Edouard Pecourt was one of the few people in Paris in 1954 who knew the name of Astor Piazzolla but he did not know that Piazzolla had just arrived in Paris to study with Nadia Boulanger. Pecourt ran a record shop called La Boîte à Disques but more importantly, he was in love with the music of tango and had begun what was to become a lifelong obsession for collecting tango music memorabilia. He had taught himself how to read Spanish and knew of Piazzolla from reading tango magazines imported from Argentina. A mutual friend introduced them which started a close friendship, lasting until Piazzolla's death in 1992. Pecourt was a remarkable man and this interview by Greg Tozian, made shortly before Pecourt's death at the age of 83, is worth reading. It not only details his close relationship with Piazzolla but also gives a sense of the enormous vitality which Pecourt possessed.
Pecourt's collection grew to tens of thousands of items - recordings, video tapes, magazines, scores, posters, photographs - all related to tango. The collection includes what may be the definitive collection of Piazzolla recordings, an enviable collection of Piazzolla concert videos, a set of correspondence between he and Piazzolla and at least one autographed score of the piano cadenza to Adios Nonino. The collection resides today outside of Portland, Oregon where it is curated by his American wife, Jocelyn Howells. Today's first video features a tour of that collection narrated by Pablo Aslan. This blog recently profiled Aslan and his new recording, Piazzolla in Brooklyn. The tour Aslan shares in the video was part of the research he did in preparing that wonderful recording.
Piazzolla immortalized his friendship with Pecourt by dedicating to Edouard and his wife, Chau Paris, a piece he composed while studying in Paris and which he recorded there in 1955 on the album, Sinfonia de Tango. There are a number of versions of Chau Paris on YouTube but the one which I think is the most authentic is the performance by the Orquesta Típica "Central" del CSMA, a group which has been previously profiled in this blog. It is included below as the second video.
If the Pecourt tour video does not appear below, click here.
If the video of Chau Paris does not appear below, click here.
To learn more about Piazzolla videos, visit the Piazzolla Video site.
Follow Piazzolla on Video on Twitter.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Bragatissimo
Bragatissimo is rarely heard Piazzolla. It was recorded by Piazzolla and his Nuevo Octeto in 1963, reportedly in a basement in Uruguay, but released only in a limited edition 7" 33 rpm record. It was never included in subsequent collected works or, to my knowledge, performed again by Piazzolla. I had never heard Piazzolla's version of the work until it appeared this week in a YouTube video which is one of two featured performances in today's blog.
José Bragato, to whom the work is dedicated, was the cellist in that Nuevo Octeto and had a close musical relation with Piazzolla throughout their professional careers. He produced "classical" arrangements for ensembles and orchestras of Piazzolla's work which are still widely played today and most of Piazzolla's handwritten scores passed through his hands on their way to becoming finished musical products. I understand that many of those scores have been placed in a small museum in Mar del Plata by Bragato for the benefit of future generations of musicians. Bragato is an important composer in his own right and someday, hopefully, an enterprising writer will capture the relationship between Bragato and Piazzolla in a book (are you listening Ms. Azzi?).
Bragatissimo was composed in more of a classical than nuevo tango mode although there are hints of classical tango in the mid-section. It opens with a lyrical passage which shows well the musicianship of Bragato but at roughly the two minute mark, a bombastic nuevo classical element enters the work and Bragato, unfortunately, never returns. The contrast is striking. One wonders if Piazzolla is not modeling the two men and their relationship - Bragato the calm, elegant classical musician and Piazzolla, the brash, rule breaking new wave musician. The two meet in the middle but never resolve into a single entity. The lack of resolution is, to me, a weakness in the work but appears to be quite purposefully done.
A second video is included for comparison. It is a chamber orchestra version of Bragatissimo arranged and conducted by Marcel Costas. There is still no resolution but I believe that Costas' arrangement takes a little of the bombastic edge off the work and adds a musicality that is missing in the original. To my ears it is better music. Oscar López Ruiz has recognized Costas as providing "a sensitive interpretation of the Piazzolla feeling" and commented most favorably on the performances captured in Costas' recording La Música de Astor Piazzolla. López Ruiz, it should be noted, was a member of the Nuevo Octeto heard in the original. While the Costas recording does not include Bragatissimo, a video possibly recorded at the same time does include it and is included below.
