Creole Connections
Morten Gunnar Larsen (piano)
rec. 2013/14, Rainbow Studio, Oslo,
Norway
LAWO CLASSICS LWC1070 [71:38]
Morten Gunnar Larsen divides his time between classical
music and jazz, with a speciality in ragtime, so it makes sense that
he would turn his attention to ragtime’s precursor, the Creole piano
music of the 1800s. This is winning stuff with more similarities to
ragtime than you might expect. It’s remarkable to think that, at the
time, nobody was writing even remotely similar music in Europe.
Ernesto Nazareth was a Brazilian, and though his tangos might not match
up with the style of Piazzolla’s, they’re kinetic little pieces that
build up energy as they go along, like an avalanche. Villa-Lobos called
him “the true incarnation of the Brazilian soul”. “Odeon” is one of
his most famous works with an instantly recognizable opening tune. “Labirinto”
has some funny hesitant pauses in its theme but “Batuque”, a ball of
energy, may steal the show.
Louis Moreau Gottschalk was the ultimate Creole composer, a New Orleans
native who travelled the hemisphere before he died young of overwork.
Dying of overwork? Yes: Gottschalk reportedly once scheduled concerts
in 85 different cities over a 20-week stretch. His music absorbs African,
Caribbean, American, and still more influences; he wrote everything
from a Chopinesque rendition of U.S. patriotic tunes to a mini-opera,
Escenas Campestres Cubanas, with an orchestral interlude that’s
the single jazziest thing I’ve heard in any piece pre-1910 (review.)
The “Danza” here is a piano version of one movement from that mini-opera.
Ernesto Lecuona and Astor Piazzolla need no introduction but Ignacio
Cervantes was a sort of “national composer” for Cuba after the turn
of the last century. There’s a fine
Naxos album dedicated to him. David Thomas Roberts is an American
pianist and arranger whose suite of pieces about New Orleans can be
found on YouTube; “Maria Antonieta Pons” is a freakily accurate pastiche
of the styles you’ll hear elsewhere on the album, especially Ernesto
Nazareth’s Brazilian style. That said, I prefer the other living-composer
contribution, a soft-spoken habanera-type-dance by Hal Isbitz, dedicated
to the performer. Isbitz is a retired computer programmer whose golden
years are being spent writing ragtime tunes.
Speaking of the performer, Morten Gunnar Larsen is a perfect fit for
this music. He has an absolute ball playing everything on the disc,
and is as deep inside the Creole musical language as anybody can be.
It’s an ideal match, especially with the presence of a piece written
for Larsen. The pianist’s goal is to introduce this music to his native
Norway. That’s great, but you don’t have to live in Norway - or the
Caribbean - to enjoy this album.
Brian Reinhart
Detailed Contents List
Ernesto NAZARETH (1863-1934)
Odeon – Tango Brasileiro [2:51]
Labirinto – Tango Brasileiro [3:43]
Batuque – Tango Caracteristico [4:00]
Carioca – Tango [4:19]
Louis Moreau GOTTSCHALK (1829-1869)
Danza, Op. 33 [6:17]
O, Ma Charmante, épargnez-Moi! Caprice [2:37]
Suis Moi! – Caprice [3:23]
Mazurk [4:19]
Astor PIAZZOLLA (1921-1992)
Retrato de Alfredo Gobbi – Tango [4:13]
La muerte del angel – Tango [4:10]
Hal ISBITZ (b.1931)
Danza No. 2 – For Morten Gunnar Larsen [2:02]
David T. ROBERTS (b.1955)
Maria Antonieta Pons [5:02]
Ignacio CERVANTES (1847-1905)
Te Quiero Tanto! [1:12]
Ernesto LECUONA (1895-1963)
A la Antigua [1:56]
La Comparsa [1:55]
Ernesto NAZARETH
Tenebroso – Tango [3:07]
Nene – Tango [2:56]
Turbilhao de beijos – Valsa lenta [7:50]
Vem cá, branquinha – Tango [2:39]
Lionel BELASCO (1881-1967)
Venezuelan Little Tune (arr. Larsen) [3:07]
