S e d e V a c a n t e

L i t u r g i c a l P i e c e
F o r R e c o r d e r S o l o

O t a c í l i o M e l g a ç o

[duration 01:05:03] 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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"´Sede vacante is an expression, used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, that refers to the vacancy of the episcopal see of a particular church. It is Latin for ´the seat being vacant´ (the ablative absolute of sedes vacans ´vacant seat´, and/or the Italian for the same term), the seat in question being the cathedra of the particular church.´

We are facing a magnificent Pious, Seraphic, Ecstatic Work! Capable of making us believe that we have a soul and that soul deserves the heights. Able to make us feel inhabiting some hermitage, about to launch us in toward the Numinous. As voices of timeless plainchant transformed into ethereal flutes and men metamorphosed into angels. But every angel is terrifying. Not humans, not angels... Who, if I cried out, would hear me among the angels' hierarchies? And even if one of them pressed me suddenly against his heart: I would be consumed in that overwhelming existence. For beauty is nothing but the beginning of terror, which we are still just able to endure, and we are so awed because it serenely disdains to annihilate us. Every angel is terrifying. And so I hold myself back and swallow the call-note of my dark sobbing. Ah, whom can we ever turn to in our need? Not angels, not humans, and already the knowing animals are aware that we are not really at home in our interpreted world. Perhaps there remains for us some tree on a hillside, which every day we can take into our vision; there remains for us yesterday's street and the loyalty of a habit so much at ease when it stayed with us that it moved in and never left. Oh and night: there is night, when a wind full of infinite space gnaws at our faces. Whom would it not remain for - that longed-after, mildly disillusioning presence, which the solitary heart so painfully meets. Is it any less difficult for lovers? But they keep on using each other to hide their own fate. Don't you know yet? Fling the emptiness out of your arms into the spaces we breathe; perhaps the birds will feel the expanded air with more passionate flying. Voices. Voices. Listen, my heart, as only saints have listened: until the gigantic call lifted them off the ground; yet they kept on, impossibly, kneeling and didn't notice at all: so complete was their listening. Not that you could endure God's voice - far from it. But listen to the voice of the wind and the ceaseless message that forms itself out of silence... [This elegy of Rainer Maria von Rilke may be an appropriate introduction to ´Sede Vacante´: the Voice of the Wind; the ceaseless Message that forms Itself out of Silence...]

There are two very interesting angles here. 1- A certain Melgacian irony to merge a Liturgical Piece and precisely the period in which the Church is headless. And 2- the extrapolative metaphorical power involved - it´s still a good expression to define a worrying snapshot of the current global panorama. Socially, politically/diplomatically, technologically, ethically ... but especially economically, religiously and humanistically.

A curious detail: in Portuguese, ´Sede´ also means ´Headquarters [matrix]´; ´Thirst [the craving for fluids, resulting in the basic instinct of animals to drink]´ and ´Yearning [hankering]´. If ´Vacante´ signifies ´Vacant´ [vague, unoccupied, emptied, space available, lacuna, vacuum, faraway], we can draw several conclusions of the various combinations suggested by the Brazilian composer and multi-instrumentalist.

Again the polysemy of Otacílio Melgaço raises the culture condition by means of his artistic expressions while maintaining intimately intertwined - in its unvealing and propositions - the desirable libertarians destinies of mankind. Nothing less than that." (Caio Campbell; Anglo-Brazilian semiologist and musician)

"'The Magic Flute, I think, is fundamentally asking what is it to change people's consciousness.´ (Simon McBurney)

´For me it's the instrument. If I want to think of a flute and the state of the arts I hear a vibrato; I don't know what a flute is unless the person plays it for me.´ (Morton Feldman)

Besides the lush Mozartian Opera, ´Sede Vacante´ is also the womb of ´magic flutes´ primarily focusing on changing the consciousness of people. Through humanistic interlines;
through the ascension (sensory/intellectual/transcendent)
that only Art can provide. At least as idiosyncratically and irreplaceably can do... Mr. Melgaço plays it divinely for us." (Pablo S. Paz; Argentinean musicologist)

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I - The recorder is a family of woodwind musical instruments of the group known as fipple flutes or internal duct flutes—whistle-like instruments that include the tin whistle. The recorder is end-blown, and the mouth of the instrument is constricted by a wooden plug, known as a block or fipple. It is distinguished from other members of the family by having holes for seven fingers (the lower one or two often doubled to facilitate the production of semitones) and one for the thumb of the uppermost hand. The bore of the recorder can be tapered slightly, being widest at the mouthpiece end and narrowest towards the foot on Baroque recorders. Renaissance-era instruments also taper, but generally have more nearly cylindrical bores. Recorders can be made out of wood, plastic, or ivory.

