STRATFORD-UPON-AVON HERALD (U.K.) REVIEW:

LYRICALLY SPEAKING

SHAKESPEARE SONGS, ORCHESTRA OF THE SWAN, HOLY TRINITY CHURCH, 25TH JUNE 2019

By Peter Buckroyd

THERE were two unusual features of this concert: two world premieres of music by Lucia Caruso and Pedro H da Silva and a very enthusiastic reception for them - not so common for an audience response to contemporary music in Stratford.

[… The program was] followed by what sounded to me like a major new work: Caruso and da Silva's Nine Shakespeare Songs for orchestra, soprano (Laetitia Grimaldi) and chamber choir. The text and its order was interesting in itself, particularly as some of the songs were interpreted in a striking and unusual way, drawing the listener's attention to the position of women in the songs, the ubiquity of death and the twin features of madness and sex.

The music brought out the melancholy aspects of “Sigh no More”. In contrast, Titania's rather sinister lullaby was much less sinister than might have been expected with a rich sweeping refrain. But there was a sense of darkness at the end when the music dissolved rather than resolved. The dotted orchestral rhythms of “When Daffodils Begin to Peer” contrasted with the even measured gait of the chorus which slowly changed into dotted unanimity at the end before coming to a rousing dissonant conclusion.

Madness was amazingly caught in the fragments of Ophelia's songs as the soprano's line only coincided harmonically apparently by the chance with the orchestra. Yet there was some sense of closure and harmony at the end begun by the harp (impressively played by Daniel de Fry) and then caught up by the wind and strings with the result that the despair and fragmentation of Ophelia’s mind at the beginning reaches some resolution in the acceptance of “he’s gone”. “Pardon Goddess of the Night” with a kind of Greek chorus, formed a musical response to the madness of Ophelia’s songs. The climax of the cycle was “Double, Double Toil and Trouble” with all kinds of musical allusions and Indian tonalities. I had never heard anything like it and can't wait to hear it again. The concluding “Ariel's Song”, beginning as the first song had done with Portuguese guitar and moving to harp and soprano referenced elements from the whole work bring it to a stunning and satisfying close.

[…] The programme ended with the other world premiere, Caruso and da Silva’s “Echoes of Nature”.

[…] it was fascinating to hear how Caruso and da Silva used voices - both soprano and chorus - as instruments in their works.


“It is like giving a soul to things that have been lost,” declares Lucía Caruso, artistic director and co-founder with her husband Pedro H. da Silva of the chamber ensemble Manhattan Camerata. She is speaking of one of their most recent projects: composing and recording original scores for two early 1900s silent films by pioneering French filmmaker Goerges Méliès.” 

Caruso and da Silva have created a score which conveys both the martial and spiritual themes of the piece, and they have skillfully managed the transitions—which are rather abrupt in the film—from scene to scene, smoothing these over and creating a seamless whole.

The Manhattan Camerata plays with finesse and passion; the Voices of the Ascension navigate the complex textures and harmonies of the score effortlessly, and the sound engineering cleverly creates a far larger soundscape than the realities of the numbers. Overall, this is a masterful creative effort and one which some recording firm should decide to issue on DVD, both for its innovative film values and its masterful music.


Directly from New York, the Mendoza native Lucia Caruso and Pedro H. da Silva come to Mendoza to present their acclaimed work 'Transclassical Rock,' alongside the Baroque Orchestra of Mendoza.


The composers chose wisely…in not trying to compose music that sounds as if it were written in 1902. They were equally wise in not making it too modern, or dependent in any way on “spacey” electronic effect.

This is a good example of film music that supports the film very well—it doesn’t compete with the images.


[…] da Silva and Caruso […] have used a chamber ensemble and chorus that brings us grippingly into Joan’s life, and at the same time wrote a through-line for their score that perfectly suits the subject matter.

The resulting score is a gem, fulfilling the classic tradition of Hollywood scoring in its emotional excitement and uplift while also incorporating the dignity of a classical music background.

Jeanne d’Arc has no title cards or scene transitions, and da Silva and Caruso appropriately change color and mood quickly while using motifs to provide continuity. Altogether, their ingenuity and musical talents have added a new dimension to Méliès’s art, coming as close to restoring the wonder of early cinema as we are likely to get.


Coupling this video with the newly scored Jeanne d’Arc on a commercial release would not only preserve Caruso and da Silva’s fascinating musical accomplishment, but would serve to honor two masterpieces of early cinema and win for them modern audiences.

Once again the Manhattan Camerata demonstrates its elegance and versatility, and the sound engineering magnifies the impact of the 16-person choral ensemble to lend another, more encompassing dimension.


It’s very welcome that da Silva and Caruso have added such a large measure of delight to the viewing experience and, as with their score for Jeanne d’Arc, this one is well worth hearing on its own, too.


[…] Caruso delivered a wonderfully witty and loving account of Mozart's comparatively rarely-performed Piano Concerto in C, K415. This has long been an OOTS favourite, with a CD recording by Mark Bebbington, and here it came up fresh and new, Caruso's hands well-balanced and articulate, and delivering some delightful spontaneous interjections.

