In review--Andean Christmas and Tango

-
Dino Saluzzi, Anja Lechner, Felix Saluzzi
Navidad de los Andes
ECM Records

I’ve heard two other of Argentine bandoneon player-composer Dino Saluzzi’s recordings and each time I felt captivated by the soulfulness of his compositions.  On Navidad de los Andes (Christmas of the Andes), cellist Anja Lechner and his brother reed player Felix Saluzzi come on board.  All these musicians have already collaborated with each other on previous recordings, but this is their debut as a trio on ECM.  And yes this is exciting news.

I put my headphones on to listen deeply to this musical landscape and I felt rewarded with the subtle nuances of a bow gliding across strings, the click of the bandoneon keys, and breath flowing through reed instruments.  But the best way to describe the music here can be found in the liner notes where Leopoldo Castilla shares his reflections on the Saluzzi’s compositions.  “In this beautiful musical work the sound is born with intensity of wind and powerful progression of the sand that preserves memories.”

I add that all the instruments (cello, bandoneon, clarinet and saxophone) are in themselves capable of sweeping melodic runs alternating with dissonance which cause listeners to hold their breath and later they release tension with a gasp or a sigh, just like the tango.  Out of all the bandoneon players performing and composing these days, Dino Saluzzi comes the closest to resurrecting the music of the late Astor Piazzolla, another musician who found beauty and tension around every corner.

So let’s take a look at a few of the songs on Navidad de los Andes.  Fragments offers a mournful cria with clarinet runs cascading into a wall of sound built by the bandoneon and cello—leaves me close to tears.  Son quo’ñati marries the haunting strains of Andes Indian traditional music with the new tango repertoire.  Whereas, Requerdos de Bohemia (Memories of Bohemia) offers us a pure tango which feels as fresh and hopeful as new love, yet as happy-sad as mature love.  And yet it represents the dance of new love. 

Gabriel Kondor recalls the songs on the previous ECM recording, Juan Condori, another venture into indigenous territory wed to Argentine tango.  El Vals de Nosotros (Our Waltz) features the high end of the cello and we hear why Anja Lechner receives acclaim for her talent.  Otoños (autumn) grieves in musical gasps—the bandoneon resembles bellows in the wind, the clarinet the wind, and the cello a bush seduced then abandoned by the wind.

I’m amazed by how easily and seamlessly these musicians combine their talents, effortlessly exchanging leads, with one instrument performing background for a few measures only to take up the lead melody. If there are any ego issues among these musicians, it’s not evident on this recording that inspires my soul and fills my heart with the type of music that causes me to swoon. 

http://www.ecmrecords.com


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Introduction to Peyote Songs & The Native American Church

-
Image
Father Peyote: Songs of the Native American Church Introduction to the Peyote Church Ceremony This is an archival article written in 2003.  It's not updated.  For more recent recordings, go to Canyon Records website, http://www.canyonrecords.com When some people speak of Native American ceremonies, the peyote ceremony or the ingestion of the hallucinogen peyote (contains mescaline) usually surfaces. However, there is too much false information being passed around in the non-native community surrounding peyote meetings. The first thing people need to know about the Native American connection to peyote is that the plant is sacred medicine ingested as a sacrament during healing ceremonies of the Native American Church. The second thing, people need to know is that the Native American Church is not a set structure like the Christian Church. The peyote meeting could take place in a Navajo hogan or a teepee. And finally, since the peyote meeting does in part derive from Nat
Read more

The Practice--Treasure Hunt from the book Whole Music

-
Image
Excerpt from Whole Music The Practice: Musical Treasure Hunt Similar to treasure hunts from our childhood, I’m going to send you on a music treasure hunt in which the pleasures are many.  Pretend that you are a song catcher visiting other cultures where you collect new sounds. While I mentioned sound healers earlier, another important player with music preservation are ethnomusicologists who combine cultural anthropology with music preservation.  Two famous song catchers are the late Alan Lomax, and the world beat drummer Mickey Hart.  I recommend learning more about these song catchers through books, and documentaries. 1) Step One-- Head over to YouTube, and look up the following music traditions: ·          Aboriginal Didgeridoo ·          Finnish Runo-Songs (Traditional singer) ·          Gregorian chants ·          Griot Music of Mali (Acoustic, not pop music) ·          Sanskrit Chants Sung by Hindu Indians in Context (aka Kirtans)
Read more

Talking about Timbre

-
Image
Wikipedia As I mention in my book Whole Music , when I was a child I fell in love with timbre and the voices of the individual instruments we listened to in music class.  Each instrument conjured a specific emotions or feeling in me.  The French horn caused me to feel majestic and the cello invoked melancholy.  My moods would shift with each instrument that I heard and my moods would shift quickly. Today, I listen to more than timbre, but I have an understanding of how tone, frequencies of the tone and timbre (the color of the tone) affect me on all levels.  And I wonder what listening to an entire symphony does with its many voices, themes, keys, musical passages etc... In the concept of "whole music" I prefer not to separate musical components, but in the case of this post, I will present solo instruments for your listening and feeling pleasure. If you keep a music journal (and I hope that you do by now), write down the emotions that come up with each instrument.  R
Read more