty-eight hours, all of us can hear only fragments of both - registered in some support or played live - even if by several interpreters taking turns or ... Such information is indispensable for the understanding of the Melgacian proposition. As another approach to the chronological question and, I´m sure, an evolutionary line.

A substantial point: when an artist, for some reason, proposes to us a progeny that ´extrapolates/overcomes us´ (which is beyond our grasp of apprehension), there´s much to be reflected on. One such aspect is hit hard by Otacílio Melgaço. How can we deal with issues that go further human capacity (such as hyperextensive temporality), but yet still instigate us to embrace them? Not an excerpt (and, forgive me, nor the attempt to find the wholeness in a fragment - I mean more than that) however - as far as possible - its plenitude? We accept this fact as something consummated (we´re engulfed by the insoluble character of the ´query´ and learned from it - which is also valid, of course), or are there other ways we - immersed in so much relativity - approach and contact with what belongs to absolute parameters? That´s the question asked and, I believe, ´Deus Ex Machina´ is a (plausible) answer.]

>> 1) - ´Vexations´ is a musical work by Erik Satie. Apparently conceived for keyboard (though the single page of manuscript does not specify an instrument), it consists of a short theme in the bass whose four presentations are heard alternatingly unaccompanied and played with chords above. The theme and its accompanying chords are written using strikingly eccentric and impractical enharmonic notation. The Piece is undated, but scholars usually assign a date around 1893-1894 on the basis of musical and biographical evidence.

The Piece bears the inscription ´In order to play the theme 840 times in succession, it would be advisable to prepare oneself beforehand, and in the deepest silence, by serious immobilities´ (Pour se jouer 840 fois de suite ce motif, il sera bon de se préparer au préalable, et dans le plus grand silence, par des immobilités sérieuses). From the 1960s onward, this text has mostly been interpreted as an instruction that the page of music should be played 840 times, though this may not have been Satie's intention;

2) - ´Organ²/ASLSP´ (As SLow aS Possible) is a musical Piece by John Cage and the subject of one of the longest-lasting musical performances yet undertaken. It was originally written in 1987 for organ and is adapted from the earlier work ASLSP 1985; a typical performance of the piano version lasts 20 to 70 minutes. In 1985, Cage opted to omit the detail of exactly how slowly the Piece should be played.

The performance of the organ version at St. Burchardi church in Halberstadt, Germany began in 2001 and is scheduled to have a duration of 639 years, ending in 2640. <<

Also for organ (which is - apparently - a keyboard) and so the yarn of the skein instituted by Satie and Cage is maintained, the original proposal of Otacílio Melgaço is to record in an album a work that should be played uninterrupted. As much as possible (desirable by the listener). The duration of ´Deus Ex Machina´ is one hour. Neither more nor less. But: here. Because it´s, according to the composer, a unit of measure. It must be repeated again and again and again as long as it´s ceaselessly deepening, ascensional. The only presence of Silence is between one execution and another: this brief deliberate pause, as much as a breathing pulse every sixty minutes.

Unlike previous historical examples, O.M. embraces the technological means for such continuity to occur. Through all possible supports: stereo systems, personal computers, tablets, iPods, smartphones, etc. According to the same composer: including the memory! In this case, not in an occasional or unexpected way, but as if the mind were producing again, i.e., reproducing what had audibly grasped in the desired/directed manner. Stereo systems, personal computers, tablets, iPods, smartphones, articulated remembrance ... even, linked to this flow, a presentation on a stage or any other elected space. Instead of an audience moving to a place (like a temple, for example) in which would hear a fraction of a long or almost ´infinite´ sound Piece; (in the design of Otacílio) the listener himself would have the possibility of being connected to digitalized performance, wherever he is; go wherever he goes; whether he´s still or moving. Every imaginable niche; thus, from his bed at home to the streets where he walks (or transits on particular/public transport); since him traversing Nature (in parks and urban squares or in areas far from cities) until the sky (by means of some aircraft) and so forth: the/this music can become ubiquitous. According to Mr. Melgaço, as long as the listener wishes. The end does not depend on the last bars of the work (or on a prior determination of the breeder, yet if it lasts decades and decades), but rather on when the listener, interacting with all possible components, feels or plans to be.

