Don’t let the term divergent be scary, on the contrary. That this group of musicians has decided to join their forces and talent to form a string quartet of a high musical level, and that this communion has occurred during the pandemic, is a pleasant and happy coincidence. In this format they met, came together and gave life to an unprecedented project where the musical is mixed with the visual and the performative. It could be said that seeing and listening to Divergent Quartet It is an experience for all the senses, where everything is perfectly thought out, from the sound to the costumes. Alejandro Terancreator of the group and in charge of the viola, Javier Casalla on violin, Julito Dominguez on second violin and Karmen Rencar on cello.
The public will have the opportunity to see them live on Thursday 6th, at 7 p.m.at the Borges Cultural Center, organization dependent on the Ministry of Culture of the Nation with free entry.
Before presentation, Alejandro Terán, creator of Divergentreviews its beginnings, previews the show at the Borges and future projects:
–The Divergent quartet was formed in a pandemic. How did you meet and why did you decide to join?
-The Divergent was a consequence of a conversation I had with Racu Sandoval, in which he suggested that I design something more “portable” than my 16-piece Hypnofón orchestra (which during the pandemic was completely unviable due to the protocols). Furthermore, the Divergent managed to materialize because during the pandemic Javier, Julito and Karmen traveled less around the world (due to restrictions). So I took advantage of that circumstance to summon the three of them to a project designed for pure enjoyment and completely unrelated to any market logic.
With Javier we had already had a quartet during our early youth and there was always the desire to reinvent it, but travel and everyone’s professional life in general conspired against its realization. And I always enjoyed Karmen and Julio so much in recording sessions that I had my sights on them for a long time. In my opinion they are the most flexible and multi-talented instrumentalists that I met in Buenos Aires.
–They are all musicians with a long career who have played on other projects. What different sound did you want to add to the quartet?
-One of the first design parameters that drove my idea of the Divergent was to build a string quartet sound but completely devoid of the “academic”. Even my anarchic tendency took things even further: I wanted the design of arches and articulation (which is usually designed in a group) to be completely free and impulsive, that no two performances were the same.
My objective was for the blend to be achieved more by the anarchic and random sum of the four personalities than by a uniformity of the rope gestures. Then, as the concerts progressed, we arrived at a strange redesign, more on the telepathic order.
–What is the hallmark of the quartet?
-I would like the Divergent’s hallmark to be its total unpredictability: that it constitutes a molecule permeable to the unexpected, to the subtle moods and sudden changes in each person’s musical mood. Let it be a constantly mutating instrument that constitutes its unit in its own internal chaos: something like the opposite of an AI, which functions as a closed and compilatory system.
–What show are you going to present on June 6 at the Borges Cultural Center?
-This visit to the Borges falls right between two Divergent experiments that could be considered “antagonistic”: the previous one being Los Misterios, which investigated a certain mysticism and in the sense of pataphysical revelation, and the immediately following one being the Ecstasy in Los Galgos upstairs , in which we will try a more nocturnal and urban spirit.
–What projects do you have for this year?
-In addition to the specific functioning of Divergent as a group of performers, we are permanently functioning as a feat. of diverse artists and my work as a composer also encompasses theater and film. Now collaborations await us with a reference in the urban scene and at the same time rehearsals of the new work by Alfredo Arias for the Teatro San Martín begin. Nice challenge to our flexibility!
Tickets are collected 1 hour before the performance at the report table (first floor). Up to two tickets are given per person.
Entry to the room is on a first-come, first-served basis; The entries are not numbered. The shows start on time. After the show has started, you will not be able to enter the room.
Photo credits: Diego Hómez.
