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QUASIMODO

Quaterna Requiem (Wiermann & Vogel)

Symphonic Prog


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Quaterna Requiem (Wiermann & Vogel) Quasimodo album cover
3.91 | 59 ratings | 7 reviews | 29% 5 stars

Excellent addition to any
prog rock music collection

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Studio Album, released in 1994

Songs / Tracks Listing

1. Fanfarra (5:33)
2. Os Reis Malditos (13:07)
3. Aquintha (6:06)
4. Irmaos (11:02)
5. Quasimodo (38:59)

Total Time 74:47

Line-up / Musicians

- Elisa Wierman / keyboards
- Claudio Dantas / drums & percussion

With:
- Fabio Fernandez / bass, acoustic guitar
- José Roberto Crivano / electric guitar
- Sergio Dias / recorder, crumhorn
- A benecdictine Monk / Gregorian chant (Notre Dame)

Thanks to ProgLucky for the addition
and to projeKct for the last updates
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QUATERNA REQUIEM (WIERMANN & VOGEL) Quasimodo ratings distribution


3.91
(59 ratings)
Essential: a masterpiece of progressive rock music(29%)
29%
Excellent addition to any prog rock music collection(51%)
51%
Good, but non-essential (17%)
17%
Collectors/fans only (3%)
3%
Poor. Only for completionists (0%)
0%

QUATERNA REQUIEM (WIERMANN & VOGEL) Quasimodo reviews


Showing all collaborators reviews and last reviews preview | Show all reviews/ratings

Collaborators/Experts Reviews

Review by Marcelo
PROG REVIEWER
4 stars Very classically oriented, an excellent album. In the same line than the previous "Velha Gravura", but a little bit more complex, and including the long suite (+38 minutes) "Quasimodo", a real winner itself. Specially recommended for those who love classical and mellow music blended with some pompous rock structures.

Review by lor68
PROG REVIEWER
3 stars A bit superior than their debut album (it's worth 3 stars and half as for the complex development of the concept), this "Quasimodo" reminds me of some solo-works by Rick Wakeman (do you remember his "The myths of King Arthur..."?!) and it seems a bit derivative (in some passages the keyboards by Elisa Wiermann remind me of some suites by Camel, like that one of "The snow Goose"). Therefore the final section is a bit tiring till the end and, despite of such an interesting introduction of a Medieval Gregorian chorus, the suite is discontinuous at its conclusion!! Apart from this consideration about this quite pretentious concept, the impact is good and is able to make us forget the execution (sometimes a bit uneven) of such well prepared Brazilian female keyboardist.

Recommended, but not completely essential!!

Review by Cesar Inca
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
4 stars By the time they recorded the second album, the Brazilian band Quaterna Requiem was formally handicapped by the absence of violinist extraordinaire Kleber Vogel. but that's as far as the minus point went, since Vogel's departure didn't undermine QR's ability to perform and arrange their material with total finesse and absolute good taste. In fact, keyboardist/main composer Elisa Wierrnann sounds really upfront, since her keyboard parts are more pronounced than on the band's debut album: the pompous opener 'Fanfarra' is a perfect example of the QR's enhanced symphonic drive, adding an extra dose of energy to their typical colourful sound. It's not as if their style has evolved, but more precisely, it has been enriched via the broadening of their sonic pallet (elements of Renaissance and jazz rock are included in places, for good effect) and a more powerful cohesiveness among all musicians - drummer/percussionist Claudio Dantas and guests on guitar and bass complete the line-up. The album's first part consists of four tracks, 'Os Reis Malditos' and 'Irmaos Grimm' being the longest ones: because of that, they stand out as the most accomplished numbers in this section, and IMHO; the album's apex. Between the two, 'Aquintha' sounds a bit diminished, but still it's a very good track: in many ways, it is quite similar to some of the tracks in their "Velha Gravura" album. The second part of "Quasimodo" is the namesake suite - seven sections, 39 minutes long. This number seems to have been conceived more as a succession of scenes (like an original soundtrack for a movie or a TV series) than as a unified musical piece, since each individual section is clearly distinct from the others. This gives the band the chance to concentrate more deeply on the particular character of each section: some extra help comes from some guy who sings a Gregorian chant and some other guy who plays recorders and krumhorn, in order to make things sound closer to the old times when once a hunchback lived his poetically dramatic life, behind the walls of Notre-Dame and falling in love with a beautiful free-spirited gypsy. This suite ends the album with full bombast, like a progressive Catherine wheel that spins its splendorous lights. I can't praise this beautiful album enough: amazing compositions, tasteful orchestral-oriented arrangements, clever mood and tempo shifts, ultra- polished performances of magnificent proportions. what else could a symph prog fan ask for? Excellent, almost perfect! (I dedicate this review to my good friends Carlos Calonge and Giancarlo Gianotti)
Review by tszirmay
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
4 stars To dare undertake the musical adaptation of Victor Hugo's seminal novel "notre Dame de Paris" is a challenge that only a supreme talent like Elisa Wiermann (yes, she is a she!) can pull off with such utter brilliance. Incorporating outright classical themes, baroque settings and typical progressive musicianship, Miss Wiermann weaves a sonic tapestry destined to unhinge the jaded fan , using a vast arsenal of keyboards (church organ, the sadly underused in prog harpsichord, the ubiquitous Mellotron and a battery of synths), aided and abetted by some fine sidemen on acoustic and electric guitars , a resolutely pounding bass , some busy percussives and in support of the more overt medieval sections, recorders and krumhorns a la Gryphon. The album is sent immediatly into an aural orbit with a roman arena like fanfare, with sampled trumpets beckoning the listener into a maelstrom of exquisite sounds, all culminating with a final 39 minute title track suite . The band excels in expressing the spirit behind the tragic hunchbac's existence the music being both solemn (gregorian chants) and touchingly human. Words are hard to descibe the joy expressed by this CD , so go out and get a copy , even if you have to swim all the way to Rio. The outcome is worth it! 4 church belles
Review by Marty McFly
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
4 stars OK, where's the rock is the question. When compared to their debut, this is one step back, to the classical waters, but without prog rock, without it it's just good album. If the one of the good things is to find music on which you can put your hat on, then there's another question. Where's my hat ?

