|
contents | world | |||||||||||||
| Apollo Chamber Players: Trace of Time, Ft. Tango and Spiritual-Infused Reflections on Diverse Cultures and Passage of Time On Friday, August 23, 2024, Apollo Chamber Players releases their seventh album, Trace of Time, as a digital release on Azica Records. In this project featuring works by Héctor Del Curto, Julia Smith, Jessie Montgomery, Adolphus Hailstork, Astor Piazzolla and Agustín Bardi, Apollo brings together a diverse patchwork of cultural stories seen partly through the lens of how they linger in our memories as time passes. Of the seven pieces featured on the album, three were commissioned by Apollo Chamber Players with the request that each composer craft a piece reflecting their heritage – yielding an album capturing influences ranging from Argentine Tango music to West African drumming patterns and African-American spirituals. Houston-based Apollo Chamber Players, the core string quartet ensemble consisting of Matthew J. Detrick and Anabel Ramirez Detrick, violins; Aria Cheregosha, viola; and Matthew Dudzik, cello – are joined on select tracks by renowned bandoneon performer Hector Del Curto and guest violists Melissa Reardon and Ashleigh Gordon. In Trace of Time, Apollo continues its mission of storytelling through music, celebrating diverse cultural experiences and bringing communities together. Their previous album, Moonstrike (Azica Records, 2022) was praised by Take Effect for "inestimable, multi-cultured, rhythmic chamber sounds that we could never tire of." For this new album, the thematic and cultural ideas in the music are accented by vibrant artwork created digitally on an iPad by Houston-based artist Lynn Lane, including portraits of each featured artist and composer along with cover art depicting an Argentinian street lamp, known as a "farole." This captivating image evokes the passage of time in one of the album's key settings while hinting at other historical references – including the use of lamps as guidloeposts signaling freedom on the Underground Railroad. On the new recording, Apollo Founder, Director and violinist Matthew J. Detrick said: "A journey of musical discovery and cultural connections, Trace of Time builds upon what Apollo does best – fostering the creativity of composers and creatives who reflect the dynamic and beautiful world in which we live. We hope our expanding discography will continue to create cultural harmony for generations to come." The album's title track, Trace of Time, commissioned by Apollo from GRAMMY Award-winning Argentine bandoneonist Héctor Del Curto, combines key musical styles from Argentina's Rio de la Plata – the Tango, the Milonga and the Waltz – while reflecting influences from his mentors and longtime collaborators Osvaldo Pugliese, Astor Piazzolla and Pablo Ziegler. (As a teenager, Del Curto was a member of Piazzolla's band.) Composed during the Covid-19 pandemic, when many shared the feeling that time had "stopped, " the work emerged as a musical memento of that surreal period. As Del Curto wrote in his composer's note: "This piece will, perhaps, serve me as a trace to find myself in the future when recollecting this challenging time for human history." A second Apollo-commissioned piece by Del Curto, Bien Curiosa ("Very Inquisitive") is also featured on this album. Composed in the Milonga rhythm – a lively, upbeat style that has remained nearly unchanged since the origins of Tango music – the piece charts its own course through dissonance and chromaticism, bringing an adventurous new twist to the traditional rhythm. On the inspiration for the piece, Del Curto writes, "This piece is dedicated to my son, Santiago Del Curto, whose innocence and curiosity led him to become an exceptional musician." Composer Adolphus Hailstork was also commissioned by Apollo to compose a work for the ensemble's expanding new music catalog and album projects, yielding his work Deep River: Rhapsody for String Quartet. Like Astor Piazzolla, Hailstork was a student of famed Parisian pedagogue Nadia Boulanger, who encouraged both composers to embrace the music of their heritage. Deep River: Rhapsody for String Quartet is a culmination of Hailstork's love of spirituals and the gift of musical craftsmanship instilled by his teacher. Adapting a favorite spiritual, Deep River, Hailstork draws on an image of hope for enslaved people, who envisioned the crossing of a river (the Ohio, in particular) as a journey to freedom – though too often, a journey they could only imagine. "This idea carries with it a sense of energy, of freedom, even joy and the humor they imagine upon deliverance, " Hailstork writes in his composer's note. "A sudden interruption by the whip brings them back down to the cruelty and sadness of the situation. Eventually, sadly, they recover, and quietly embrace again the distant vision they hope to realize someday." Julia Smith's Quartet for Strings, composed in 1964, was selected for this album for its musical themes reflecting the character and landscapes of Texas, home state to both Smith and Apollo Chamber Players. Composed in three movements – Allegro Ritmico, Lento Espressivo and Allegro Giocoso – this eclectic work captures the majesty of the Lone Star State. Its musical architecture moves from frenetic energy – with a pizzicato accompaniment evoking the sound of banjos – to melancholic dissonance to a buoyant mixed-meter dance. Apollo's performance represents the first contemporary recording of this lost work. In Jessie Montgomery's Voodoo Dolls, the GRAMMY Award-winning composer captures West African drumming patterns and lyrical chant motifs in a work commissioned and choreographed by the Jump! Dance Company of Rhode Island. A suite of dances choreographed for the piece depicts traditional dolls from around the world, from the voodoo dolls of the title to Russian Matryoshka dolls, ragdolls, marionettes and Barbie dolls. Associated with the genres of "Nuevo Tango" and "Avant-Garde Tango, " Argentina-born Astor Piazzolla was a protégé of both Alberto Ginastera and Nadia Boulanger. His work Tango Ballet was first recorded as a film score in 1956 (for a dance film since lost) before being re-recorded and popularized in 1964. In addition to its original arrangements for string quartet and string orchestra, the piece has been arranged throughout its history for solo piano and other instrumentation. The work unfolds across six continuous movements in a slow-fast-slow progression reminiscent of Gershwin's An American in Paris. As with Smith's Quartet for Strings, Apollo's recording represents the first contemporary rendition of this version of Tango Ballet. Celebrated Tango composer Agustín Bardi's piece Gallo Ciego was an iconic piece in the repertoire of Osvaldo Pugliese's orchestra through much of the 20th century. Composed in 1927, the piece was arranged for a 1959 recording by Víctor Lavallén – and reorchestrated by Jisoo Ok in 2020, yielding the new version heard on this album. write your comments about the article :: © 2024 Jazz News :: home page |