If the original does not appear below, click here.
If the Marcel Costas version does not appear below, click here.
To learn more about Piazzolla videos, visit the Piazzolla Video site.
Follow Piazzolla on Video on Twitter.
José Bragato, to whom the work is dedicated, was the cellist in that Nuevo Octeto and had a close musical relation with Piazzolla throughout their professional careers. He produced "classical" arrangements for ensembles and orchestras of Piazzolla's work which are still widely played today and most of Piazzolla's handwritten scores passed through his hands on their way to becoming finished musical products. I understand that many of those scores have been placed in a small museum in Mar del Plata by Bragato for the benefit of future generations of musicians. Bragato is an important composer in his own right and someday, hopefully, an enterprising writer will capture the relationship between Bragato and Piazzolla in a book (are you listening Ms. Azzi?).
Bragatissimo was composed in more of a classical than nuevo tango mode although there are hints of classical tango in the mid-section. It opens with a lyrical passage which shows well the musicianship of Bragato but at roughly the two minute mark, a bombastic nuevo classical element enters the work and Bragato, unfortunately, never returns. The contrast is striking. One wonders if Piazzolla is not modeling the two men and their relationship - Bragato the calm, elegant classical musician and Piazzolla, the brash, rule breaking new wave musician. The two meet in the middle but never resolve into a single entity. The lack of resolution is, to me, a weakness in the work but appears to be quite purposefully done.
A second video is included for comparison. It is a chamber orchestra version of Bragatissimo arranged and conducted by Marcel Costas. There is still no resolution but I believe that Costas' arrangement takes a little of the bombastic edge off the work and adds a musicality that is missing in the original. To my ears it is better music. Oscar López Ruiz has recognized Costas as providing "a sensitive interpretation of the Piazzolla feeling" and commented most favorably on the performances captured in Costas' recording La Música de Astor Piazzolla. López Ruiz, it should be noted, was a member of the Nuevo Octeto heard in the original. While the Costas recording does not include Bragatissimo, a video possibly recorded at the same time does include it and is included below.
If the original does not appear below, click here.
If the Marcel Costas version does not appear below, click here.
To learn more about Piazzolla videos, visit the Piazzolla Video site.
Follow Piazzolla on Video on Twitter.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Tango Nuevo Cabaret - Sergei Tumas
Sergei Tumas is a well known tango choreographer and dancer so it was big news when he announced that he was creating a stage production dedicated entirely to the music of Astor Piazzolla. His show was titled Tango Nuevo Cabaret and the public got its first look at it in June, 2009 at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in California. Music was provided by Walter Rios on bandoneon with an Armenian tango group, Cadence Ensemble. The show was successful enough to attract investors into supporting a world tour version of the show.
In October, 2011 that show premiered at the John Anson Ford Amphitheater just across the Hollywood freeway from the more famous Hollywood Bowl. Reviews were mixed and it remains to be seen if the world tour will ensue. Nevertheless, any large scale production based on Piazzolla's music deserves attention from this blog and the recent posting of sixteen videos from that show provides the opportunity. You can find all of those videos on Sergei's YouTube channel.
Quite a lot changed in the move from the Pasadena Civic Auditorium to the Ford Amphitheater. Walter Rios is gone, replaced by Peter Soave. And the Cadence Ensemble is replaced by a collection of talented jazz musicians from the Los Angeles area assembled under the name of the Tango Jazz Chamber Orchestra. While Soave is listed as the nominal leader of the group, the videos certainly suggest that it is Miles Mosely, the bassist, who is in charge. I have chosen to feature their performance of Buenos Aires Hora Cero in this blog - not because it is the best of the sixteen but because it is typical of the performances.