As you can see, this album is quite disappointment for me, I expected much more. And it's obvious, because I've listened to "Gravura" recently. OK, there's rock, but in different way, as shown in Fanfare for example. But in this case, classical element is missing. And synths can't emulate it and bring courtyard feeling, full of troubadours on both sides of throne room. And king said: "wait a minute, it's a neo-prog genre, not symphonic song". And he way right, this sounds like some kind of Pendragon. I like Pendragon, but it's almost like a treason to hear it here. OK (number 2), it may be progress, they evolved, moved somewhere else. Or stepped back ? I still don't know.

But there's another problem. More than classical music, this is old music, medieval, renaissance like combined with rock. Of course, much differently than Blackmore's Night do it, but I can feel old times here. Older than old times, ancient times of music, maybe even Dark Ages, but still, I would kill for Aquintha. But in general, even epic in length, but rather dull in sounds, album catcher Quasimodo is like Russia. Vast space, occasionally populated by sounds (people).

4(-) and I don't like doing this. Still, it's fair that way.

EDIT: It's not so bad after all when compared to other similar bands that I know. It's long, very long, but it manages to remain interesting till the sweet end (not bitter)

Review by kenethlevine
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Prog-Folk Team
4 stars A glance at the credits to this disk is bound to yield the first disappointment, that being the utter absence of the violin which swept sentimental listeners off their collective tootsies on "Velha Gravura". Given that the main weakness of that debut lay in Elisa Wierman's overuse of tired synthesizer runs, the prognosis here could not be propitious. Indeed, "Fanfarra" fulfills our deepest fears, being a colourless take on Aaron Copeland by way of EMERSON LAKE AND PALMER that falls well below the quality control standards of the prior recording.

But then, a wonderful trick of the light transpires in the form of "Os Reis Malditos", which might just be the most accomplished piece of either of Elisa's dear progeny. A suite of minimalist mantras mostly on stately organs coloured by bombastic bass and mournful lead guitars, it rivals the best by much better known names while never stooping to mimicry. One can certainly point to CAMEL but I don't know that they were ever this intense, and I also thought of Scandinavian guys GROOVECTOR, but again ratcheted up a dozen off notches. The termination is as a 70s epic played live, drawn out and percussively embellished, but it's really about allowing the artists to decompress rather than vaunt their skill.

If "Aquintha" returns to the cheesy 70s sounds, this time it is more Wakeman-esque winsomeness than Emersonian pomp, and as such slightly warmer but ultimately not recommended. Luckily "Irmãos Grimm" returns to the more ambitious and involved aspect of the Quaterna Requiem toolkit. The first 5 minutes are a bit meandering, but the inspiration is more apparent thereafter during the quiet and well developed passage that begins with a deep harpsichord-like theme beneath ambient synths and whale-like lead guitar. Martial drums, a favourite of the group, herald the next segment of scintillating organ succeeded by simply elegant lead by José Roberto Crivano that we follow to a happy ending.

The final value of the album may rest in the title cut simply because it runs half of its total length. "Quasimodo" is a set of a half dozen or so pieces with deliberate breaks between them. The quasi classical character of group is evident in the crumhorns and recorders of Sergio Dias, and later the ancient aura is re-established by Benedictine monk voices espousing the virtue of our hunchbacked protagonist no doubt. Wierman's organ playing is lovely here. Gentle harpsichord features prominently in several of these movements. Don't expect GRYPHON here; this is a lot more deliberate, stately, and ultimately convincing. Maybe I just like a sense of gravity and commitment about my medieval prog. The tempo is varied but usually on the sedate side, and the last few minutes are downright ambient. Somehow the ending seems a bit lacking in climactic power, but perhaps I need to brush up on the story.

I apologize for a rather lengthier review than is my wont. "Quasimodo", while perhaps less consistent than "Velha Gravura", leaves me equally sated. At its best, which is often enough, it's a devotional work where faith is in the music, and I have a hunch you'll be back at it many times.

Latest members reviews

4 stars Sorry to sat this and to be in a little disagreement with reviews for first QR album. Ive read reviews that say that one is the ner one symph prog rock work of Brasil. I found it quite boring and quite a repetition of what we have listened from Gryphon. But this album is a really masterpiece:me ... (read more)

Report this review (#187360) | Posted by robbob | Wednesday, October 29, 2008 | Review Permanlink

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