Vera Morais

Adroit and imaginative, Eupnea offers slightly more than half an hour of vocal and woodwind intertwining that is both creative and calculated. The brainchild of Portuguese vocalist Vera Morais this Netherlands-based quintet performs seven wordless or wordy tracks that mate the voices of Līva Dump, Sarah van Eijk and Morais with the flutes and piccolos of Teresa Costa and Ketija Ringa-Karahona.

Morais’ arrangements and verbalized texts meld the expressed syllables or sounds projected by the vocalists with responsive flutters, trills, squeaks and slides from the flutists. Stretching respective ranges, the tunes range from almost ecclesiastical chorale-like harmonies to stretched and swallowed poetic narratives and on to aleatory flights of fancy. The three affiliated “Organ Music” performances personalize the latter tendency with vocal yips, hums and breaths sequentially ascending to near screams or as on “Organ Music II” uniting lyrical vocal tones that almost literally resemble pipe organ timbres.

While the simple English phrases sung aren’t profound on their own, the way tessitura is stretched makes up for that. In fact there are some points where voice and transverse textures are nearly identical. More often though the close three-part harmonies are stacked and synthesized in such a way that unself-conscious lilting compensate. However oft times the affinity is too obvious and the blended results are reminiscent of The McGuire Sisters (“Sugartime”) or The Chordettes {“Mr. Sandman”).

More notable are tunes like “Mirror” and the extended “Breathing”. The former alternates a soprano vocalized lead with alto flute trills that evolve to free association pitch expansions backed by the other singers undulating antiphonic tones, leading to a conclusive piccolo squeak. More experimental, “Breathing” is built around expelled breaths and lyrics that encompass bel canto expressions and stop-time, almost harsh multiple syllable accompaniment as dual flute shrills add an ostinato to the alternating. orotund variations.

Progressive extensions of creative vocalizing, to say a mouthful, Morais et. al. probably have more tricks up their sleeves or more properly ready to be projected from their lips.

–Ken Waxman

Track Listing: 1. Revolutionary Ideation 2. Organ Music I 3. Breathing 4. Organ Music II 5. Atlantic 6. Organ Music III 7. Mirror

Personnel:  Vera Morais, Līva Dumpe and Sarah van Eijk (voices); Teresa Costa (flute and piccolo) and Ketija Ringa-Karahona (flute, alto flute and piccolo)