Criolla

This "fiesta" is in honor of the Virgin, and contains music by Roque Jacinto de Chavarria, a Brazilian Baroque composer (1688-1719), Juan de Araujo (Chavarria’s teacher) and others. Don’t let their unfamiliarity and the unfamiliarity of the other composers/arrangers on this CD put you off–all the music is flavorful, solid, Baroque fare, and much of it is rhythmically propulsive with an exciting Latin beat. Musicologist Bernardo Illari has put it all together to create a thrilling, vastly entertaining, and unique experience. It winds ups as a veritable pageant, beginning with a drummed entry into the cathedral, followed by the polyphonic sections alternating with purely instrumental ones and some nice monophony as well. Needless to say, Garrido leads his large instrumental and vocal forces with verve and understanding.

On this disc we present a veritable feast of early to mid-twentieth century orchestral music by composers from Argentina, Peru, Brazil, and Columbia. The works are all premier recordings, and brimming with Afro-Cuban and Creole folk-inspired sounds, as well as dance influences from the Argentine tango.

Boasting twenty one pulsating tracks drawn from the northern coasts of Colombia, ‘Palenque Palenque!’ reveals a unique and fascinating story of how Afro Colombian music developed from the 1970s onwards and how the local sound-systems in Cartagena and Barranquilla played such an important role in shaping the sound of the Colombian champeta.