QUATERNA REQUIEM

Quite impressive video done by this terrific symphonic outfit from Brazil. I must say I was a little skeptical about this DVD when I first saw it because Quaterna Requiem´s releases were few and far between. I was wondering if they could put a a show that was not simply a showcase for the technique of original members Elisa Wiermann (keyboards) and Kleber Vogel (violin). Fortunatly what you got is pretty much a coletive efford from a band in great form. Instead of long solo pieces that sometimes plague these kind of instrumental only music, most of the songs are perfomed by the whole band.

And what a show! Great, beautiful instrumental prog music performed with passion by skillful musicians and very well recorded. Their mix of classical music with prog rock is simply fantastic. Wiermann proves herself as a fine songwriter as much as terrific player. Violin and guitar duels are all over the place and the rhythm section is strong and precise. There is little indulgence here, the focus of the whole presentation is to give the listeners over 110 minutes of fine, well crafted music. Of course there is the inevitable drum solo (expected in such long performance), but you can´t have everything your way,. Influences are many, mostly classical, but there also some Pink Floyd, Yes and Italian symphonic rock similiarities. But the music is much their own and the closest group I can think of is another brazilian ourfit, Sagrado Coração Da Terra (minus the vocals, of course). But actually I think Vogel´s violin playing is different from Marcus Vianna´s. vogel seems tobe more from the school of Jean Luc Ponty, really. A very inspired perfomance that every prog lover should see and hear. Rating: something between 4,5 and 5 stars (sorry, I really hate drum solos!). Highly recommended