
The 10th installment in the series, Sánchez Sánchez returns with another entanglement of granular noise and math-based processing. Sánchez Sánchez’s own work shows an interest in the intersection of jazz and math, but it’s not just about the calculation. The collection of scales, tones, rhythms, and beats that form the foundation for the piece remain much more abstract, and the results are intriguingly multifaceted.
The violin is a constant presence throughout, but it’s rarely a soloist’s turn. The velocities are consistently high and the strings stretch out, but they’re not so much contained as they are dependent on the overall context for movement. In the context of the instrumental figures, the things that happen in a given moment, the math is analysed and combined with the improvisation to create a particular sound.
Over his career Sánchez has also developed a reputation for his ability to generate acousmatic interplay. He has worked with a great many musicians, but I recall his work with the organist and pianist El Soleil. Sánchez Sánchez is the great organ player of Brazil, but the work here was done at a higher level, moving the pitch up and down as the organ came through the sound. The notes were written in the style of the Brazilian national anthem, with the organ’s pulse rising and falling like an electronic flute. The instrumentation is quite abstract, with a few key sounds and a few small vocal parts, but the actual melodic processes are quite clear. There’s nothing intricate about the music, just a great sense of speed and movement.