Life > March 27, 2008

By Lauren O'Keefe | Staff writer

Everyone one has heard the tango and is familiar with its tune but A Night of Argentine Tango Music March 19 in Brendle Hall was a whole new experience on the traditional knowledge we all have.

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The pieces performed by Jacqui Carrasco on violin, Federico Pivetta on piano and Matt Kendrick on bass expanded the traditional view of the tango. The performance was truly a magnificent opportunity for all those who attended.

The first and the last pieces played were more traditional tango pieces in which the tune could be recognized by the audience. In between these two were pieces which illustrated to the audience the variety that can exist amongst Argentine tango.

The first piece, Jalousie by Jacob Gade, opened the night and certainly made a mark upon the audience. Carrasco started playing on the floor in front of the stage, then joined Pivetta and Kendrick on the stage which created an intimacy with the audience from the beginning. Throughout this first piece it was quite evident how incredibly these three instruments complemented each other.

The next piece played was Sur by Anibal Troilo. It is either a story of nostalgia for Argentina or of a lost love. Although we can not be completely sure of which one it is, the lyrical, slow piece had a certain sadness about it.

Noche de Mayo by Osvaldo Pugliese, performed next, was a tango dance which continued with the sorrowful theme. Throughout the piece the waltz could be heard and offered a sense of consistency throughout it.

Before performing the next piece, Carrasco clarified that Danazarin by Julian Plaza was in fact meant for a tango orchestra but they were going to give the same flair in a smaller, more intimate setting.

This piece had many varied styles; it would quickly go from quick, staccato to flowing, legato notes.

The following piece, Nocturna, was by the same composer and involved a great deal of back and forth between the different instrumentalists. It was a truly dynamic piece, consistently increasing in energy throughout the piece. This performance exceptionally showed off the abilities of these instrumentalists and their vibrant ending garnered a great deal of crowd response.

After a brief break, Carrasco performed Tango-Etudes by Astor Piazolla without the other two instrumentalists.

This was a remarkable solo with the compassion in the movements growing throughout. The next three pieces were also by Piazolla. Milonga de Angel was a slow, lyrical piece with a melancholy feel to it.

Revirado and Verano Porteno, the next two pieces, were much faster, with a great deal of movement.

They both had energetic, fun endings that the audience clearly enjoyed along with interesting sounds from the violin that added a great element to the pieces.

The final piece, La Cumparsita, was the traditional tango that we all know, but they jazzed it up a bit. At first, all the audience could hear was the familiar tune, but then you could start to hear the variations on this traditional piece.

The most interesting part was the violin’s quick staccato notespaired with the bass legato notes.

The ending of the piece was magnificent and the audience responded with enthusiasm.

Ultimately, they played an encore for the audience which was well deserved and definitely warranted from the crowd response.

All those who attended A Night of Argentine Tango Music experienced a wonderful variety of music which expanded what is typically thought of as the tango.

Seeing these incredible instrumentalists perform such beautiful music was certainly an exceptional opportunity.