What´s important, I reiterate this aspect, is not the displacement of the listener to the site of the execution of the sound Piece (as usual) and neither the limited portion that he´ll attend while can be there, thus, when he moves away from the ´source´, he´ll be interrupting his hearing. What´s most relevant is how much the very composition can be kinetic next to him, ´inside him´ and in all the varied and interlinking movements of him. Not like any song or album he'd listen to throughout his day(s), of course. That, millions of people always do. Here we´re in another sphere. A hearing that´s plannedly inserted into a purpose, which extrapolates the entertainment, distraction or punctual enjoyment. In this sense, the experience of this physical and mental and ... process, for each one will last more than an audible creation being executed beyond six hundred years however in a fixed point to which the public have to go. So, have to go back too. Otacílio's intuition, then, is not to propose a breeding that has been played for millennia (but, being very realistic, listened for minutes by each one of us or, for the most available, a little - even for a few hours - today, a little tomorrow, a little next week ... and, excuse me, I don't think the hypothesis of memento here is applied - unless it´s by isolated initiative and certainly not belonging to the creator's scope, in the case of Satie or Cage - the best examples before Melgaço). But yet played over an eon ... as if were a kind of
T h e o c e n t r i c o m p o s i t i o n.
A deified ´totem´ in the sense of existing by itself, absolute. It extends through time, lasts longer than a lifetime - regardless of the period of the listener's life, which, in the end, is who gives meaning to it. Gives meaning to its own existence. It´s not in this scenario that O.M. intends to act. He by our side. Not even disregarding what we might call ´transcendence´, he suggests (here and from my point of view) an A n t h r o p o c e n t r i c o m p o s i t i o n.
That is, how much a work of art can be metabolized in an hour, a day, a week, a month ... anyway ... like an ´existential frequency´, an adopted tuning fork. Not time-spatially being disconnected from who absorbs, interacts, resignifies, personalizes it. Some would say: as an almost omnipresent mantra. Why not? Apropos, we could find, depending on our perspectives, plural denominations since the Subjectivity is elevated to Olympus and not, taking into account some effects of postmodernity, a growing detachment between the artistic universe and the audience (either by dyslexic ephemerisation, or alienated absorption, or strategic manipulation inherent in mass culture conveniently transforming who should be an interlocutor into mere consumer, et cetera). One of Melgaço's genius minutiae: note that the word ´deus´ on the record sleeve (´god´ in Latin and, if you do not know it, also in Portuguese) is inserted inside the eye (of an identifiable face), not inside the ear. A quite significant (and fairly literal) figure of speech!

Something deserves to be well underlined: it´s not at stake here what musical performance, throughout history, will last longer. This is not a concern of Otacílio, neither of John or Erik. The core is another. However, for Melgaço, there´s a dimension that´s extremely more personal: how much each of us (in respective idiosyncrasies) is related to the idea of, for a certain continuance, instituting ´o-u-r´ unique and untransferable ´i-n-f-i-n-i-t-y´ in the relation with a sonic work. The Well become the person himself (with the duration of this ´odyssey´ being under the yoke of ´how much each one thus proposes itself´). Because you´ll be with it all the time, wherever you are, when you are, ´as you are´. At that point, the tentacles of technology free man from fixity (in the field of invaginations - of this carat -), and fuse ´font´ and ´dislocation´. Thus, time will not need an interruption, as it was previously. Consequently, in-process experience also does not. You can extend your while as much as you want, remaining connected to music through the numerous platforms available currently and increasingly. In one sentence:

t i m e
a n d
s p a c e
b e c o m e
o n e
a m a l g a m.

Here's the most literal translation of polysemic continuity, permanence, abidance (plus eternity?) made by the present world (not in the form of a mystical abstraction or philosophical conjecture) and this is the chain by which ´Deus Ex Machina´ (paradoxically, having both a philosophical and mystical background) flows.

Addressing now no more epicentrisms but the Continent & the Content (or, still metaphorically, theo and anthropomorphism); in the relation of humans to art (and music), O.M. - masterly - here, in one way or another, proposes to the listener to become G o d. But also become a M a c h i n e. Both accentuated by the image futuristic of the cover. There would be, Ladies and Gentlemen, a more contemporary and simultaneously, highlighted by the same visionary graphic art, insightful projectable (transontological) prism than this?" (Pablo S. Paz; Argentinean musicologist)

"´Deus ex machina´ is a Latin calque from Greek ἀπὸ μηχανῆς θεός (apò mēkhanês theós), meaning 'God from the Machine'. The term has evolved to mean a plot device whereby a seemingly unsolvable problem is suddenly and abruptly resolved by the inspired and unexpected intervention of some new event, character, ability or object. Depending on how it is done, it can be intended to allow a story to continue when the writer has ´painted himself into a corner´ and sees no other means to progress the plot, to surprise the audience, to bring the tale to a happy ending, or as a comedic device. The term was coined from the conventions of Greek tragedy, where a machine is used to bring actors playing gods onto the stage. The machine could be either a crane (mechane) used to lower actors from above or a riser that brought actors up through a trapdoor. Preparation to pick up the actors was done behind the skene. The idea was introduced by Aeschylus and was used often to resolve the conflict and conclude the drama. Although the device is associated mostly with Greek tragedy, it also appeared in comedies.

