/ARTS WEEKLY/MUSIC-BRAZIL: The Madman of Sound

By Mario Osava Reprint | | Print |

Mario Osava

RIO DE JANEIRO, Mar 25 2003 (IPS) - Brazilian musician Hermeto Pascoal is a "madman", say audiences in recognition of his unique approach to sound. His odd physical appearance, his creativity and the unique musical pieces he composes and performs explain why he has been dubbed "O Bruxo", or sorcerer.

Pascoal, at age 67, has just released a new album of instrumental music "Mundo verde esperanca" (Green World Hope). This time around lacks some of the craziness of his previous recordings, but nonetheless includes some of the standard items – he calls them instruments – of his "orchestra": a pot of water hit on its underside, a pylon and dolls.

The album contains 14 previously unreleased compositions, all his, and with an array of Brazilian rhythms mixed with occasional touches from the Caribbean or from the Guarani culture of Paraguay. His unorthodox style knows no real frontiers.

"Mundo verde esperanca" is a collective work, with the participation of artists who have accompanied Pascoal over the years, in addition to young musicians, making up "traditional" bands with piano, flute, bass, clarinet, saxophone and various percussion instruments.

A previous album, "Eu e eles" (I and They), was a solo recording by Pascoal, who played all of the instruments heard in each composition.

In addition to expertise in the accordion, which he has played since he was a child, and other wind and cord instruments, Pascoal is probably the most prolific of Brazilian composers, with at least 3,000 musical works to his name.

In September 2000 he published a "Calendar of Sound", with 366 works created within a single year, one for each day. He was listening to "a voice" that he said would not let him rest until he accepted the challenge.

Beyond his musical extravagances, the artist captures the public’s attention with his physical appearance. He is albino, and keeps a long beard and long hair, cultivating the aspect of a prophet of sorts.

His music is for the future. It will be generations before most people will understand him, asserts "OBruxo".

His melodies and unusual harmonies – experimental and with few links to popular songs – stand in the way of his albums becoming major sellers. But he does have a faithful, if limited, following.

His live performances, however, attract large audiences.

In addition to his instrumental virtuosity, his works always incorporate some innovation, such as using water pipes dropped on the floor, baby bottles, dishes, plastic toys or pieces of iron or wood, all utilised to produce sounds incorporated into the musical piece.

Pascoal recently staged a show at a Sao Paulo restaurant, turning chefs and wait staff into musicians, extracting sounds and harmonies from plates, glasses, utensils and other kitchen items.

Some may think his pieces are improvisations, but all of the sounds included serve a precise function, an exact moment aimed at producing the sensations that the composer wants to convey, says music critic Mauro Dias, writing for O Estado de Sao Paulo newspaper.

The master inventor of sounds relies on his talent, cultivated since childhood. Pascoal was born in 1936 in Arapiraca, in Alagoas state, part of the impoverished Brazilian northeast.

His musical vocation was evident when he was a young boy. He made flutes out of wood he found in the forest in order to "talk" to the birds, although as an albino he was prohibited from spending time in the sun.

He listened keenly to the sounds made by frogs and toads, flowing water, and even the pieces of iron thrown out by his grandfather, a smithy by trade.

Pascoal was nearly blind, an obstacle to learning to read and write, but a factor that honed his musical talent. Intuitive by nature, he was already a respected composer and instrument virtuoso when he set to studying musical theory, already in his 30s.

In the 1960s, he was a member of the Quarteto Novo, a highly successful group of top musicians that broke up in 1969. It was then that he was studying theory and was transformed into "a true composer", says "O Bruxo" himself.

Two of his compositions were recorded by famed U.S.jazz trumpeter Miles Davis, who became enthralled with Pascoal’s work when the Brazilian visited the United States in 1971.

Pascoal’s international tours earned him recognition worldwide. One of his albums, released in 1979, was recorded live at the Montreux, Switzerland, Jazz Festival, an annual showcase of the world’s top musicians of the genre.

He is a harsh critic of today’s popular Brazilian music, which he says is too commercial and low quality. "It hurts the soul," he says.

In his opinion, there is music everywhere, and it exists "to be felt, not to be understood."

A decade ago, he began a project to make music using the spoken voice, with the fundamental belief that the "aura" of the human voice is musical.

He composed a piece using a speech by former Brazilian president Fernando Collor, the voices of actors and journalists, and of his own relatives, in yet another endeavour that is sure to reaffirm the "madman" fame of "O Bruxo".