The songs on this album fall into the genre of canción de cámera, or chamber song -- a specifically Argentine form resulting from the efforts of Argentine composers of the early twentieth century to create a national type of art song that drew on local folk and popular forms. Most non-Argentines will think of the tango in this connection, but the music here mostly dates from the years when educated Argentines shunned the tango as low-class. Instead the music draws on earlier layers of Spanish-American dance and on rural ...
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The songs on this album fall into the genre of canción de cámera, or chamber song -- a specifically Argentine form resulting from the efforts of Argentine composers of the early twentieth century to create a national type of art song that drew on local folk and popular forms. Most non-Argentines will think of the tango in this connection, but the music here mostly dates from the years when educated Argentines shunned the tango as low-class. Instead the music draws on earlier layers of Spanish-American dance and on rural cowboy and village material. Most of the texts are quite simple love songs; the beautiful Encantamiento of Carlos Guastavino, track 1, is a lullaby or an expression of the love of a mother for her child. Three of Piazzolla's tango songs are included (two with texts by Jorge Luis Borges), and these are worth the purchase price all by themselves. Is there a more persuasive portrait of a gangster in music than El tîtere, track 16? If you're looking for the perfect piece with which...
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