Mural is the fourth studio album from New York based guitarist Gabriel Vicéns, perhaps best known for his work as an improviser. With this album we see another side of his musical personality: the composer of contemporary chamber works. The seven pieces represented here, all of which were composed between 2019 and 2022, feature ensembles of various sizes and instrumental combinations, ranging from solo piano to mixed sextet of percussion, strings, and winds. What emerges is a consistent compositional language built of discontinuous sound spaces, reiterated micro-themes, dynamic contrasts, and fused timbres. All of these qualities are on display in the title track, a trio for clarinet, violin, and piano composed in 2021, which opens the album. The pivot point for the entire piece is a single note played on the piano, repetitions of which alternate with brief stabs of chords interspersed with silences. Vicéns arranges the violin and clarinet in short bursts played together or in alternation, creating passages of staccato rhythm and free-standing points of hybrid color. A quiet middle section marked by generous uses of negative space gives way to a brisk pulse crafted of call-and-response fragments for violin and clarinet laid over held piano chords. The sextet El Matorral (2022), for piano, vibes, flute, clarinet, violin, and cello, highlights Vicéns’ ability to create striking timbral effects given a rich palette of instrumental resources.
Daniel Barbiero
Avant Music News 