And, how were the performances? In a word, terrible. The music is absolutely lifeless. There are moments where things work: for example, Kamasi Washington's introduction to Libertango where the jazz element is unfettered and the vocal performance of Balada para mi muerte by Martin de Leon is superb (note however, it is to recorded accompaniment - the band is not playing). But there are other times where musical disaster appears imminent as in the opening of Primavera Portena. But most of the time it looks like a set of musicians uncomfortably sight reading new scores producing inarticulate, unaccented facsimiles of Piazzolla's music. A little more rehearsal time and a little more guidance from Soave or Rios, both of whom know their way around Piazzolla's music very well, might have saved the day. That day will probably never come again - a world tour seems unlikely to me.
If the video does not appear below, click here.
To learn more about Piazzolla videos, visit the Piazzolla Video site.
Follow Piazzolla on Video on Twitter.
In October, 2011 that show premiered at the John Anson Ford Amphitheater just across the Hollywood freeway from the more famous Hollywood Bowl. Reviews were mixed and it remains to be seen if the world tour will ensue. Nevertheless, any large scale production based on Piazzolla's music deserves attention from this blog and the recent posting of sixteen videos from that show provides the opportunity. You can find all of those videos on Sergei's YouTube channel.
Quite a lot changed in the move from the Pasadena Civic Auditorium to the Ford Amphitheater. Walter Rios is gone, replaced by Peter Soave. And the Cadence Ensemble is replaced by a collection of talented jazz musicians from the Los Angeles area assembled under the name of the Tango Jazz Chamber Orchestra. While Soave is listed as the nominal leader of the group, the videos certainly suggest that it is Miles Mosely, the bassist, who is in charge. I have chosen to feature their performance of Buenos Aires Hora Cero in this blog - not because it is the best of the sixteen but because it is typical of the performances.
And, how were the performances? In a word, terrible. The music is absolutely lifeless. There are moments where things work: for example, Kamasi Washington's introduction to Libertango where the jazz element is unfettered and the vocal performance of Balada para mi muerte by Martin de Leon is superb (note however, it is to recorded accompaniment - the band is not playing). But there are other times where musical disaster appears imminent as in the opening of Primavera Portena. But most of the time it looks like a set of musicians uncomfortably sight reading new scores producing inarticulate, unaccented facsimiles of Piazzolla's music. A little more rehearsal time and a little more guidance from Soave or Rios, both of whom know their way around Piazzolla's music very well, might have saved the day. That day will probably never come again - a world tour seems unlikely to me.
If the video does not appear below, click here.
To learn more about Piazzolla videos, visit the Piazzolla Video site.
Follow Piazzolla on Video on Twitter.
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Adios Nonino - 1984, Caracas
After sitting in a box for more than twenty years a long forgotten video tape of a full Piazzolla concert has been found and shared this week on YouTube. There are very few videos of full concerts which makes this video of particular interest to Piazzolla fans. Today's featured video of the Quintet's performance of Adios Nonino is just one of the eight posted videos which fully capture the concert.
According to the Azzi/Collier book, Le Grand Tango, Piazzolla's Quintet made a quick tour of Mexico and Central America in the summer of 1984. Vocalist, Raúl Lavié, joined the quintet on the tour (and is featured in four of the videos). While not mentioned in Le Grand Tango, that tour evidently also included a stop in Caracas, Venezuela where today's video was made. The notes with the video suggest it was a brief visit with no time to assemble an audience, to rehearse, or to do a proper sound check (and apparently no time to tune the piano). The video was preserved on a U-Matic tape and is one of the first broadcasts in Venezuela to be recorded in stereo. The quality of the sound is quite good as is most of the video.
Many thanks to "BlackbirdRabbit" for finding and sharing the video.
If the video does not appear below, click here. Links to the other videos from the concert are provided below.
Additional concert videos: Lunfardo/Michelangelo 70, Los Pájaros Perdidos, La Bicicleta Blanca, Balada para mi Muerte, Balada para un Loco, Verano Porteño, and Mumuki.
Full audio of the concert can be downloaded here.
To learn more about Piazzolla videos, visit the Piazzolla Video site.
Follow Piazzolla on Video on Twitter.
