Oda Para Un Hippie - Camerata Porteña

Camerata Porteña made its first visit to this blog a little over a year ago under the title, Pure Piazzolla. That video featured their performance of Escualo. Since that blog, they have posted a number of other videos including today's which features an unusual and rarely heard composition, Oda para un hippie. Piazzolla only recorded the piece once on the 1972 with his Conjunto 9 and it is now available on the reissue CD, Musica Popular Contemporanea Vol. 2, or as an mp3 single..

The Conjunto 9, sometimes known as the Nonet, was Piazzolla's largest ensemble. To create it he added a second violinist (Hugo Baralis), a viola (Néstor Panik), a cello (José Bragato) and a percussionist (José Corriale) to his existing Quintet. The music he wrote for the Conjunto 9 is different - most of it is a little more classical and a little less canyengue than later works. You will note an almost Mozartian cadence at the end of Oda para un hippie.

All of the Piazzolla covers by the Camerata Porteña are superb but I find their ability to play music written for the Conjunto 9 almost uncanny. They are similar in size (in fact, they are a nonet on their website but an octet is this video) but lack a second violin and percussionist and, in an unlikely move, gained a saxophone. They have not chosen to duplicate the Piazzolla sound but have very faithfully captured the intent of the music. There is only one other full video of Oda para un hippie on YouTube and while it is interesting, the group is a trio and simply does not have enough sound spectrum available to capture the intent of the music.

As to the title - there must be a story there but I don't know it. If the video does not appear below, click here.



To learn more about Piazzolla videos, visit the Piazzolla Video site.