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Review: Street Tango |
| Posted by Administrator (admin) on Mar 04 2010 |
"Street Tango", Carel Kraayenhof & Sexteto Canyengue
Skibbereen Town Hall, 2nd December
Think tango and you think of broad, tree-lined avenidas, smoky coffee houses, strutting, swarthy hombres cradling sensual, dusky sirens in their arms, a rose clenched in gleaming teeth. Cool wine. Hot nights.
The Town Hall in Skibbereen on a December night that had the musicians massaging their fingers as they were being introduced does not readily spring to mind.
And yet…music is magic and the Sexteto Canyengue were back in town casting their spell, bringing a warm wind off the Pampas, the heat of Buenos Aires, the passion, the tragedy, the heart-aching tenderness of tango music to a full-house of bewitched West Corkonians.
A year since their first visit, their promised return was eagerly awaited by those lucky enough to have Been There. Or, indeed, at the subsequent seisiún into
the early morning which has entered Skibbereen folklore and ensured a brisk sale in tickets.
The group, consisting somewhat incongruously of six Dutchmen, dapper in black suits and white shirts, was in top form, exploding into a set of passionate,
thrilling pieces, dazzling us with their virtuosity and the beauty and complexity of their music.
Leader Carel Kraayenhof, who sprang to "overnight fame" (after fifteen years of plying his trade) when he played for the Dutch crown prince's wedding at the request of the royal bride, is the centre of the controlled maelstrom of the band. Carel plays the uniquely Argentinian squeeze-box, the bandoneón.With the pleated centre almost six feet long when stretched, it looks like an Irish button accordion with Michael Lowreyesque extensions. The origin of the bandoneón is unclear; it's possibly named after a German immigrant called Bandón. The group were delighted on their first visit last year to pass through the town of Bandon, thus adding another possible source!
Excellent players all - particularly the virtuoso Martijn Van der Linden on first violin - as an ensemble the band is superb. The full, broad sound and the clever, sensitive arrangements create a whole which belies the fact that there are only six musicians. In fact, Carel Kraayenhof quite rightly refers to it as a
Tango Orchestra.
The programme, "Street Tango", was a marriage of the music of two great composers: the Argentinian Astor Piazzola, whose tango music was considered so subversive that he was jailed during the Military Junta; and the probably more World-famous, Leonard Bernstein. Although they never met, each was aware of and influenced by the music of the other.
Both composed an "opera" for their home city: "Tango Apasionado", by Piazzola, set in Buenos Aires and "West Side Story", by Bernstein in New York. Each reflects the harshness of city life: the poverty, the gangs, the fights but also the humanity and the love, particularly the doomed love of a couple from either side of a divide. Carel Kraayenhof's imaginative orchestration seamlessly brings the two together and, indeed, it could be said that the music of "West Side Story" can be fully appreciated only when heard played by a tango orchestra. Incidentally, the sound was excellent, reminding us what an under used treasure we have in the Town Hall.
The stagecraft of the sextet is as highly polished as their musicianship. They look well, forming a tall, black-suited semi-circle around the hub of Carel Kraayenhof. They continually make eye-contact with each other and look as if they enjoy themselves, albeit in a professional, controlled manner. The introductions are informative, witty and warm. For instance, as the last note of a particularly dramatic piece began to fade, the Town Hall clock struck ten, right on cue. Without missing a beat, a band member said, "Yes, it took a lot of rehearsing with Joe, the town vicar, to get that one right!"
For their encore (regrettably the only one) they encouraged an exceptionally brave couple from the audience to join them onstage and perform a tango waltz.
As the sated attendance filed out into the cold night, chins were jutting a little higher, chests inflated and steps more pointed. And the New Year's Resolution was to learn to dance the tango!
Last changed: Mar 04 2010 at 3:30 PM
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