Note added on 23 December, 2011: The poster of this video has added an additional piece of information about the arrangements behind this television performance. Hugo Carregal, an Argentine actor, singer and producer who lived in Venezuela and was very influential at RCTV convinced Piazzolla to fit the performance into a busy schedule. Were it not for Mr. Carregal's efforts, we would not be enjoying this video.
According to the Azzi/Collier book, Le Grand Tango, Piazzolla's Quintet made a quick tour of Mexico and Central America in the summer of 1984. Vocalist, Raúl Lavié, joined the quintet on the tour (and is featured in four of the videos). While not mentioned in Le Grand Tango, that tour evidently also included a stop in Caracas, Venezuela where today's video was made. The notes with the video suggest it was a brief visit with no time to assemble an audience, to rehearse, or to do a proper sound check (and apparently no time to tune the piano). The video was preserved on a U-Matic tape and is one of the first broadcasts in Venezuela to be recorded in stereo. The quality of the sound is quite good as is most of the video.
Many thanks to "BlackbirdRabbit" for finding and sharing the video.
If the video does not appear below, click here. Links to the other videos from the concert are provided below.
Additional concert videos: Lunfardo/Michelangelo 70, Los Pájaros Perdidos, La Bicicleta Blanca, Balada para mi Muerte, Balada para un Loco, Verano Porteño, and Mumuki.
Full audio of the concert can be downloaded here.
To learn more about Piazzolla videos, visit the Piazzolla Video site.
Follow Piazzolla on Video on Twitter.
Note added on 23 December, 2011: The poster of this video has added an additional piece of information about the arrangements behind this television performance. Hugo Carregal, an Argentine actor, singer and producer who lived in Venezuela and was very influential at RCTV convinced Piazzolla to fit the performance into a busy schedule. Were it not for Mr. Carregal's efforts, we would not be enjoying this video.
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Without the Bongos
Pablo Aslan issued a very interesting album this week: Piazzolla in Brooklyn. The album takes nine tracks from a 1959 Piazzolla LP titled, Take Me Dancing, and reinterprets them in contemporary jazz format. Aslan talks about the concept behind the new recording and you hear quite a bit of the track titled Counterpoint in today's video.
The 1959 version was recorded in New York City during Piazzolla's ultimately unsuccessful attempt to establish a musical career in that city. He recorded six LP's during that period. In five of those, Piazzolla was a band leader and instrumentalist playing other people's music. Take Me Dancing is the only LP of the six in which he was able to play a significant amount of his own music, which he termed Jazz-Tango. That album contains eight tracks composed by Piazzolla and four standards. The music is, for the most part, forgettable - the textures are bland, the tempos metronomic and the bongos are irritating. For many years the music on the LP was available to only a few who were lucky enough to find a copy of it in a dustbin but I note that today, you can download the full contents of the LP.
But Aslan heard something else in the music. As he says in the video, "There is a lot of great music in there, if you can get past the bongos." Aslan, himself a bassist, assembled a quintet: Gustavo Bergalli on trumpet, Nicolas Enrich on bandoneón, Abel Rogantini on piano, and Daniel “Pipi” Piazzolla on drums. He, Enrich and Rogantini transcribed seven of the pieces that Piazzolla had composed, two of the standards and added a tenth piece, La Calle 92 (La Calle translates as "the street" and one of Piazzolla's addresses in NYC was 202 West 92nd Street) which was composed in 1961. All of the musicians are seasoned jazz musicians who also know tango. They recorded the music in Buenos Aires over a period of days. The pattern for each track is roughly the same: they open with essentially a direct reading of the score and after the full thread of the original has been spun they begin to improvise around Piazzolla's music - frequently playing above and around the original themes. They make good music - a clear improvement over 1959. If you are a jazz fan you will enjoy the music. If you are a jazz fan who enjoys Piazzolla, you will love the music. If you are looking for a nuevo tango recording - this one is not for you.
In addition to the interesting comments and snippets of the recording session, you will hear a significant portion of the work Counterpoint (also known as Contratiempo) starting at 3:25 in today's video. You can compare what you hear to Piazzolla's 1959 recording in this video. You may recognize the fugue that opens the piece - Piazzolla recycled it into Fuga y misterio in the operita, Maria de Buenos Aires.
