For twenty years, Viveza, Canada's premier salon music group, has arranged and performed the delightful repertoire of miniatures by the great composers from Brahms to Piazzolla, with a dash of Spanish music and Tango. The name Viveza is Spanish for "lively, vivacious", and the musicians, who play symphony and opera and teach in academy and conservatory, come together in Viveza for the joy of making their own music.
"Viveza is a chamber ensemble that really knows its stuff. Its members never seem to have problems with intonation or with timing, and they all feel the music together, so that the listener is treated to some pretty high standards of music-making. Tango Tango is its release devoted to the group's favorite dance. 'Devoted' is the right word, because the ensemble really does love this music. It has a respect for the music that means everyone pays attention to the coloring and emotion of each piece, but they don't let that get in the way of their enjoyment of playing the music. The mix of works, from Gade to Piazzolla, not only samples the variety of forms and styles of tango, but also shows how composers like Stravinsky put their unique spin on it. The program starts with the familiar: Gade's Jalousie and Albéniz's Tango in D, two European stylizations or refinements of the common dance. Both are played with just a bit of élan and drama, but not too much. The Albéniz has a naturally gentle charm, and the same can be said of Viveza's arrangements of Stalman's Viejas Ideas and Grothe's Schreib mir einen Brief! When the group gets into the tangos written after the 1930s, its members play more freely and with more verve, particularly in A Evaristo Carriego and the Piazzolla tangos and generally wherever they can let go with showy technique. As a whole, the album isn't as fiery or recklessly passionate as to carry the listener away completely, but it is plenty infectious regardless. And the very close and rich sound makes it feel as if the listener is being treated to his/her own private performance by a top-notch dance ensemble." - allmusic.com
Features:
• Super Audio CD
• SACD Stereo SACD Layer
• This Hybrid SACD contains a 'Red Book' Stereo CD Layer which is playable on most conventional CD Players!
Musicians:
Gwen Thompson, violin, viola, guiro
Mark Koenig, violin, melodeon, viola
Wilmer Fawcett, double bass, guitar
Robert Holliston, piano, guitar
Salvador Ferreras, percussion
Selections:
1. Jalousie (Tango Tzigane)
2. Tango in D
3. Viejas Ideas (Polemico)
4. Schreib mir einen Brief! (Lied und Tango)
5. Astor
6. Tango (Danse Espagnole), Op. 2
7. Un Crimen Pasional (A Crime of Passion)
8. Dango's Tango
9. A Evaristo Carriego
10. Por Una Cabeza
11. Allegro Tangabile
12. Tango / 5 Ano Nacional TT
13. I. 5 Ano Nacional (tango)
14. II. Fin de curso (milonga)
15. III. El Goy / IV. El Boletin (tangos)
16. V. Aplazzado (tango)
"Viveza is a chamber ensemble that really knows its stuff. Its members never seem to have problems with intonation or with timing, and they all feel the music together, so that the listener is treated to some pretty high standards of music-making. Tango Tango is its release devoted to the group's favorite dance. 'Devoted' is the right word, because the ensemble really does love this music. It has a respect for the music that means everyone pays attention to the coloring and emotion of each piece, but they don't let that get in the way of their enjoyment of playing the music. The mix of works, from Gade to Piazzolla, not only samples the variety of forms and styles of tango, but also shows how composers like Stravinsky put their unique spin on it. The program starts with the familiar: Gade's Jalousie and Albéniz's Tango in D, two European stylizations or refinements of the common dance. Both are played with just a bit of élan and drama, but not too much. The Albéniz has a naturally gentle charm, and the same can be said of Viveza's arrangements of Stalman's Viejas Ideas and Grothe's Schreib mir einen Brief! When the group gets into the tangos written after the 1930s, its members play more freely and with more verve, particularly in A Evaristo Carriego and the Piazzolla tangos and generally wherever they can let go with showy technique. As a whole, the album isn't as fiery or recklessly passionate as to carry the listener away completely, but it is plenty infectious regardless. And the very close and rich sound makes it feel as if the listener is being treated to his/her own private performance by a top-notch dance ensemble." - allmusic.com
Features:
• Super Audio CD
• SACD Stereo SACD Layer
• This Hybrid SACD contains a 'Red Book' Stereo CD Layer which is playable on most conventional CD Players!
Musicians:
Gwen Thompson, violin, viola, guiro
Mark Koenig, violin, melodeon, viola
Wilmer Fawcett, double bass, guitar
Robert Holliston, piano, guitar
Salvador Ferreras, percussion
Selections:
1. Jalousie (Tango Tzigane)
2. Tango in D
3. Viejas Ideas (Polemico)
4. Schreib mir einen Brief! (Lied und Tango)
5. Astor
6. Tango (Danse Espagnole), Op. 2
7. Un Crimen Pasional (A Crime of Passion)
8. Dango's Tango
9. A Evaristo Carriego
10. Por Una Cabeza
11. Allegro Tangabile
12. Tango / 5 Ano Nacional TT
13. I. 5 Ano Nacional (tango)
14. II. Fin de curso (milonga)
15. III. El Goy / IV. El Boletin (tangos)
16. V. Aplazzado (tango)
