Piazzolla, Ginastera, Guastavino - Pasión Argentina

Cello Octet Conjunto Ibérico - Elias Arizcuren (dir.)

Robert Putowski, Jeroen den Herder, Esmé de Vries, Ilonka van den Bercken, Lucie Stepanova, Sanne Bijker, Esther Iglesias, Mikolaj Palosz

Elena Gragera: mezzo-soprano

Lossless: Ape (img + cue + log) = 340 mb
Lossy: Mp3 (lame "preset standard") = 89 mb
Artwork @ 300dpi = 28 mb

Total playing time: 63:25
Recorded 2006 | Released 2007

Recording:
November 10-12 2006, Doopsgezinde Kerk, Deventer, Holland

Challenge Classics CC72170

Info:
Based in Amsterdam, Conjunto Ibérico is the only full-time cello octet in the world. The group of cellists has performed Spanish and South American music around the world and has inspired top composers like Philip Glass to write for them, resulting in 60 premieres and 13 CDs.

Track listing:
1. Astor Piazzolla - Milongas 1 El Titere
2. Astor Piazzolla - Milongas 2 A don Nicanor Paredes
3. Astor Piazzolla - Milongas 3 Alguien le dice al tango
4. Alberto Ginastera - Pampeana n.2
5. Alberto Ginastera - Canciones argentinas 1 Chacarera
6. Alberto Ginastera - Canciones argentinas 2 Triste
7. Alberto Ginastera - Canciones argentinas 3 Zamba
8. Alberto Ginastera - Canciones argentinas 4 Arrorro
9. Alberto Ginastera - Canciones argentinas 5 Gato
10. Alberto Ginastera - Canciones argentinas 6 Cancion al arbol del olvido
11. Alberto Ginastera - Ballet Estancia 1 Los trabajadores agricolas
12. Alberto Ginastera - Ballet Estancia 2 Danza del trigo
13. Alberto Ginastera - Ballet Estancia 3 Los peones de la hacienda
14. Alberto Ginastera - Ballet Estancia 4 El amanecer
15. Alberto Ginastera - Ballet Estancia 5 Malambo
16. Carlos Guastavino - Canciones populares 1 Hermano
17. Carlos Guastavino - Canciones populares 2 Abismo de sed
18. Carlos Guastavino - Canciones populares 3 El Sampedrino
19. Carlos Guastavino - Canciones populares 4 Mi vina de Chapanay
20. Carlos Guastavino - Canciones populares 5 Se equivoco la paloma
21. Carlos Guastavino - Canciones populares 6 Milonga de los hermanos

Reviews:
All Music Guide
This CD is a real anomaly: a recording of Latin American music for voice and eight cellos that does NOT include Villa-Lobos' Bachianas Brasilieras No. 5! The repertoire presented here is so rich that the Villa-Lobos isn't even missed (and for fans who crave hearing Conjunto Ibérico perform it, the group has recorded it for Channel Classics). All of the pieces are expertly arranged for cello octet by Conjunto Ibérico's conductor Elias Arizcuren and Pablo Escande. The three composers represented, Piazzolla, Ginastera, and Guastavino, are all Argentinean, and the music throbs with rhythmic vitality. Mezzo-soprano Elena Gragera is a real find -- she has a luscious but earthy voice that's absolutely secure over her broad range, and she sings with infectious naturalness and abandon. Piazzolla's three Milongas are exuberant and loose-limbed, in the spirit of his tango-inflected music. Ginastera's Canciones argentinas show more of a European influence, but they are still clearly rooted in folk song. The ensemble plays two other Ginastera transcriptions, Pampeana No. 2, originally for cello and piano, and selections from his nationalistic ballet Estancia, whose languid slow movements are especially engaging. The six of Guastavino's 12 Canciones populares performed here are immediately appealing songs. The cello octet performs with the same abandon and freedom as Gragera, making this vibrant music dance so naturally that is hard to remain still while listening to it. The sound quality is clear and present, with excellent balance.

Yo-Yo Ma
"This ensemble is a treasure indeed, a fine example to the world of music ... Wherever I play - Brazil, Japan, the USA - people talk to me about Conjunto Ibérico ... Elias Arizcuren is a true visionary, who has achieved something absolutely unique with his group."

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