Notes and Editorial Reviews
EL CANTO QUIERE SER LUZ
•
Digna Guerra, cond; Cuban Natl Ch
•
MDG SCENE MDG 602 1704-2 (54:23
Text and Translation)
VALERA
Babalúen La Habenera Vieja. Conoces un fuego que no da calor.
FERNANDEZ
Vértigo de Lluvia. Las Casas.
HERNANDEZ
La rosa roja.
CARRILLO
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Gloria. Kyrie.
SILVA
Para ti.
MATAMOROS
Juramento.
CAL
5 Canciones.
CLAUSEN
Prayer.
RODRIGUEZ
Hay quien precisa. Locuras.
BROUWER
Son Mercedes.
REPALIDO
Chan-Chan
The magnificent Cuban National Choir possesses a generous collective personality, both good-natured and colorful, and it performs the most virtuoso feats with seeming ease. Even in the
fortissimos
the blend is solid and the tone lustrous. The singers can sometimes sound like children, sometimes like passionate adults. Sometimes the tone is straight, sometimes warm. I can’t think of another choir that matches the breadth of its dramatic spectrum. The timbre is reminiscent of the best Eastern European choirs, such as Philip Koutev’s Folk Ensemble, or the Kodaly Children’s Choir, and one has the impression that there are no chemicals or additives involved here, not a trick, not a ruse, but pure, genuine music-making, a great comfort in today’s milieu of jaded and glossy performances. The nuts and bolts are there as well: flawless intonation, seamless blend, a beautiful legato line, but additionally there is an abundance of qualities supremely important but ultimately not provable: sincerity, imagination, dramatic commitment, and great joy in performance. Digna Guerra, the director, has provided the discipline and inspiration that allows her well-chosen singers a deep and broad range of expression.
It is daunting to review works of 11 composers totally unknown to me. One can safely say, however, that although one finds a variety of styles, they are easily traceable to the traditional choral vocabulary of the last few decades. Still the pieces are fresh, evocative, and full of charm. Only the Gloria and Kyrie seem a bit perfunctory or academic, but perhaps it is because the texts are familiar, and one has the Glorias and Kyries of Monteverdi, Bach, Beethoven, and Verdi by way of comparison. Most memorable are the folk-like pieces, such as
Conoces un fuego
and
Juramento,
replete with an abundance of parallel thirds and expressive melodic lines. The disc, vibrantly recorded, is a joy from beginning to end.
FANFARE: Raymond Beegle
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Works on This Recording
4.
Las casas, for chorus by Frank Fernandez
Conductor:
Digna Guerra
Venue: Havana, Cuba
Length: 2 Minutes 15 Secs.
5.
La rosa roja, for chorus by Oscar Hernandez
Conductor:
Digna Guerra
Period: Modern
Venue: Havana, Cuba
Length: 2 Minutes 22 Secs.
6.
Missa Sine Nomine: Gloria by Cesar Alejandro Carrillo
Conductor:
Digna Guerra
Period: Contemporary
Written: Cuba
Venue: Havana, Cuba
Length: 3 Minutes 32 Secs.
7.
Missa Sine Nomine: Kyrie by Cesar Alejandro Carrillo
Conductor:
Digna Guerra
Period: Contemporary
Written: Cuba
Venue: Havana, Cuba
Length: 3 Minutes 34 Secs.
8.
Para ti, for chorus by Electo Silva
Conductor:
Digna Guerra
Period: Contemporary
Venue: Havana, Cuba
Length: 3 Minutes 0 Secs.
9.
Juramento, song by Miguel Matamoros
Conductor:
Digna Guerra
Period: Modern
Venue: Havana, Cuba
Length: 3 Minutes 5 Secs.
10.
Canciones (5), for chorus by Wilma Alba Cal
Conductor:
Digna Guerra
Period: Contemporary
Venue: Havana, Cuba
Length: 10 Minutes 20 Secs.
11.
Prayer, for chorus by René Clausen
Conductor:
Digna Guerra
Period: Contemporary
Venue: Havana, Cuba
Length: 4 Minutes 11 Secs.
12.
Hay quien presisa by Silvio Rodriguez
Conductor:
Digna Guerra
Venue: Havana, Cuba
Length: 2 Minutes 46 Secs.
13.
Locuras, for chorus by Silvio Rodriguez
Conductor:
Digna Guerra
Venue: Havana, Cuba
Length: 3 Minutes 11 Secs.
14.
Buena vista (Chan Chan) by Francisco Repilado
Conductor:
Digna Guerra
Venue: Havana, Cuba
Length: 3 Minutes 3 Secs.
15.
Son Mercedes by Leo Brouwer
Conductor:
Digna Guerra
Period: Contemporary
Venue: Havana, Cuba
Length: 2 Minutes 29 Secs.
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