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Márcio Steuernagel: A Mis•encyclopaedia of Musical Imperfections

Catalogue No.: 
AG 0031
EAN Code: 
9120010288319
Label: 
Austrian Gramophone
Recording Date: 
17-20 May 2022
Recording Venue: 
KUG Tonstudio, Graz/Austria
Release: 
December 2024

This album presents a mis•encyclopaedia, a fascinating exploration of imperfection by composer Márcio Steuernagel. Inspired by literary figures such as Borges and Pessoa, the works embody a profound poetic fragility. The music challenges the relentless pursuit of perfection in Western traditions by embracing imperfection as a dynamic, expressive force. With sounds that emerge from experimental techniques – unpredictable by-products, fragmentary structures, and explorations of physical and sonic boundaries – Steuernagel reveals new artistic dimensions. Each piece, meticulously crafted yet open to interpretation, creates an evocative, fluid soundscape that acknowledges the fleeting, imperfect nature of existence.

Márcio Steuernagel
The Great in-Betweenness (2020). Six études and three melodies for solo flute
1.
étude: trills (it shimmers, shivers: lives)
01:04
2.
étude: whistle tones (a fugue of failures)
04:34
3.
uma melodia
00:25
4.
étude: different articulations (molto parlante)
01:14
5.
étude: transitions (inbetweennesses)
01:17
6.
une mélodie
00:30
7.
Eine Melodie
00:30
8.
étude: over/under-blowing (bodily: a pífano dance)
01:20
9.
étude: diaphonic/multiphonic (…but how many voices unsung?)
03:27
10.
Coda: instability (2022). Étude: non-/harmonic (uncontrolled, unknown, yet wished-for)
02:50
Becoming (2019). Four Études and an Aria for Solo Oboe
11.
étude: dynamics (summoning)
02:50
12.
étude: registers (a bird)
01:12
13.
étude: multiphonics (quasi un corale, quasi Monteverdi)
02:17
14.
étude: repeated notes (take a digeridoo)
01:28
15.
aria: becoming
04:10
Coda: un•intendedness (2020/2021)
16.
pilgrimage: once in our hearts
01:56
17.
une mélodie
00:14
18.
pilgrimage: once again in our hearts
02:06
19.
étude: diaphonic/multiphonic (…but how many voices unsung?)
03:59
always only once again (2022). Three études, a pilgrimage and a prayer for solo cello
20.
étude: non-/harmonic (uncontrolled, unknown, yet wished-for)
02:31
21.
pilgrimage: once in our hearts
01:48
22.
étude: residual pitches (tempi & corali emergenti)
02:17
23.
étude: residual sounds (molto cantabile – ma segreto!)
02:33
24.
pilgrimage: once again in our hearts
01:52
25.
tuning prayer
04:07
26.
pilgrimage: once again in our hearts
01:55
27.
étude: non-/harmonic (uncontrolled, unknown, yet wished-for)
03:10
Senses of Musical Imperfection: transitionality, un•control, un•intendedness (2019–2022)
28.
meditation: impossible vowels (a self-sung lullaby)
08:06
29.
étude: diaphonic/multiphonic (…but how many voices unsung?)
03:02
30.
étude: non-/harmonic (uncontrolled, unknown, yet wished-for)
02:35
31.
meditation: impossibly slow (present tense)
01:50
32.
étude: transitions (inbetweennesses)
01:23
33.
aria: becoming
03:58
Études para Quijote (2019). Seven études for solo harp
34.
étude: one-finger tremolo (fanfare)
01:04
35.
étude: harmonic interference (a game of bells)
05:46
36.
étude: basso (battuto, feroce)
01:29
37.
étude: glissandi (pasacalle)
03:26
38.
étude: ostinato (ad lib, ma veloce)
02:14
39.
étude: classical harmonics technique (a broken lullaby)
03:29
40.
étude: arco (Aria on the G strings)
08:21
Senses of Musical Imperfection: risk, residual, fragmentary, fragility (2019–2022)
41.
étude: whistle tones (a fugue of failures)
04:19
42.
pilgrimage: once again in our hearts
02:02
43.
eine Melodie
00:14
44.
étude: residual sounds (molto cantabile – ma segreto!)
02:30
45.
étude: classical harmonics technique (a broken lullaby)
04:02
Senses of Musical Imperfection: un•control, embodiment, emergence, im•pure (2019–2022)
46.
étude: basso (battuto, feroce)
01:38
47.
étude: residual pitches (tempi & corali emergenti)
02:07
48.
étude: different articulations (molto parlante)
01:20
49.
étude: over/under-blowing (bodily: a pífano dance)
01:14
50.
étude: registers (a bird)
01:09
51.
meditation: vibrato, trillo, coloratura (terribilis iubilatio)
03:02
52.
étude: trills (it shimmers, shivers: lives)
01:05
53.
étude: ostinato (ad lib, ma veloce)
02:29
54.
meditation: ex-/ins-piration
04:20
55.
étude: multiphonics (quasi un corale, quasi Monteverdi)
02:29
five meditations for solo soprano on the unspeakable NAME of (2022)
56.
meditation: ex-/ins-piration
03:20
57.
meditation: vibrato, trillo, coloratura (terribilis iubilatio)
03:20
58.
meditation: impossibly slow (present tense)
01:45
59.
meditation: lower, lowest, then lower still (sequentia)
01:40
60.
meditation: impossible vowels (a self-sung lullaby)
08:06
Total Time: 
2:37:24