Tempus Trio - Aeternum [CD]

Æternum marks the impressive debut recording of the Tempus Trio, presenting four contemporary works written expressly for the ensemble by leading composers Helena Cánovas, Marc Migó, Miquel Oliu, and Albert Guinovart. The album offers a uniquely coherent yet stylistically diverse journey through today's chamber music, unified by a central exploration of musical time-it's suspension, fragmentation, and expressive expansion. The programme opens with Helena Cánovas's tanta llunyania no ha estat un error (2025), a single-movement work built from contrasting sonic "states," where fragile harmonies, atmospheric textures, and sudden transformations create a poetic sense of distance and expectation. Marc Migó's GEM(S)TONE (2022) continues the journey with a vivid triptych inspired by three gemstones-Onyx, Ruby, and Diamond-each transformed into symbolic sound worlds that highlight the ensemble's dynamic range and technical finesse. Miquel Oliu's Un simple aleteig... (2023) offers a delicate, introspective reflection inspired by the proverb of the butterfly effect. Through natural harmonics, oscillating tremolos, and transparent textures, Oliu crafts a meditative work that pays subtle tribute to Kaija Saariaho. The album concludes with Albert Guinovart's expansive Trio Celebration (2025), a four-movement composition that draws from the great Romantic trio tradition while incorporating personal gestures and a final homage to Purcell's The Cold Song. Recorded at the Auditorio Manuel de Falla in Granada, Æternum showcases the refined musicianship of Maria Tió (violin), Ferran Bardolet (cello), and Ricard Rovirosa (piano), establishing the Tempus Trio as a compelling new voice in contemporary chamber music.