The leading personality of a Brno-based band named Quanti Minoris is Zdeněk Němeček, musician, who has assumed an active role in the formation of the Brno musical scene immediately after his arrival in the city in 1980. He is one of founding members of Dogma Art and he also played in several other groups (Avocado, Taxi, Vaganti and others). Several years of searching passed, then Zdeněk Němeček met a company of three musicians, a company without a name, without a repertoire, and above all without prejudice. This is the point the band entered its rock age, which they recorded on this album. Q.M. repertoire is based on medieval poetry recast in music from.
"I fell for medieval poetry thanks to Francios Villon, whom I “bumped into“ in my first year at secondary school and it’s been crystallizing within in various forms since. It is very easy to chose, a poem either appeals to me or not. If not, I write my own and try to get a little bit of this medieval veneer into it."
The music of the band is original, the music of the turn of the middle and modern age being only an inspiration. To increase the authenticity of the atmosphere, compositions written by great authors of the period or some parts from them, such as John Dowland (a 16th century English lutanist), J. S. Bach, etc. are used here as well. Melodic line built up on medieval elements with the use of replicas of historic instruments is pressed in rock basis.
"The text is an important source of inspiration, of course, but sometimes it's enough to enlarge my collection of instruments (which might well make a good antiques shop now). The greatest inspiration comes from the sound and the possibilities the instruments I managed to collect give. Actually, what inspires me much are the castles and ruins, particularly at night, staying there in the calm, letting the boundless energy streaming from the places in. That’s maybe the greatest “kick”."
Though the resultant style is more difficult to classify, it is more interesting with the richness of sound colors (gemshorn, crump horn, recorders, bladder pipe, chalumeaux, flute, lute), as well as rhythms (besides the traditional ones such as 4/4 and 3/4 also 6/8 occurs, but even 10/8, 7/4 which are less used). As regards genre, Q.M. music might be called historical folkrock with Celtic roots. But the most fitting description probably is “castle rock”.
The title of the CD “Drunkards’ Mores” evokes the atmosphere of medieval taverns, being further enhanced by the poetics of the texts from that period. ”Vagant poetry plays much with this theme, but we have not found ourselves playing our music in pubs yet, this has not happened so far, unless it is a medieval pub, then there is no problem!!”.
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