Mural

Mural, the fourth studio album by New York-based guitarist Gabriel Vicéns, unveils a different side of his musical personality: that of a composer of contemporary chamber music works. The seven pieces on this album, all composed between 2019 and 2022, bring together ensembles of various sizes and instrumental combinations, ranging from solo piano to mixed sextet of percussion, strings and winds. What stands out is a consistent compositional language built from discontinuous sound, repeated microthemes, dynamic contrasts and fused timbres. These qualities are all highlighted in the title track, a trio for clarinet, violin and piano composed in 2021, which opens the album. The central element of the entire piece is a single note played on the piano, with repetitions alternating with short bursts of chords interspersed with silences. Vicéns arranges the violin and clarinet in short bursts that are played together or alternately, leading to passages of staccato rhythm and independent points of hybrid color. A quiet middle section, characterized by generous use of negative space, gives way to a lively pulse, created by call-and-response fragments for violin and clarinet over clear piano chords. The sextet El Matorral (2022), for piano, vibraphone, flute, clarinet, violin and cello, underscores Vicéns' ability to create striking timbral effects with a rich palette of instrumental means.