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Conga-Line In Hell - Music of Latin American Masters / Sachs, Cameratas Americas
Sono Luminus

Conga-Line In Hell - Music of Latin American Masters / Sachs, Cameratas Americas

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Details

Composer
AGUILA MARQUEZ NANCARROW SI
Artist
Camerata De Las Americas
Format
CD
Label
Sono Luminus
Released
Apr 29, 1997
Catalog #
DOR-93230
UPC
053479323026

About

REVIEW:

"Conga-Line in Hell" is one of those rare discs that not only makes thematic sense but also happens to be hugely enjoyable from beginning to end. The disc's somewhat alarming title is taken from the delightful opening piece from 1994, the Uruguayan Miguel del Águila's sly conga that layers Latin American dance rhythms over a repeating piano figure (think Philip Glass, but with a sense of humor). Don't let the title (or the cover art) put you off: this is a great sampler of new and 20th-century music from the Americas, an area that has long been of interest to Joel Sachs, who is probably best known for his work in New York directing two new-music groups, Continuum and the New Juilliard Ensemble. His conducting on disc, as in live concerts, always is sharply articulated and well-thought-out. The Camerata de las Américas is a top-notch group of players who sound as if they've been playing this repertoire forever (showing incredible tightness and focused sound), but also as if they are still completely entranced by the many charms of this music.

And so they should be; it's a terrific program. The Mexican composer Arturo Márquez, whose early works were heavily influenced by Messiaen and Berio, eventually turned to the music of his youth for inspiration. 1988's Danzón No. 4 is one result, in which the melody is sinuously carried by the oboe, flute, and saxophone, fed from a spring of strings and percussion. Conlon Nancarrow, the American who left for Mexico and who perhaps is the best-known name in this group of composers, is represented by 1943's First Piece for Small Orchestra, a rhythmically piquant but tonally blues-flavored work. The Puerto Rican composer Roberto Sierra's 1997 piece Cuentos (Tales) spans three evocatively-titled movements: the explosive shrieks of "Lenguas desconocidas (Unknown Languages)"; "Lo que pasó en las nubas (What Happened in the Clouds)", reminiscent of Messiaen's shimmering textures; and "Batata-Coco", a wild mambo homage to the great bandleader Pérez Prado.

Another composer to make use of Caribbean dance sounds is Nadia Boulanger's Cuban student Alejandro García Caturla, whose First Cuban Suite from 1932 draws as much from the son, comparsa, and danza styles as it does from Stravinsky. (Listen to the ominous opening of the movement titled "Comparsa" and compare it to the first sounds of the Rite of Spring.) Another piece from the '30s rounds out the program: 1937's Flôr de Tremembé (Tremembé Flower) by Brazilian composer Mozart Camargo Guarnieri, which starts out in something of a fugue propelled by Brazilian percussion, then blossoms into a festive whirl of color. The sound is great: wide, but still very crisp.

--Anastasia Tsioulcas, ClassicsToday.com

Tracklist 10 tracks

  1. 1 Conga-Line in Hell 11:49
    Track
    1
    Title
    Conga-Line in Hell
    Duration
    11:49
    Composer
    Miguel del Águila
    Performer
    Duane Cochran
    Ensemble
    Camerata de las Américas
    Conductor
    Joel Sachs
  2. 2 Danzon No. 4 10:39
    Track
    2
    Title
    Danzon No. 4
    Duration
    10:39
    Composer
    Arturo Márquez
    Performer
    Duane Cochran
    Ensemble
    Camerata de las Américas
    Conductor
    Joel Sachs
  3. 3 Piece No. 1 06:44
    Track
    3
    Title
    Piece No. 1
    Duration
    06:44
    Composer
    Conlon Nancarrow
    Performer
    Duane Cochran
    Ensemble
    Camerata de las Américas
    Conductor
    Joel Sachs
  4. 4 Lenguas desconicidas 03:52
    Track
    4
    Title
    Lenguas desconicidas
    Duration
    03:52
    Composer
    Roberto Sierra
    Performer
    Duane Cochran
    Ensemble
    Camerata de las Américas
    Conductor
    Joel Sachs
  5. 5 Lo que paso en las nubes 03:56
    Track
    5
    Title
    Lo que paso en las nubes
    Duration
    03:56
    Composer
    Roberto Sierra
    Performer
    Duane Cochran
    Ensemble
    Camerata de las Américas
    Conductor
    Joel Sachs
  6. 6 Batata-Coco 02:43
    Track
    6
    Title
    Batata-Coco
    Duration
    02:43
    Composer
    Roberto Sierra
    Performer
    Duane Cochran
    Ensemble
    Camerata de las Américas
    Conductor
    Joel Sachs
  7. 7 I. Sonera 04:10
    Track
    7
    Title
    I. Sonera
    Duration
    04:10
    Composer
    Alejandro García Caturla
    Performer
    Duane Cochran
    Ensemble
    Camerata de las Américas
    Conductor
    Joel Sachs
  8. 8 II. Comparsa 08:19
    Track
    8
    Title
    II. Comparsa
    Duration
    08:19
    Composer
    Alejandro García Caturla
    Performer
    Duane Cochran
    Ensemble
    Camerata de las Américas
    Conductor
    Joel Sachs
  9. 9 III. Danza 02:23
    Track
    9
    Title
    III. Danza
    Duration
    02:23
    Composer
    Alejandro García Caturla
    Performer
    Duane Cochran
    Ensemble
    Camerata de las Américas
    Conductor
    Joel Sachs
  10. 10 Flor do Tremembe 06:17
    Track
    10
    Title
    Flor do Tremembe
    Duration
    06:17
    Composer
    Camargo Guarnieri
    Performer
    Duane Cochran
    Ensemble
    Camerata de las Américas
    Conductor
    Joel Sachs