Lidia Borda: voz
/ voice
Santiago Vazquez:
percusión / percussion, mbira y / and efectos / effects
Marcelo Moguilevsky: clarinete / clarinet, clarinete bajo /
bass clarinet, flautas dulces /
recorders, armónica / harmonica y / and silbido / whistling
Edgardo Cardozo: guitarra / guitar, requinto , guitarrón, tiple
y / and voz / voice
Martin lannaccone: cello y / and voz / voice
Gabriel Rivano:
bandoneón
Thoughts
by Santiago Vazquez - Co-Producer
For the
first "Será una Noche" album (M052A), MA producer Todd Garfinkle and I discussed
the concept of making an album in which tango coexisted with a fusion of other
musical languages such as contemporary and ancient musics, Indian classical
music, baroque music and free improvisation. It was to be fresh and, at the
same time, traditional; sofisticated and perhaps even naive. Todd also suggested
an instrumentation in which the bandoneon and violin (instruments very traditional
to tango) would be complemented with harpsichord or indian sarod (instruments
that have never been used in tango, and the players of which barely exist in
Argentina). Everything would be recorded in a church, using only two omnidirectional
microphones -the norm for MA - so the sound of the instruments would have to
be balanced naturally by the musicians themselves, and in real time. meaning
there would be no chance for later corrections.
For this project then, it would be necessary not only to find musicians with
superb technical ability on their instruments, as well as the knowledge of the
language of tango, but also musicians with great experience in other styles.
Perhaps the most important, was an open mind and the wish to confront the challenge.
The group as Todd had imagined it, was actually not possible, but we did however
decide to go with the general idea and create a "unit" that could be "organic"
with the concept, and of course with the music itself.
The
result was an eclectic album in which there are instrumental and vocal pieces,
original compositions and traditional pieces from very different periods of
the development of tango. It was an "open minded", collective musical statement,
attempting to freely expand the musical ideas, while trying neither to compromise,
nor particularly develop any of them.
On this
second album, "La Segunda" we took the concept from where we left off on the
first record, but now trying to focus a bit more on some specific aspects. Most
of the traditional pieces on this record were composed around the beginning
of the 20th century, when tango was young, and in some compositions one can
detect the influence of older musical styles that "came" with immigrants, blending
and creating what we know as tango. Thus, on this record there are many milongas
- rhythms with great african influence - and a habañera, as well
as a vals criollo, and original music by members of the group inspired
by other Argentinean folk rhythms, such as the baguala and zamba
(not to be confused with the brazilian samba) from northwest Argentina, and
the aire rivereno from the northeast.
As on the first Será una Noche record, the selection of the repertoire was made
by the group members, as were the arrangements. We tried to find our own "musical
space", via simple concepts, each of us playing naturally, while avoiding the
usual excessiveness that comes when recreating a style. However, we did
try not to avoid the characteristic gestures of the style that
should come spontaneously.
In this
sense, the result reveals a certain balance between the musical personalities
of the performers and the needs of the music itself. The process of preparing
for this project transported us into an experimental "realm" in which tango
and other Argentinean musical forms not only led us to that "familiar territory",
successfully tested many times by the masters of this music, but to a new dimension,
where the compositions could be freshly "reborn", and become "ours" to the greatest
extent possible.