The concept for the album is creative and the execution respects the music that Piazzolla composed. The improvisation is excellent and left me wanting to hear these five musicians take on some of Piazzolla's more successful music rather than his more obscure music.
If the video does not appear below, click here.
To learn more about Piazzolla videos, visit the Piazzolla Video site.
Follow Piazzolla on Video on Twitter.
The 1959 version was recorded in New York City during Piazzolla's ultimately unsuccessful attempt to establish a musical career in that city. He recorded six LP's during that period. In five of those, Piazzolla was a band leader and instrumentalist playing other people's music. Take Me Dancing is the only LP of the six in which he was able to play a significant amount of his own music, which he termed Jazz-Tango. That album contains eight tracks composed by Piazzolla and four standards. The music is, for the most part, forgettable - the textures are bland, the tempos metronomic and the bongos are irritating. For many years the music on the LP was available to only a few who were lucky enough to find a copy of it in a dustbin but I note that today, you can download the full contents of the LP.
But Aslan heard something else in the music. As he says in the video, "There is a lot of great music in there, if you can get past the bongos." Aslan, himself a bassist, assembled a quintet: Gustavo Bergalli on trumpet, Nicolas Enrich on bandoneón, Abel Rogantini on piano, and Daniel “Pipi” Piazzolla on drums. He, Enrich and Rogantini transcribed seven of the pieces that Piazzolla had composed, two of the standards and added a tenth piece, La Calle 92 (La Calle translates as "the street" and one of Piazzolla's addresses in NYC was 202 West 92nd Street) which was composed in 1961. All of the musicians are seasoned jazz musicians who also know tango. They recorded the music in Buenos Aires over a period of days. The pattern for each track is roughly the same: they open with essentially a direct reading of the score and after the full thread of the original has been spun they begin to improvise around Piazzolla's music - frequently playing above and around the original themes. They make good music - a clear improvement over 1959. If you are a jazz fan you will enjoy the music. If you are a jazz fan who enjoys Piazzolla, you will love the music. If you are looking for a nuevo tango recording - this one is not for you.
In addition to the interesting comments and snippets of the recording session, you will hear a significant portion of the work Counterpoint (also known as Contratiempo) starting at 3:25 in today's video. You can compare what you hear to Piazzolla's 1959 recording in this video. You may recognize the fugue that opens the piece - Piazzolla recycled it into Fuga y misterio in the operita, Maria de Buenos Aires.
The concept for the album is creative and the execution respects the music that Piazzolla composed. The improvisation is excellent and left me wanting to hear these five musicians take on some of Piazzolla's more successful music rather than his more obscure music.
If the video does not appear below, click here.
To learn more about Piazzolla videos, visit the Piazzolla Video site.
Follow Piazzolla on Video on Twitter.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Invierno Porteño - Pitango Quartet
Who you gonna call? If you have a ghost problem, you call Ghostbusters. If you want an arrangement of a Piazzolla tune, you call Norberto Vogel. That is who the Pitango Quartet called when offered the opportunity to perform with the Netanya Kibbutz Orchestra. The very successful result of that call can be sampled in today's video of Invierno Porteño.
The Pitango Quartet is one of the leading tango ensemble in Israel. The group, formed by classically trained musicians, has been in existence since 2003 and provides tango "shows" as well as performing as a chamber group and with symphony orchestras as in today's video. Their repertoire covers the full range of tango music which they present with respect and authenticity. Members of the group are Amijai Shalev on bandoneón, Hadar Cohen on violin, Shachar Ziv on piano and Rinat Avisar on contrabass. I believe that all but the violinist are part of the original 2003 quartet. Pitango has recorded two CD's of tango music but they are difficult to find outside of Israel. You can find and purchase a limited selection of their music at their myspace website.