The recorder was popular in medieval times through the baroque era, but declined in the 18th century in favour of orchestral woodwind instruments, such as the flute, oboe, and clarinet. During its heyday, the recorder was traditionally associated with pastoral scenes, miraculous events, funerals, marriages, and amorous scenes. Images of recorders can be found in literature and artwork associated with all of these. Purcell, Bach, Telemann, and Vivaldi used the recorder to suggest shepherds and imitate birds in their music, a theme that continued in 20th-century music.

The recorder was revived in the 20th century, partly in the pursuit of historically informed performance of early music, but also because of its suitability as a simple instrument for teaching music and its appeal to amateur players. Today, it is sometimes thought of as a child's instrument, but there are many professional players who demonstrate the instrument's full solo range. The sound of the recorder is remarkably clear and sweet, partly because of the lack of upper harmonics and predominance of odd harmonics in the sound;

II - After the death or resignation of a pope, the Holy See enters a period of sede vacante. In this case the particular church is the Diocese of Rome and the "vacant seat" is the cathedra of Saint John Lateran, the cathedral church of the bishop of Rome. During this period, the Holy See is administered by a regency of the College of Cardinals.

According to Universi Dominici gregis, the government of the Holy See, sede vacante, (and therefore of the Catholic Church) falls to the College of Cardinals, but in a very limited capacity. At the same time, all the heads of the Roman Curia "cease to exercise" their offices. The exceptions are the Cardinal Camerlengo, who is charged with managing the property of the Holy See, and the Major Penitentiary, who continues to exercise his normal role. If either has to do something which normally requires the assent of the Pope, he has to submit it to the College of Cardinals. Papal legates continue to exercise their diplomatic roles overseas, and both the Vicar General of Rome and the Vicar General for the Vatican City State continue to exercise their pastoral role during this period. The postal administration of the Vatican City State prepares and issues special postage stamps for use during this particular period, known as "sede vacante stamps".

The coat of arms of the Holy See also changes during this period. Instead of the papal tiara over the keys, the tiara is replaced with the umbraculum or ombrellino in Italian. This symbolizes both the lack of a Pope and also the governance of the Camerlengo over the temporalities of the Holy See. As further indication, the Camerlengo ornaments his arms with this symbol during this period, which he subsequently removes once a pope is elected. Previously during this period the arms of the Camerlengo appeared on commemorative Vatican lira coinage. It now makes its appearance on Vatican euro coins, which are legal tender in all Eurozone states.

The interregnum is usually highlighted by the funeral Mass of the deceased pope, the general congregations of the college of cardinals for determining the particulars of the election, and finally culminates in the papal conclave to elect a successor. Once a new pope has been elected (and ordained bishop if necessary) the sedes is no longer vacant, so this period then officially ends. Afterward occurs the Papal inauguration (formerly in the form of a papal coronation), and the formal taking possession of the cathedra of the Saint John Lateran.

Cardinals present in Rome are required to wait at least fifteen days after the start of the vacancy for the rest of the college before they can hold the conclave to elect the new Pope. After twenty days have elapsed, they must hold the conclave, even if some cardinals are missing. The period from the death of the Pope to the start of the conclave was often shorter but, after Cardinal William Henry O'Connell had arrived just too late for two conclaves in a row, Pius XI extended the time limit. With the next conclave in 1939, cardinals began to travel by air. Days before his resignation in February 2013, Benedict XVI amended the rules to allow the cardinals to commence conclave sooner, if all voting cardinals are present. Historically, sede vacante periods have often been quite lengthy, lasting many months, or even years, due to lengthy deadlocked conclaves;

III - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sede_vacante#/media/File:Sede_vacante.svg

...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.