Contents:

 

   1 Pachamama (Zamba sin segunda)

   2 Salamanca (Chacarera)

   3 Coquena (Baguala)

   4 La Umita (Vidala santiagueña)

   5 Velando al angelito (Gato)

 

Audio samples in catalogue section

 

The idea to compose this series stemmed from an atypical experience in my musical life: my participation in a radio program dedicated to the folklore of Latin America. Its content included commentaries on the myths, beliefs, superstitions and legends that populate the collective imaginary of our subcontinent. I was to search for material relevant to all of this, a task that turned out to be revealing: I discovered the diversity and richness of hues that characterize our folklore.

Lamentably, that collection of cultural manifestations remains largely unknown, especially in the cities. Already finished with the radio project, I felt it worth the trouble to continue its diffusion, albeit in a different way, and so composed this five-piece guitar series associated with certain themes of non-musical folklore from central and northwest Argentineans; the scores would be accompanied by brief explanatory texts. I selected two deities: The Pachamama and Coquena; one superstitious belief: The Salamanca; one phantasmal being: The Umita and one very odd custom: the little angel wake. Each piece takes its title from one of these themes, and its form is based on the structure of a dance or lyrical genre true to the region in which the corresponding belief is rooted. However, the series does not claim to be a musical interpretation of the non-musical subjects with which it is associated. In other words, these five pieces give testimony to their own musical structures alone.

 

Marcelo Coronel