Invierno Porteño was the final of the four seasons composed by Piazzolla and the only one in which he purposefully inserted an hommage to Vivaldi. While originally composed for a quintet it is frequently played in orchestral arrangements, the most famous being those of José Bragato and Leonid Desyatnikov. The former is a bit formal but authentic; the latter is a delight to the ear but takes many liberties with the score. Mr. Vogel's is quite different and in many respects better than the others. It opens with beautifully written bandoneón solo - a perfect overture to the piece which captures both the Vivaldi and the tango essence embedded in the work. Mr. Vogel is a skilled bandoneónist himself and that skill shows in the this opening gem. The piece then moves alternatively but seamlessly between sections scored for full orchestra and for the quartet. The audience receives the full impact of an orchestral work but also has the opportunity to hear portions of the work in something closer to the original format. You will find Pitango and the Netanya Kibbutz Orchestra performing the other three seasons at the CarouselArtists YouTube Channel.
So, who are you gonna call? Mr. Vogel is an "arranger for hire" with a specialty in tango music. If you want a special arrangement of a Piazzolla work for your ensemble, give him a call at (011) 5197-6461 in Buenos Aires (or an email here).
If the video does not appear below, click here.
To learn more about Piazzolla videos, visit the Piazzolla Video site.
Follow Piazzolla on Video on Twitter.
The Pitango Quartet is one of the leading tango ensemble in Israel. The group, formed by classically trained musicians, has been in existence since 2003 and provides tango "shows" as well as performing as a chamber group and with symphony orchestras as in today's video. Their repertoire covers the full range of tango music which they present with respect and authenticity. Members of the group are Amijai Shalev on bandoneón, Hadar Cohen on violin, Shachar Ziv on piano and Rinat Avisar on contrabass. I believe that all but the violinist are part of the original 2003 quartet. Pitango has recorded two CD's of tango music but they are difficult to find outside of Israel. You can find and purchase a limited selection of their music at their myspace website.
Invierno Porteño was the final of the four seasons composed by Piazzolla and the only one in which he purposefully inserted an hommage to Vivaldi. While originally composed for a quintet it is frequently played in orchestral arrangements, the most famous being those of José Bragato and Leonid Desyatnikov. The former is a bit formal but authentic; the latter is a delight to the ear but takes many liberties with the score. Mr. Vogel's is quite different and in many respects better than the others. It opens with beautifully written bandoneón solo - a perfect overture to the piece which captures both the Vivaldi and the tango essence embedded in the work. Mr. Vogel is a skilled bandoneónist himself and that skill shows in the this opening gem. The piece then moves alternatively but seamlessly between sections scored for full orchestra and for the quartet. The audience receives the full impact of an orchestral work but also has the opportunity to hear portions of the work in something closer to the original format. You will find Pitango and the Netanya Kibbutz Orchestra performing the other three seasons at the CarouselArtists YouTube Channel.
So, who are you gonna call? Mr. Vogel is an "arranger for hire" with a specialty in tango music. If you want a special arrangement of a Piazzolla work for your ensemble, give him a call at (011) 5197-6461 in Buenos Aires (or an email here).
If the video does not appear below, click here.
To learn more about Piazzolla videos, visit the Piazzolla Video site.
Follow Piazzolla on Video on Twitter.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Campo, Camino y Amor - Episodio Trio
It is an unlikely song writing pair: Astor Piazzolla and Atahualpa Yupanqui. But José Pons and his wife provided the opportunity for the two to work together and create the piece, Campo, camino y amor in their Paris home in 1974. The canción is rarely performed but a performance of it by the Episodio Trio is featured in today's video.
Héctor Roberto Chavero Aramburo was born in 1908 - his father a descendant of the indigenous people of Argentina, his mother from the Basque country of Europe. As a performer, he took the stage name Atahualpa Yupanqui to honor the names of two great Inca kings. Until his death in 1992, he was the most famous folk musician in Argentina and shared his music and the music of the country people of Argentina with the world. He challenged the political system of Argentina and spent time in exile and in prison as a result. While his music bears little relationship to that of Piazzolla, during their lifetimes they shared a common bond of rejection within their shared homeland. And, today they share a common veneration. That these two almost legendary figures created together the canción, Campo, camino y amor, is almost as remarkable as the fact that the canción remains an almost undiscovered gem today.
