Tango!
Astor PIAZZOLLA (1921-1992) La Muerte Del Angel [3:15]; Oblivion [4:16]; Le
Grand Tango [10:02]; Four for Tango [6:38]; Las Cuatro Estaciones
Portenas [22:25]
Erwin SCHULHOFF (1894-1942) Alla
Tango Milonga (from Five Pieces for String Quartet) (1989) [4:15]
Astor
PIAZZOLLA Libertango [3:55]
Moritzburg Festival Ensemble (Mira Wang, Colin Jacobsen (violin), Nicholas
Cords (viola), Jan Vogler (cello), Vanessa Perez (piano))
rec. 18-20 March 2008, Studio Manfred Knoop Music, New Jersey USA. DDD
SONY CLASSICS 88697 328032 [55:09]
Cellist Jan Vogler describes in the sleeve-notes for this disc his early encounters
with tango through film, and the morbid, nostalgic and at times destructive
atmosphere that the music can bring. The performances here capture the essence
of the style, with a strong humanistic feel and a sense of raw emotion. Throughout
the disc, the playing is exuberant, and one has a sense of the players giving
it their all.
La Muerte del Tango, heard in an arrangement by José Bragato,
is given fiery fugal treatment at the opening, breaking away into an aggressive
and highly accented tutti. Vogler’s cello sound comes to the fore later
in the arrangement, accompanied gently by the piano. The tutti returns, giving
an energetic and enjoyably rowdy start to the disc.
Oblivion is calmer in mood and well controlled, although the reverb
has removed the clarity of the sound in the bass. Another Bragato arrangement,
this time using violin, cello and piano, the instruments are used sensitively
and provide variety of colour. Le Grand Tango has the same sound issues,
with a sense of the music being performed in a bathroom, particularly at the
bass end, but is a convincing arrangement for cello and piano which is full
of character and captures the spirit of Piazzolla’s music well.
Four for Tango was a real eye-opener. This string quartet tango is contemporary
in style, and takes the tango style to its absolute limits. This is a stunning
piece of writing which follows in the tradition of (as Vogler describes) the
Bartók string quartets, but encompassing the language of tango. This
work demonstrates not only Piazzolla’s innovative work in the development
of a form, but also his abilities as a composer.
Las Cuatro Estaciones Portenas are four movements, arranged once again
by Bragato for violin, cello and piano. Each movement describes one of the
four seasons in Buenos Aires. They were composed between 1964 and 1970. The
characters of the movements differ according to the season: Spring is
bright and gently flowing, while the extended melodic lines of Summer suggest
laziness and heat. Small moments of activity are short-lived and the effect
of the Buenos Aires climate comes through well. Autumn has more nostalgic
moments, with a captivating cello and violin melodies breaking into the hustle
and bustle of daily life, which can be heard in the more rhythmic tango sections. Winter is
the most directional of the movements, with a sense of building intensity,
strong rhythmic pulses and flowing melodic lines.
Erwin Schulhoff’s music has a different sound to Piazzolla’s, and
the style of Alla Tango Milonga has elements of folk music in addition
to Latin American tango, with a frequent use of octaves, fifths and unisons
in the scoring.
Piazzolla’s music returns at the end of the disc, with an arrangement
of Libertango by Lev “Ljova” Zhurbin which starts slowly
and builds in momentum to the end, allowing the driving ostinati to move the
music forward.
Carla Rees