LATIN ROOTS (3/21&28/2011)

Housed in an elegant mansion on Park Avenue is Americas Society, a place I stumbled upon while on my way to the Asia Society, also on Park Avenue.

Americas Society is the premier organization dedicated to education, debate and dialogue in the Americas. Established by David Rockefeller in 1965, our mission is to foster an understanding of the contemporary political, social and economic issues confronting Latin America, the Caribbean, and Canada, and to increase public awareness and appreciation of the diverse cultural heritage of the Americas and the importance of the inter-American relationship.
(from Americas Society website)

The other parts of their website are quite interesting and informative:

Americas Society website

Musical performances are frequent at Americas Society and on March 21 and 28 the society hosted performances by the New York Music Ensemble. As they state in the program booklet for their concert, NYNME's Latin Roots Festival represents an "exploration of American and European influences on the works of Latin American composers."  Of the nine composers whose works were performed on two concerts only one currently lives in South America with most having lived in either the United States, Great Britain or Europe for many years.

For me, four works from the concerts stood out.  From the very first notes of the first work, Paramo, by Mexican-American composer Ricardo Zohn-Muldoon, the style of George Crumb is evident.  So it was not surprising to read in the notes that Mr. Zohn-Muldoon studied with Mr. Crumb.  The work is a lively, whimsical work for six instruments with engaging interplay among the instruments.  In addition to some of the rhythmic ideas in the work, the use of echo effects is reminiscent of Crumb.


Argentine-American composer Ezequiel Vinao's Viento Blanco, written for NYNME, received its world premiere performance and was very enthusiastically received. As with Paramo,this work exhibits brilliant interplay among the instruments.  Latin elements in texture, rhythm and tone color make this work one of the most culturally recognizable of all the works performed on the concerts.   A percussion "cadenza" near the end of the work is both surprising and delightful.  Being a pianist himself, Mr. Vinao begins the work with a rather reserved and supportive piano part but then brings it out brilliantly in the second half of the work.


A  strong South American stamp permeates Glaes by Brazilian composer Alexandre Lunsqui, but in this case the sounds evoke indigenous Brazil or perhaps African Brazil as one of the central instruments in this work, the berimbeau, is thought to be of African origin and is quite prominent in Afro-Brazilian music. Percussion instruments also include wine bottles and clay pots which give the work a very informal ambiance.  Extended techniques abound in this work, especially with the piano, as instruments such as the Jew's harp are evoked. 

Alma ("soul" or "spirit") for flute and piano also came across very engagingly.  Inspired by a short poem ("Una flauta tocaun rescendo que se va convirtiendo en alegria") by Carmen A. Vego Schimenti, this piece moves from a reflective jazz-like section with jazz harmonies on the piano supporting a very rhapsodic flute part to a more playful section until at last very Latin sound emerges as the piece reaches it's destination. 


Aside from the piece Formas del viento for flute and percussion by Alejandro Vinao, which made prominent use of various Latin rhythms, the other works on both programs, at least to my ears, made almost no reference to Latin roots.

Of these, the very serious Chacone by Argentine-American composer Mario Davidovsky made a strong impression.  Composed for the traditional violin, cello and piano ensemble, Mr. Davidovsky takes the Baroque idea of the chaconne and applies it to rhythm rather than harmony.  I had always associated Davidovsky with electronic music so it was interesting to hear a non-electronic work  him.  The work harks back to the Baroque in another way in that the violin and cello function melodically with the piano providing support.  The violin part often calls for the use of harmonics.

By bringing these diverse works together of composers who have retained their Latin roots in highly varying amounts, the NYNME effectively showcased the wide range of styles and aesthetics evident in recent Latin America today. Hopefully there will come a time when composers such as these will not have to leave their home countries to find the resources and special artistic communities needed to them to achieve their goals and pursue their musical visions.