Comments from the score of André Vidal's Zodíaco (CQ2624)

The Four Elements

When the Sicilian philosopher Empedocles of Acragas (495-435 B.C.) proposed one of the earliest theories of particle physics—the four-element theory that all matter is composed of earth, air, fire and water—he could hardly have envisioned that his idea would still be popular nearly 2,500 years later, enshrined in the grand foyer of the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C. where current scientific thinking speaks of matter existing in four states: solid, liquid, gas, and plasma. Perhaps Empedocles would not be too surprised at that, even though he might be astonished to find the four-element motif featured in places as different as the great cathedral of Siena, Italy, or the Capitol Building in Lincoln, Nebraska. Indeed the four elements have become ubiquitous symbols capable of many meanings, whether scientific, metaphysical, or psychological, or merely poetic. Karl Jung used them to symbolize his division of the human psyche into inspiration, thought, emotion, and sensation. André Vidal uses them in a similar way in Zodíaco to group together some aspects of the human condition.

The Zodiac Signs

The origins of the 12 remaining signs of the western Zodiac are lost in the mists of ancient Sumerian civilization. They have endured as symbols of the human search for one's place in the cosmos. At various times they have been useful to navigators and timekeepers as road signs for maps of the heavens, as calendar markers (e.g. in medieval Books of Hours, where they each had their specific agricultural labor for the month), as keys to pre-scientific medical charts (associated with specific parts of the anatomy, for example in Benjamin Franklin's Almanacs), and of course in astrology, both ancient and modern. Non-mainstream religions, however, have no exclusive claims to these signs, which have proved to be fruitful metaphors for poets, musicians, theologians and others in a remarkable variety of ways. Even Byzantine synagogues often were decorated with zodiac mosaics. André Vidal's witty take on the zodiac includes the transformation of the water carrier Aquarius into an aquarium—both spelled aquário in Portuguese. His use of the principle of variation—each of the four sections has three choral parts based on a single musical theme—hints at the truth that all personality characteristics are present in most people, but in a variety of strengths and permutations.

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