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MP3 Cuarteto Extremo - Vislumbrando
13 MP3 Songs
CLASSICAL: Chamber Music, LATIN: General
Details:
So here’s the deal: four guys from the four corners of Mexico (well, sort of: Veracruz, Monterrey, Baja California Sur, and Los Angeles) find themselves playing together in the Sinaloa State Symphony in the capital city of Culiacan. Occupying the four woodwind auxiliary chairs, they are thrown together in a woodwind quartet as part of the orchestra’s chamber music season. After playing the requisite rep for the “normal” quartet, the lads decided it was time to take it out, WAY out. Adopting the name “Cuarteto Extremo” (or the EXTREMOS as they are known around town) because of their positions at the four extreme corners of the orchestral woodwind section (as well as some other reasons which will remain classified), they decided to test the limits of the traditional woodwind quartet. So, you throw the contrabassoon, bass clarinet, english horn, piccolo, flute, oboe, clarinet, and bassoon together in every possible combination, commision six of Mexico’s hottest young (and not so young..) composers on the scene today, give them exactly zero parameters, guidelines or limits, and what do you have? A wild musical journey through danzon, son jarabe, son jarocho, son montuno, avant garde, bossa nova, electroacoustic, rock, some borderline funk, and a little classical thrown in to make the whole thing legal. Enjoy the trip, because the EXTREMOS have arrived!
The following is reprinted from the liner notes of “Vislumbrando”. By the way, that refers to the rather extensive, informative, thorough, educational, and all around entertaining liner notes in Spanish and English that are actually included with each and every purchase of the Cuarteto Extremo’s “Vislumbrando”:
(For English, scroll down)
Ya llegaron los EXTREMOS…
El único grupo de cuatro instrumentistas capaz de sonar desde la nota más grave hasta la más aguda del registro musical de la orquesta sinfónica, pasando por una gama de timbres y colores inigualable en su género, que propone el inicio de una nueva era en el mundo de la interpretación y la composición.
El Cuarteto Extremo se origina de la inquietud por explorar las posibilidades y riquezas sonoras de los alientos madera de una orquesta sinfónica en sus diversas combinaciones, con un énfasis en los llamados extremos: pícolo, corno inglés, clarinete bajo y contrafagot. Estos instrumentos fueron usados desde el Impresionismo por los grandes compositores; aunque en ocasiones considerados para que interpretaran bellos solos, su papel principal casi siempre tenía un fin rítmico-armónico.
La novedad de este grupo consiste en sacar estos instrumentos del contexto sinfónico para convertirlos en elementos netamente melódicos y gracias a esta virtud, ser capaces de acompañarse entre si. Estos sonidos son muy poco comunes tanto en su individualidad como en el resultado sonoro de su conjunción; además, combinados con flauta, oboe, clarinete, y fagot, el Cuarteto Extremo obtiene los alcances sonoros de la sección de maderas tradicional.
Tras una exhaustiva búsqueda en el repertorio de concierto para estas combinaciones, el cuarteto decide comisionar obras de destacados jóvenes compositores mexicanos, que se dieron a la tarea de esculpir en el pentagrama intensas, frescas y excepcionales historias, donde las texturas de sus instrumentos se entrelazan exponiendo la música de nuestros tiempos. A su vez se vincula con compositores de reconocida trayectoria nacional, trabajando conjuntamente en transcripciones de obras para su instrumentación; estas relaciones han estimulado al proyecto con un lenguaje nuevo y accesible para todo público.
La génesis de este grupo la podemos puntualizar en Culiacán, Sinaloa, México, donde sus cuatro protagonistas confluyen sus variadas historias y experiencias. Comenzamos en el golfo de México en el puerto de Veracruz y sus portales, con Eduardo González y sus flautas transversales, trasladándonos al norte, a la tierra del Cerro de la Silla, Monterrey, Nuevo León, con Dante Bazúa y sus dobles cañas, yendo hacia el occidente hasta el paso de las ballenas, por La Paz, Baja California Sur, con Isidro Muñeton y sus lengüetas sencillas y para terminar el viaje, al norte de nuestras fronteras, hasta las playas de Los Ángeles, California (pasando por Guadalajara y sus agaves) con Ken Fisher y sus dobles monstruo-cañas.