Again, Brazilian composer and multi-instrumentalist Otacílio Melgaço, (I would say) through a peculiar liturgical perspective (the choice of the tritonious organ as it was adopted clearly corroborates this), mixes two metamorphic elements that are very characteristic of him: oxymoron and irony. And more: perenniality (in concept) and - multi-connotatively - chance (in empiricism). Stephen Jay Gould suggests that ´deus ex machina´ is, among others, an ´agent with power to fracture the unsupportable and institute the unobtainable.´ If I think of Melgacian creation in focus, I fully agree." (Caio Campbell; Anglo-Brazilian semiologist and musician)

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I - "Vexations" appears to have had no performance history before the idea gained ground that the piece was required to be played 840 times. The first of the marathon performances of the work in this way was produced by John Cage and Lewis Lloyd at the Pocket Theatre in Manhattan by the Pocket Theatre Piano Relay Team, organized by Cage. Pianists included: John Cage, David Tudor, Christian Wolff, Philip Corner, Viola Farber, Robert Wood, MacRae Cook, John Cale, David Del Tredici, James Tenney, Howard Klein (the New York Times reviewer, who coincidentally was asked to play in the course of the event) and Joshua Rifkin, with two reserves, on September 9, 1963. Cage set the admission price at $5 and had a time clock installed in the lobby of the theatre. Each patron checked in with the clock and when leaving the concert, checked out again and received a refund of a nickel for each 20 minutes attended. "In this way," he told Lloyd, "People will understand that the more art you consume, the less it should cost." But Cage had underestimated the length of time the concert would take. It lasted over 18 hours. One person, an actor with The Living Theater, Karl Schenzer, was present for the entire performance.

According to the 1971 edition of the Guinness Book of Records: The New York Times critic fell asleep at 4am and the audience dwindled to six. At the conclusion, one of them shouted "Encore!";

II - On February 5, 2009, Diane Luchese performed "Organ²/ASLSP" from 8:45 a.m. to 11:41 p.m. in the Harold J. Kaplan Concert Hall at Towson University. This 14-hour-and-56-minute performance, in strict adherence to the score's temporal proportions, is the longest documented performance of the piece by a single person so far, although a full 24-hour performance of the original piece, ASLSP, was given by Joe Drew during the ARTSaha! festival in 2008. Drew has also given 9- and 12-hour performances of the piece, and is planning a 48-hour performance.

On September 5, 2012, as part of John Cage Day at the University of Adelaide, Australia, Stephen Whittington performed an 8-hour version of ASLSP on the Elder Hall organ. The eight sections of the work were each allocated an hour, with each section divided into segments of one minute, within which the precise timing of events was left open. In performance, seven sections were played, with one omitted and one repeated. Organ registrations were determined by chance procedures.

A 12-hour performance took place on September 4–5, 2015, in an all-night concert at Christ Church Cathedral in Montréal, Québec. The work was performed by the Cathedral organists, Patrick Wedd, Adrian Foster, and Alex Ross, while other Cage compositions were performed simultaneously in the church. The performers used a stopwatch, and the timing of each note was precisely calculated and written into the score;

III - D.E.M. examples:

In H. G. Wells's The War of the Worlds, the Martians who have destroyed everything in their path and apparently triumphed over humanity are killed by bacteria.

In the novel Lord of the Flies, the rescue of the savage children by a passing navy officer (which author William Golding called a "gimmick") is viewed by some critics as a deus ex machina. The abrupt ending conveys the terrible fate that would have afflicted the children (in particular Ralph) if the officer had not arrived at that moment.

J. R. R. Tolkien coined the term eucatastrophe to refer to a sudden turn of events that ensures the protagonist does not meet some impending fate. He also referred to the Great Eagles that appear in several places in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings as "a dangerous 'machine'." Some critics have argued that eucatastrophe, and in particular the eagles, exemplify deus ex machina. For example, they save Frodo and Sam from certain death on Mount Doom in The Return of the King. Others contend that the two concepts are not the same, and that eucatastrophe is not merely a convenience, but is an established part of a fictive world in which hope ultimately prevails.

Deus ex machina was also used by Charles Dickens in Oliver Twist, when in the very peak of climax, Rose Maylie turns out to be the long-lost sister of Agnes, and therefore Oliver's aunt; and she marries her long-time sweetheart Harry, allowing Oliver to live happily with his saviour, Mr. Brownlow.

...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.