But the greatest joy was the little encore from Caruso and da Silva, a set of variations on the ancient La Folia bass-line, jointly composed by the couple and featuring Caruso's piano and da Silva's fascinating Portuguese guitar. [...] Within a handful of minutes we moved through half a millennium of musical history, and a good time was genuinely had by all on both sides of the stage.


"At the heart of the project… is Amor é Fogo (Love is Fire), written on Valentine’s Day 2013 by Couple #1, Caruso and da Silva. ... Nathalie Pires’ lilting vocals and Caruso’s keystrokes converge in a sonnet-lullaby of romantic love, going from tender spark to effulgent flame. February 15 will mark three years and a day since its composition.” 

“… the most convincing use of the piano as a fado instrument, with Caruso on the pedals and keys, that I have heard."

"The sound it produces, live or recorded, is luxuriant: Caruso’s intensity on the piano, so commanding as to leave an imprint; Ferman’s lighter touch, classical and reflective; the plunge and ascent of da Silva’s fingers on the guitar; the gasp, bellow and slow complaint of Binelli on the bandoneón. Pires is at her best with them…"

Listening to the CD, one is most aware of the richness of the whole. Live, the musicians add the auras of their presence: the robust Caruso, the scholarly da Silva, the elegant Ferman, the earthy Binelli."


"Tango Fado Project is a delectable mixture of these two popular musical genres of Argentina and Portugal.”

"...world-class talents.”

"Their music director, Pedro H. da Silva, in addition to being a deft hand at composing, arranging, and conducting, is a spirited performer on the Portuguese guitar .... Artistic director Lucia Caruso, also a composer and conductor, creates soulful piano solos. Daniel Binelli is a bandoneón player par excellence; this album owes much to his arrangements and performing skills. Polly Ferman is a stylish pianist. Lastly, the fado singer Nathalie Pires is a major presence here, performing vocals with elegance and passion.”

"The CD’s sound engineering is excellent.”

"This is music of emotional seriousness and technical sophistication. It is deeply enriching.”


“…  stunningly performed and thoroughly entertaining. The secret behind this music is that it has to make you want to dance, and it has to bring tears to your eyes. The musicians of Manhattan Camerata know the secret, and they know how to make it happen. They also understand the virtuoso aspect: There is a level of showing off your chops that is shared by the whole ensemble, not merely the guest artists, yet it never veers toward parody. When they get into a groove,as in 1=3=7 and Non- absolutist Universal Anthem, the joie de vivre is irresistible.”
  
"After 10 years of writing for Fanfare I am now in the enviable position of being able to request the releases I wish to review. Occasionally our editor still sends me something unexpected and, more often than not, it turns out to be something special that I would not have known about otherwise. This disc absolutely falls into that category. Manhattan Camerata has made my day.”


"Hearing their Tango Fado Project CD, it’s the visceral impact of this powerful, dramatic, soulful music that seduces and transfixes the listener."


"The music here is wistful and smoky at times, sensual at other times, and dark and even tragic at others. The performances are technically superb and emotionally gripping, virtually ideal."

FANFARE MAGAZINE FEATURE REVIEW: TANGO FADO PROJECT

By Henry Fogel


"[The Manhattan Camerata] seeks to expand the classical genre by incorporating elements from different cultures around the world in a variety of styles. The diverse backgrounds of the Camerata’s musicians point out the group’s eclectic and inclusive nature."


"The arrangements of these pieces are intricate and play to the strengths of the ensemble, allowing for a rich palette of instrumental textures and moments of virtuosic playing, especially by the guitar, bandeón, and piano."

"Among the highlights are Pires’s singing of Minha Lisboa Guerida by Carlos Gardel with its hints of Moorish melody, the lively dance tempo of Viejo Buenos Aires Tango by Raoul Portela, Lucia Caruso’s complex Modernist composition Tanguito Cordobes with da Silva’s supple playing on the Portuguese guitar, and da Silva’s own composition Non- Absolutist Universal Anthem with its dexterous guitar parts. And then Piazzolla’s Suite Troileana, which allows all the resources of the soloists and the Manhattan Camerata to come together and play with passion, crowns the recording."

FANFARE MAGAZINE FEATURE REVIEW: TANGO FADO PROJECT

By Carla Maria Verdino-Süllwold


"It isn’t about presenting a genre, or two, with custodial seriousness. It’s more like introducing two of your friends to each other at a party, knowing that they have commonalities, and being delighted when you see them hit it off. The pleasure is both theirs and ours. Recommended!"


"Of all the discs I have been sent by this august publication of this kind (that is, ones that include tango and/or fado) this is by far the finest from every angle."

"This disc breathes life, while taking on an important exploration of the relationship between two related forms, tango and fado. Even if you think you don’t like this type of music, it is worth trying. If any disc can win you to their cause, this is it."


Mendoza Gobierno,
Prensa y Comunicación 12.May.14

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In a piano and guitar gala featuring Lucia Caruso and Pedro H. da Silva, the theatre Independencia will host a classical music event to benefit FundaFem.

“In their concerts, the classical Western chamber orchestra blends with various instruments from around the world (Portuguese guitar, bandoneon, sitar, darbuka, etc.), typically in new compositions and arrangements by its founders, Lucía Caruso and Pedro H. da Silva.”