The story of their meeting in Paris at the home of Argentine architect, José Pons, himself an exile from Argentina, is well documented as a result of the publication of a small book, Astor Atahualpa: Los Caminos de la Identidad (the full text is at that link), written by Piazzolla's daughter, Diana, and Atahualpa's son, Roberto Chavero, with a third author,Fuentes Rey, describing the origin of today's featured song, Campo, camino y amor. The story of this canción as extracted in this blog is roughly this: Piazzolla and Atahualpa were both performing in Paris. They met as dinner guests at the Pons home and Atahualpa told the story of how his parents met. All present thought the story would make a good canción. Atahualpa agreed to write a poem about it and Piazzolla agreed to put the poem to music. Unlike many such ideas hatched over wine and good food, it actually happened that way. Hopefully, Piazzolla had a chance to introduce the canción to the Pons family but I find no evidence that he did. In December of 1974 at Teatro Coliseo in Buenos Aires, the work was performed by Amelita Baltar, Piazzolla's vocalist, companion and presumed fellow guest at the Pons dinner. Ms. Baltar later recorded the work on the CD, Referencias. The only other recording of the work I find is by María Estela Monti on the CD, Solo Piazzolla.
And who are the Episodio Trio that perform the work in today's video? I don't know. There is no information accompanying the video and I can find no helpful reference to the group on the web. Hopefully someone reading this blog will recognize them and tell us a little more about them in the comment section below. Their performance, which is the only presentation of Campo, camino y amor on YouTube, is excellent - they deserve recognition.
If the video does not appear below, click here.
To learn more about Piazzolla videos, visit the Piazzolla Video site.
Follow Piazzolla on Video on Twitter.
Héctor Roberto Chavero Aramburo was born in 1908 - his father a descendant of the indigenous people of Argentina, his mother from the Basque country of Europe. As a performer, he took the stage name Atahualpa Yupanqui to honor the names of two great Inca kings. Until his death in 1992, he was the most famous folk musician in Argentina and shared his music and the music of the country people of Argentina with the world. He challenged the political system of Argentina and spent time in exile and in prison as a result. While his music bears little relationship to that of Piazzolla, during their lifetimes they shared a common bond of rejection within their shared homeland. And, today they share a common veneration. That these two almost legendary figures created together the canción, Campo, camino y amor, is almost as remarkable as the fact that the canción remains an almost undiscovered gem today.
The story of their meeting in Paris at the home of Argentine architect, José Pons, himself an exile from Argentina, is well documented as a result of the publication of a small book, Astor Atahualpa: Los Caminos de la Identidad (the full text is at that link), written by Piazzolla's daughter, Diana, and Atahualpa's son, Roberto Chavero, with a third author,Fuentes Rey, describing the origin of today's featured song, Campo, camino y amor. The story of this canción as extracted in this blog is roughly this: Piazzolla and Atahualpa were both performing in Paris. They met as dinner guests at the Pons home and Atahualpa told the story of how his parents met. All present thought the story would make a good canción. Atahualpa agreed to write a poem about it and Piazzolla agreed to put the poem to music. Unlike many such ideas hatched over wine and good food, it actually happened that way. Hopefully, Piazzolla had a chance to introduce the canción to the Pons family but I find no evidence that he did. In December of 1974 at Teatro Coliseo in Buenos Aires, the work was performed by Amelita Baltar, Piazzolla's vocalist, companion and presumed fellow guest at the Pons dinner. Ms. Baltar later recorded the work on the CD, Referencias. The only other recording of the work I find is by María Estela Monti on the CD, Solo Piazzolla.
And who are the Episodio Trio that perform the work in today's video? I don't know. There is no information accompanying the video and I can find no helpful reference to the group on the web. Hopefully someone reading this blog will recognize them and tell us a little more about them in the comment section below. Their performance, which is the only presentation of Campo, camino y amor on YouTube, is excellent - they deserve recognition.
If the video does not appear below, click here.
To learn more about Piazzolla videos, visit the Piazzolla Video site.
Follow Piazzolla on Video on Twitter.
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