Gracias a que en la disposición orquestal estamos situados a los extremos de la sección de maderas y aunado a que nuestro registro sonoro incluye en su espectro los rangos extremos de la orquesta sinfónica (sin dejar de mencionar también nuestras extremadamente diametrales personalidades...) estos elementos dan pie al nombre de nuestra singular agrupación, el Cuarteto Extremo.
Damos las gracias a todos los que participaron en la realización de este registro discográfico; de igual manera, les agradecemos permitirnos compartir con ustedes este maravilloso viaje musical.
-Cuarteto Extremo. Culiacán, Sinaloa, México. Mayo de 2007.
[extremos. masculino, plural. 1. conjunto de instrumentos musicales compuesto de pícolo, corno inglés, clarinete bajo, contrafagot. 2. los músicos que se dedican a la ejecución de dichos instrumentos.]
The Extremos have arrived...
The only group of four instrumentalists able to reproduce the entire range of the symphony orchestra, presenting a palette of colors and timbres unequaled in its genre, while proposing the beginning of a new era in the field of musical interpretation and composition.
The Cuarteto Extremo originated as a quest to explore the rich sounds and various combinations of the woodwind instruments found within the symphony orchestra, with an emphasis on the so-called extremos: piccolo, english horn, bass clarinet, and contrabassoon. These instruments have been used by the great composers since the Impressionistic period, and although at times they have been called upon to take the lead, their main function has almost always been in a supportive role.
The novelty of this group consists of taking these instruments out of the confines of the symphony orchestra, allowing them to express themselves melodically while simultaneously providing their own accompaniment; as a result, these underdogs of the orchestra are thrust into the spotlight, showcasing both their individual sounds and the resounding sum of their parts. Furthermore, combined with the flute, oboe, clarinet, and bassoon, the Cuarteto Extremo encompasses all the colors of the traditional woodwind section.
After an exhaustive search for repertoire for the various possible combinations, the quartet decided to commission works from distinguished young Mexican composers, who were given a blank canvas and challenged to paint fresh, exciting, intense stories using the colors and textures of the instruments at hand. At the same time, the quartet has collaborated with nationally recognized composers, working together to transcribe, arrange, and adapt their music for the group’s unique instrumentation. These relationships have stimulated and enriched the project, creating a new musical dialect suitable for all.
For the beginnings of this group, we must point to Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico, where the four founding members fuse their distinct and varied backgrounds. We start our journey in the Gulf of Mexico, at the port of Veracruz, hometown of flutist Eduardo González; from there we travel to the northern plains of Mexico, specifically Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, birthplace of double-reedman Dante Bazúa; going west past the Sierra Madre Mountains and the Sea of Cortez all the way to La Paz at the southern tip of Baja California, we find the clarinets of Isidro Muñetón; to finish our journey, we must travel north of the border to Los Angeles, California, hometown of double-bassoonist Ken Fisher, arriving in Culiacan via Guadalajara, Jalisco.
Due to the fact that we are situated in the four extreme corners of the orchestral woodwind section, as well as encompassing the extremes of the symphonic orchestra tessitura (not to mention our extremely diametrical personalities...), this singular ensemble adopted the name Cuarteto Extremo.
We would like to thank everyone who helped to make this recording a reality; and to the person who holds this disc in their hands, we express our gratitude for allowing us to share this marvelous musical journey with you.
-Cuarteto Extremo. Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico. May, 2007.
[extremos. noun, plural. 1. group of musical instruments consisting of piccolo, english horn, bass clarinet, contrabassoon. 2. the musicians dedicated to the execution of said instruments.]
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