M a u r i t i a F l e x u o s a

11 Peças para Viola Caipira Transubstanciada

O t a c í l i o M e l g a ç o

[duration 01:12:58] all rights reserved

(During the post-production of this album, died Brazilian writer Manoel de Barros. In a way, a pupil of Guimarães Rosa.
´Mauritia flexuosa´ brings to mind and honors the ´fluxuoso´ artisan of the words: Manoel Wenceslau Leite de Barros.)

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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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"´Love? A bird that lays iron eggs.´ (p.49. The Devil To Pay In The Backlands ´The Devil in the Street, in the Middle of the Whirlwind.´ João Guimarães Rosa. Knopf, New York: 963)

Otacílio Melgaço to Pay in the Backlands...

´11 Peças para Viola Caipira Transubstanciada´. The key to unlocking this work of art may be in the word ´Transubstanciada´ (´Transubstantiated´).

´Transubstantiation (in Latin, transsubstantiatio, in Greek μετουσίωσις metousiosis) is the change whereby, according to the teaching of the Catholic Church, the bread and the wine used in the sacrament of the Eucharist become, not merely as by a sign or a figure, but also in actual reality the body and blood of Christ. The Catholic Church teaches that the substance or reality of the bread is changed into that of the body of Christ and the substance of the wine into that of his blood, while all that is accessible to the senses (the outward appearances - species in Latin) remains unchanged. What remains unaltered is also referred to as the ´accidents´ of the bread and wine, but this term is not used in the official definition of the doctrine by the Council of Trent. The manner in which the change occurs, the Catholic Church teaches, is a mystery: ´The signs of bread and wine become, in a way surpassing understanding, the Body and Blood of Christ.´

It´s not the Catholic context that is approached by Otacílio. He therefore approaches the pure sense of the term Transubstantiation; something that goes beyond religious jargon and that the creator Melgaço implements in his music and in the panorama of this album.
Melgaço elevates the bread and wine (primeval concretion ´violeira´) to become our flesh and blood (immanence and flow existential; more: metaexistential)! I corroborate the fact that the sound of the viola was actually transubstantiated! The expression used by O.M. (11 Pieces for Viola Caipira Transubstantiated) is perfect! The strings of the viola are transfigured; the soul of the instrument is metamorphosed.

In all eleven tracks on the disc, there is only one instrument, the viola. In fact, the exception is the tenth - with special guest Zycluz Quartett (which is also made of strings but the strings of a traditional quartet). We heard then - again the name of the instrument is irresistibly repeated - the viola caipira played by Melgaço however, post-registration original, goes through ´alchemy´ (that´s unimaginable!) in the Melgacian soundboard.

An instrument that is almost totally geared to folklore, gain a new and unique perspective on ´Mauritia Flexuosa´!

A necessary observation: Lately, there are many guitarists who have classical training and moving toward to the viola caipira. There is a use in folkloric tone but with a sophisticated varnished alien technicity, in my opinion.

Melgaço takes another direction. His interferences are not exactly technical (are also) but mostly directly on the primal sonorities. I am referring to what is most essential in sound: timbre! Primordial sounds that, heading for the ´stylistic trunk´, kept the roots of folklore. As a starting point. From this, everything becomes permissible for Melgaço. Otacílio goes straight to the identity of the sound (timbristic identity) and only in this way is that other interventions are given to light. Ie harmonic, rhythmic, melodic layers etc. O.M.; the composer, arranger, instrumentalist and mixer. At this time,
the composer - and his ubiquity irreversible -;
the arranger - and his rhizomatic omniscience -;
the instrumentalist - and his fermented empiricism -
and
the mixer - and all his fusions, transpositions, overdubbing, affordable effects etc. -
are God because everything ´they´ can. As the eastern quote, ´The Artist should be the God of his art.´

This means that O.M. creates sonically his ´own viola´, bringing out various and unpredictable possibilities that the peculiar instrument allows and others that only the Melgacian creativity can engender!

Additional lovely detail. If Love is a Bird that lays iron eggs, probably he should also sing. A song of a bird is at the beginning of the work. A song of another culminates the work (in a sense because there´s a continuity that is post-culminating). The first: Manuelzinho-da-crôa (Charadrius collaris); last: Coruja Orelhuda (Rhinoptynx clamator). Both are part of the birds that were cited by Guimarães Rosa in his literary creations... Seems to me that there´s a cycle established from these concrete ´tips´. As the first bird is diurnal and is the ultimate nighttime, I believe our saga begins with daybreak and ends in endless night. In other metaphorical words, Everything - between ´buritis´ and ´violas caipiras´ - is the edge of a Mystery. I make mention of the ´Grande Sertão (Mineiro)´ and intrinsic ´Veredas´... There´s no perfect translation but I mean The Backcountry (embodied in Minas Gerais); The vast (almost impenetrable in mythology) Hinterland; uterine Outback...and intricate many-sided daedal Paths... From his ´Body, Blood (and Soul)´ that was the triadic Melgacian (sonorous) itinerary. Crafted by designer O.M., the enigmatic and fascinating cover image of the album is impeccable even in this connotation.

´The Master is not the one who teaches; it's the one who suddenly learns´, Rosa teaches us. And, availing myself of the so quintessential wisdom, I say: Otacílio Melgaço, besides making us voracious apprentices, never tires of being the one who suddenly learns..." (Pablo S. Paz; Argentinean musicologist)

"´Mauritia Flexuosa - 11 Peças para Viola Caipira Transubstanciada -´, explicit homage to João Guimarães Rosa, eternal reference in all Melgacian creation. Even when it not brings elements directly linked, unlike the present case, Rosa remains ubiquitous (sometimes invisible but never unheard) in inner universe and also cosmogonic across the imaginary that is Habitat to the composer and instrumentalist O.M.

