The improbable is the dimension and the substratum of this “concept” that articulates the conventional with the disruptive, the formal with the eccentric, the epic with the baffling, the profound with the volatile.
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This laughter-music intends to be, and presents itself, as a “caricature of comedy itself”, insofar as it modifies, imitates, exaggerates and, finally, denies a reality, premises of any comedian. The laughter-music, finally, as a «social gesture» (Bergson, again), constituting the first work of philharmonic jazz in Portugal. It could have been pompous, but it's fun. Who would have thought, in times as gray as these...
Rui Eduardo Paes, revista jazz.pt
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"Trégua" is melodically a more open album, which does not fail to be deconstructed with jazz elements or classical music tools. José Valente is a non-aligned artist who has discovered an original path for his music.
Miguel Halpern, Jornal de Letras, Artes e Ideias.
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The award-winning Portuguese composer and musician José Valente has long stood out for the way he has pushed the boundaries of so-called erudite music, bringing his instrument of choice, the viola de arco, (...) "Trégua", a disruptive album , for the way it combines improvisation and contemporaneity with the supposedly more formatted reality of a philharmonic band. Composed of seven acts that wander through “a multiplicity of references” (...).
Miguel Judas, revista Visão.
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A lot of ground is covered by the seven pieces, from the exuberance and exoticism of "A birra do Gaspar" to the still feverish recollection of "Naquele instante o Galo cantou: introdução", in which the viola is left alone. In the articulation between reflections of Portuguese popular music and the rigors of contemporary composition, there are moments that bring Joly Braga Santos and Fernando Lopes-Graça to the sound conversation, with room for improvisation.
Jorge Manuel Lopes, Jornal de Notícias.
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José Valente's new CD inserts the viola in a context that is particularly unusual (and, until now, unique in Portugal): a philharmonic band. This original record, in a seven-act lineup, reflects the well-known persistence of José Valente “in following a restless path, mapped by the constant discovery of new musical possibilities for his instrument”, as mentioned by himself.
Duarte Pereira Martins, revista Glosas.
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"Trégua" is the first work for viola and wind orchestra, by José Valente. An unpredictable meeting between the musician and the Orquestra Filarmónica Gafanhense, directed by the prestigious saxophonist and conductor Henrique Portovedo, which results in an unprecedented moment in the history of our Portuguese music. (...) A job to be heard. A musician to follow closely.
Sara Quaresma Capitão, Mutante.pt
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The artistic conception that Valente reveals to us in each work is a set of musical dividends, in which the space-time dimension gives way to emotional effervescence, reactive to the sonic stimulus, where poetry and literature interfere in the altercation between the classic and the avant-garde. The design of this new joint work with the Orquestra Filarmónica Gafanhense profoundly changes the context and goals of the viola, turning it into a disruptive journey, forgetting the limits of classical music.
Luís Grilo, Comunidade Cultura e Arte.