Notes and Editorial Reviews
The celebration of commonalties between widely divergent cultures is a fine thing. Here the commonality is Christianity as celebrated in both Africa and Argentina. In a world now politically guided by religiously inspired factionalism, this recording, ?Celebrating Sacred Rythms,? has
a priori
significance. If we can stretch its message to include the other sons of Abraham, the world may become a better place in which to live?in something more akin to harmony far beyond the mere musical sense of that word.
Back in the 1960s, the first recordings of the
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Missa luba
and
Misa criolla
had a profound impact on my otherwise Eurocentric sensibility. Here we have fresh recordings of Argentinean composer Ariel Ramírez?s folk song-based settings of
Navidad nuestra
, and
Misa criolla
, both composed in 1964, as well as a new
Missa luba
.
This
Missa luba
, if it existed in a vacuum, would be fine. But compared to the wonderful recording of it made back in the 1960s by The Troubadours of King Baudouin under the direction of Guido Haazen (and currently available on Philips 475 6133), it falls short. It lacks the plangent sound of that quintessentially Congolese choir, and the percussionists get close to, but fail to nail their contributions to the sonic fabric by the smallest of margins. The two Ramírez pieces, however, come off splendidly.
Argentinean composer Ariel Ramírez was born in 1921. He melds his folk-inspired melodic sense with the demands of European choral conventions, and does it admirably. Some would categorize this as ?World Music.? I protest that. All music is World Music. It comes from the world, whether it be by Mozart, Brahms, Villa-Lobos, Steve Reich, or Radio Head, and when it is done well, it speaks to the world. The full title of
Navidad nuestra
describes it better than I can: ?Folk Drama of the Nativity, based on the Rhythms and Traditions of Hispanic America.? This is, with its underlying percussion ensemble, bracing and refreshing stuff.
The
Misa criolla
again comes in competition with the performance found on that aforementioned Philips release, this time by the Coral Salve de Laredo and the Sociedad Coral de Bilbao directed by José Ocejo. Their tenor soloist is José Carreras, before his bout with leukemia. He is indeed in fine voice, floating some exquisite head voice pianissimos. In this Naxos reading, the solo tenor part has been arranged for three tenors in various combinations. It works well. Manuel Melendez, José Sacin, and Pablo Talamante impart a welcome rawness to the proceedings. One can, in terms of tempo and phrasing, lay this reading right on top of the Philips effort, and the fit would be almost perfect. The performers are both in the same groove. One slight nit to pick: in the Gloria of the Philips version, the underlying harmonies hint at the Bolivian tune
Nevando esta
, and those performers employ what sounds like Bolivian bass flutes?an effect that is only approximated in the Naxos account.
In the end, this is a worthy offering. Texts and translations are not provided, but can be accessed online at www.naxos.com/libretti/navidadnuestra.htm.
FANFARE: William Zagorski
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Works on This Recording
1.
Navidad nuestra by Ariel Ramirez
Performer:
Manuel J. Melendez (Tenor),
Luis Garay (Bombo),
Pablo Talamante (Tenor),
José Sacin (Tenor),
Janette Wilkinson (Violin),
Edgardo Malaga (Bass Guitar),
Laura Knutson (Violin),
Michael Bard (Guitar),
Ricardo Diaz (Guitar),
Carmen de Vicente (Castanets),
Luis Garay (Percussion)
Conductor:
Joseph Holt
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Washington Choral Arts Society
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1964; Argentina
Length: 18 Minutes 58 Secs.
Language: Spanish
2.
Missa Luba by Guido Haazen
Performer:
Wilbur Wood (Ngoma),
Christal Rheams (Alto),
Luis Garay (Ngoma),
Luis Garay (Percussion),
Luis Garay (Conga Drum),
Luis Garay (Djembe),
Leon Khoja-Eynatyan (Guiro),
Leon Khoja-Eynatyan (Percussion)
Conductor:
Joseph Holt
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Washington Choral Arts Society
Period: 20th Century
Length: 33 Minutes 34 Secs.
Notes: This selection is sung in Greek and Latin.
3.
Misa Criolla by Ariel Ramirez
Performer:
Gonzalo Cortes (Quena),
Edgardo Malaga (Bass Guitar),
Luis Garay (Percussion),
José Sacin (Tenor),
Manuel J. Melendez (Tenor),
Ricardo Diaz (Guitar),
Ricardo Diaz (Charango),
Carlos Boltes (Charango),
Pablo Talamante (Tenor),
Michael Bard (Guitar),
Richard Marlow (Guitar),
Scott Hill (Guitar),
Luis Garay (Bombo)
Conductor:
Joseph Holt
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Washington Choral Arts Society
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1964; Argentina
Length: 22 Minutes 15 Secs.
Notes: This selection is sung in Greek and Latin.
Sound Samples
Navidad Nuestra (Our Nativity): I. La anunciacion (The Annunciation)
Navidad Nuestra (Our Nativity): II. La peregrinacion (The Pilgrimage)
Navidad Nuestra (Our Nativity): III. El nacimiento (The Nativity)
Navidad Nuestra (Our Nativity): IV. Los pastores (The Shepherds)
Navidad Nuestra (Our Nativity): V. Los reyes magos (The Three Kings)
Navidad Nuestra (Our Nativity): VI. La huida (The Flight)
Missa Luba (arr. G. Haazen): Kyrie
Missa Luba (arr. G. Haazen): Gloria
Missa Luba (arr. G. Haazen): Credo
Missa Luba (arr. G. Haazen): Sanctus
Missa Luba (arr. G. Haazen): Agnus Dei
Misa Criolla (arr. J. G. Segade): Kyrie
Misa Criolla (arr. J. G. Segade): Gloria
Misa Criolla (arr. J. G. Segade): Credo
Misa Criolla (arr. J. G. Segade): Sanctus
Misa Criolla (arr. J. G. Segade): Agnus Dei
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