João Guimarães Rosa (1908 – 1967) was a Brazilian novelist, considered one of the greatest novelists born in the 20th century. Was given birth in Cordisburgo belonging to the state of Minas Gerais. The same of Otacílio Melgaço.

Tribute explicit because it makes the union of two icons of the culture ´mineira´ (from Minas Gerais) and ´rosiana´ (about Guimarães Rosa): ´Moriche Palm´ and ´Viola´. Or, in Portuguese, ´Buriti´ and ´Viola Caipira´. Please - do not confuse ´viola caipira´ (a ten-string, five-course acoustic guitar) with ´viola´ (typically used in scholarly environment - ´since the 18th century it has been the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello´). Other relevant information: Mauritia flexuosa is the scientific name of Buriti. Remember that each title of each song is a popular synonym for Mauritia flexuosa! So let's doing the assembly of this sonic puzzle.

The Crossing...

We could consider
M a u r i t i a F l e x u o s a
- 11 Peças para Viola Caipira Transubstanciada - as a ´mineira´ odyssey; through deep Minas Gerais.

The immeasurable difference between a folk odyssey and the current is Melgaço that radically transforms the sound of the instrument and thus reinvents the guts of the whole journey that invites us to tread!

The Third Bank of the River...

´When I write, I repeat that which I’ve already lived. And for those two lives, only one lexicon will not suffice. In other words, I would like to be a crocodile living in the São Francisco. I would like to be a crocodile because I love great rivers, because they’re profound like the souls of men. Their surfaces are vivacious and clear, but their depths are tranquil and dark like the suffering of men.´ (J.G.R.)

When Otacílio Melgaço is in the process of composition, I have no doubt, he is profound like the souls of men.
When Otacílio Melgaço is presenting to us his compositions, I have no doubt, he is vivacious-and-clear but his depths remain tranquil-and-dark like the suffering and also the transubstantiation of men." (Caio Campbell; Anglo-Brazilian semiologist and musician)

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

I - Mauritia flexuosa, known as BURITI, the moriche palm, ité palm, ita, canangucho (Colombia), or aguaje (Peru), is a palm tree. It grows in and near swamps and other wet areas in tropical South America. It has been reported from Brazil, Trinidad, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guinea, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. Mauritia flexuosa is an elegant tree which can reach up to 35 meters in height. The large leaves form a rounded crown. The flowers are yellowish, and appear from December to April. The fruit, which grows from December to June, is a chestnut colour and is covered with shiny scales. The yellow flesh covers a hard, oval, nut. The seeds float, and this is the means by which the palm tree propagates. In natural populations the tree reaches very high densities;

II - The government of the Federal District - the Brazilian state where the country's capital, Brasília, is located - is called Palácio do Buriti ("Buriti Palace"). Across the street from the building there is a square with fountains and a single moriche palm tree, which was taken from the outskirts of the city and replanted there. The species is a common feature of the cerrado vegetation that predominates in central Brazil;

III - The viola caipira (Portuguese for country guitar) is a ten-string, five-course guitar. Unlike most steel-string guitars, its strings are plucked with the fingers of the right hand similarly to the technique used for classical and flamenco guitars, rather than by the use of a plectrum. It is a folk instrument commonly found in Brazil, where it is often simply called viola. Resonator models are also produced. The origins of the viola caipira are obscure, but evidence suggests it evolved from the vihuela/viola de mano that Spanish and Portuguese settlers took to the new world. It has also similarities with the 5 course baroque guitar, that elsewhere evolved into the modern guitar. It is likely a descendant of one of the many folk guitars that have traditionally been played in Portugal. The viola braguesa and viola amarantina, for instance, are two types of ten-string guitars from the north of Portugal, which are closely related to the viola caipira;

IV - Some have described the viola caipira as Brazil's national instrument;

V - Violas are present in nearly all Brazilian music forms, anywhere in the country (although it is declining in some places). It most often associated with Caipira Music (Brazilian country music), with some forms of North-Eastern music and with folkloric music. It was once used to play urban music, like choro, samba and Maxixe, but has been replaced by the acoustic guitar;

VI - Well-known players of Brazilian viola include Zé Côco do Riachão and Renato Andrade (both composers/instrumentalists from Minas Gerais - the same Brazilian state where was born Melgaço), Tião Carreiro, Paulo Freire...;

VII - Buriti, written by Guimarães Rosa, is an enigma. Short story/novel/poem, the story is told in flashback and can be read in many different ways. Poliphony and deviation from the conventional use of language are strategies that catch the readers' attention, for they are enchanted by the originality of the Brazilian writer's linguistic experiments. This article aims at pointing out some of the qualities of Buriti, especially highlighting the great richness of words, the multiple points of view and the use of flashback:

santacruz.br/v4/download/revista-academica/14/15-guimaraes-rosa.pdf (in Portuguese)

VIII - The São Francisco is a river in Brazil. With a length of 2,914 kilometres (1,811 mi), it is the longest river that runs entirely in Brazilian territory, and the fourth longest in South America and overall in Brazil (after the Amazon, the Paraná and the Madeira). It used to be known as the Opara by the indigenous people before colonisation, and is today also known as Velho Chico. The São Francisco originates in the Canastra mountain range in the central-western part of the state of Minas Gerais.

IX - Manoel de Barros (1916 – 2014) was a Brazilian poet. He has won many awards for his work, including twice the Prêmio Jabuti (the "Tortoise Prize"), the most important literary award in the country.
Barros was born in Cuiabá, and is regarded by critics as one of the great names of contemporary Brazilian poetry.

...for purposes of pragmatism and clear exegesis,
Wikipedia was the main 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.