{"product_id":"ramirez-misa-criolla-navidad-nuestra-missa-luba","title":"RAMIREZ: Misa Criolla \/ Navidad Nuestra \/ Missa Luba","description":"\u003cbr\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-family:Arial; font-size:12pt\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan\u003eThe celebration of commonalties between widely divergent cultures is a fine thing. Here the commonality is Christianity as celebrated in both Africa and Argentina. In a world now politically guided by religiously inspired factionalism, this recording, ?Celebrating Sacred Rythms,? has \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003ea priori\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e significance. If we can stretch its message to include the other sons of Abraham, the world may become a better place in which to live?in something more akin to harmony far beyond the mere musical sense of that word.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan\u003eBack in the 1960s, the first recordings of the \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eMissa luba\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e and \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eMisa criolla\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e had a profound impact on my otherwise Eurocentric sensibility. Here we have fresh recordings of Argentinean composer Ariel Ramírez?s folk song-based settings of \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eNavidad nuestra\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e, and \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eMisa criolla\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e, both composed in 1964, as well as a new \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eMissa luba\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e. \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan\u003eThis \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eMissa luba\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e, if it existed in a vacuum, would be fine. But compared to the wonderful recording of it made back in the 1960s by The Troubadours of King Baudouin under the direction of Guido Haazen (and currently available on Philips 475 6133), it falls short. It lacks the plangent sound of that quintessentially Congolese choir, and the percussionists get close to, but fail to nail their contributions to the sonic fabric by the smallest of margins. The two Ramírez pieces, however, come off splendidly.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan\u003eArgentinean composer Ariel Ramírez was born in 1921. He melds his folk-inspired melodic sense with the demands of European choral conventions, and does it admirably. Some would categorize this as ?World Music.? I protest that. All music is World Music. It comes from the world, whether it be by Mozart, Brahms, Villa-Lobos, Steve Reich, or Radio Head, and when it is done well, it speaks to the world. The full title of \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eNavidad nuestra\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e describes it better than I can: ?Folk Drama of the Nativity, based on the Rhythms and Traditions of Hispanic America.? This is, with its underlying percussion ensemble, bracing and refreshing stuff.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan\u003eThe \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eMisa criolla\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e again comes in competition with the performance found on that aforementioned Philips release, this time by the Coral Salve de Laredo and the Sociedad Coral de Bilbao directed by José Ocejo. Their tenor soloist is José Carreras, before his bout with leukemia. He is indeed in fine voice, floating some exquisite head voice pianissimos. In this Naxos reading, the solo tenor part has been arranged for three tenors in various combinations. It works well. Manuel Melendez, José Sacin, and Pablo Talamante impart a welcome rawness to the proceedings. One can, in terms of tempo and phrasing, lay this reading right on top of the Philips effort, and the fit would be almost perfect. The performers are both in the same groove. One slight nit to pick: in the Gloria of the Philips version, the underlying harmonies hint at the Bolivian tune \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eNevando esta\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e, and those performers employ what sounds like Bolivian bass flutes?an effect that is only approximated in the Naxos account.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan\u003eIn the end, this is a worthy offering. Texts and translations are not provided, but can be accessed online at www.naxos.com\/libretti\/navidadnuestra.htm. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-weight:bold\"\u003eFANFARE: William Zagorski\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Naxos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":49705702162712,"sku":"747313254224","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0687\/4346\/3192\/files\/797100.jpg?v=1777955817","url":"https:\/\/hbdirect.com\/products\/ramirez-misa-criolla-navidad-nuestra-missa-luba","provider":"HBDirect","version":"1.0","type":"link"}