Via Augusta by Agustí Fernández Ensemble

The name of this ensemble, “ Agustí Fernández Ensemble” is just a convention. For me, an ensemble doesn't have anything to do with ego, power, or vision, etc. It's a chance for friends to meet and celebrate in which everyone participates as equals. I'd like to thank the 2019 Barcelona Grec Festival for giving me the opportunity to band together the musicians of this ensemble.

In doing so I thought of inviting musicians I know, with whom I have played, men and women from different countries (and continents), of different ages, and who play seemingly distant instruments, but who all share a passion for improvised music.

On this recording you'll hear that they don't just play the notes. They play their lives, their feelings, their dreams, and their emotions. They do this with their own personal and special sounds, always with profound musical expression.

One of the things I appreciate most about these situations is the collective thinking that emerges when such gifted musicians get together, listen, and play together. The egos dissolve into a higher entity and collective musical intelligence materializes spontaneously. This is always my goal when participating in an ensemble: that it be an occasion for something exceptional and unique to happen.

Since the concert had to be named, I thought “Via Augusta” was the most appropriate, for three reasons. First, it’s the name of a well-known street in Barcelona; secondly, it was the name of a Roman road that connected the peninsula of Hispania with the Roman capital and, thirdly, the way that the Japanese define the word “do” (way, road), illustrates my concept of making music, a concept I share with these excellent fellow travelers.

Agustí Fernández

Independent label of free improvised music promoted by Agustí Fernández

agustifernandez.com