“TRANSCLASSICAL CONCERTOS” OUT NOW!

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Transclassical Music™ is a genre that combines classical music techniques, improvisation, and elements from various cultures and eras, often using instruments from different parts of the world. Coined by Lucía Caruso, the term 'Transclassical' refers to the ability of this style to bridge diverse classical music traditions from around the globe.

This recording features two Transclassical concertos that were commissioned by Korean polymath Ahae and the Sorel Organization. In total, Ahae commissioned Lucía Caruso and Pedro H. da Silva for over two hours of music to score his nature photographs that were performed throughout the world, including at the Louvre, the Palace of Versailles in France, and the Kew Royal Palace in London.

Most of the music for each concerto was composed in the Palace of Monserrate in Sintra, Portugal. In its music room, Lucía had access to a Steinway piano belonging to Emma Gilbert, and previously to Viana da Mota, a pupil of Franz Liszt and one of the most important Portuguese composers of the 19th century. Pedro found his inspiration in the palace’s chapel ruins.

"Light and Wind" is a Transclassical piano concerto composed and performed by Lucía Caruso. Indian Ragas reimagined in a classical context are used throughout, as well as some unusual techniques: blackboard erasers, a felt-covered yardstick, guitar picks, drumsticks, and Lucía’s palms. It consists of three movements, each reflecting different natural phenomena. The first movement starts with a powerful windstorm, followed by the gradual settling of the storm, and then the appearance of stars in the sky. The following movement is a representation of the night air and a new day's dawn, with a guitarist—Pedro—playing the strings of the piano like a guitar: using tremolo, rasgueado, and arpeggios for an otherworldly effect. The third movement reflects a change in weather from light rain to bright sunshine, followed by a violent tempest. This work is dedicated to Maria Connor, Rosa Mafalda Caruso, Emma Gilbert, and Judy Cope.

For the first time in history, a concerto for Portuguese guitar has been composed and recorded. With the composer, Pedro H. da Silva, performing as soloist, the work opens restlessly with a kind of exhortation to the setting Sun, which alternates with a melancholy acceptance of the coming darkness. Its style is the most Portuguese of the three movements. The second movement opens in Raga Mangal Bhairav with the Portuguese guitar imitating a Bansuri, an Indian flute, with a guitar slide and an EBow—an electronic bow normally used on electric guitar. The music accepts and embraces the night, relishing in the full moon and twinkling starlight. The last movement comes out of the darkness into the brightness of dawn, replete with bird calls, and finally to an exuberant and intricate Bulgarian dance rhythm in a cycle of 25 beats that culminates in the use of an Engle—a kind of guitar hammer. 

Lucía Caruso and Pedro H. da Silva composed "Folía" just five days before their wedding, and it has become their signature piece. It is based on an ancient bass line of eight notes, the so-called Folía ground bass, which dates back to at least the 15th Century and has been used by many composers, including Corelli, Lully, Scarlatti, and Vivaldi. The variations take listeners on a journey from the Renaissance, Baroque, and Classical periods, before reaching a more Romantic, and perhaps Impressionistic, section in the middle. The piece then reaches a climax in highly virtuosic and explosive variations in a more contemporary style. More than half of the variations are improvised by the soloists.

Recorded at Abbey Road on July 15th, 2019, the fiftieth anniversary of the day of the Beatles’ recording of “Here Comes the Sun” in the same studio, Pedro H. da Silva lovingly arranged the music from his favorite band on his favorite instrument with string orchestra. The Portuguese guitar sounds luminous and sweet in this song, which appropriately reflects the lyrics.

Track listing

Light and Wind Piano Concerto by Lucía Caruso
1. I. Wind Storm, then Dusk 10:40
2. II. Gentle Nightly Breeze; Sunrise* 7:09
3. III. Soft Rain, Sunshine, and Tempest 9:03
*inside the piano playing by Pedro H. da Silva

Concerto for Portuguese guitar and orchestra by Pedro H. da Silva
4. I. Dusk 9:51
5. II. Night 7:51
6. III. Dawn 7:14

7. Folía for Portuguese guitar, piano, and orchestra by Lucía Caruso and Pedro H. da Silva 6:23

8. Here Comes the Sun* by George Harrison; arr. for Portuguese guitar and string orchestra by Pedro H. da Silva 3:11
*solo violin by Tomo Keller

CREDITS

Producer, editor: Pedro H. da Silva
Co-producer: Stephen MacLaughlin
Executive producer: Louis Levitt
Mixing engineer: Paul Geluso
Mastering engineer: Alan Silverman
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields: Director/Leader: Tomo Keller; Executive Director: Alison Tedbury
Recording engineers: Daniel Hayden, Andy Maxwell
Executive assistant: Christian Amonson
Editing and mixing assistant: Micaela Carballo
Production assistants: Wyatt Bernard, Sergio Gassmann, Carmine Mattia, Ellen Hardcastle, Byron Wu, Camille Martayan
Design: Germán Quiroga

Photos: Monserrate Palace gallery (cover), and Chapel ruins, Sintra, Portugal, © PSML-EMIGUS. “Sunset” and “Crescent Moon” © 2011 AHAE Press, Inc. All rights reserved.

Recorded at Abbey Road Studio 1, London, UK.

Special thanks

Recording made possible by the generous support of the Sorel Organization, and Judy Cope, Maria Connor, Norris & Judy Wolff, Alexa Melkman, Louise Brindle, Sarah Lutz, Robert Granieri, Emma Gilbert, Wende Persons, Dmitri Shelest, Erik Stettler, Cristina Weber, Andreas Schubert, Carla Caruso, Mauricio Sendra, Lucía Morales, Inês H. da Silva, Luther Clement-Lam, Mina Fitzpatrick, John Wu, Ramón Verástegui, Joyce Arnoff, David Srebnik, Emilio D. Miler, Ana M.O. Martins, and Francisco & Ana H. da Silva. Special thanks to AHAE Press, and Parques de Sintra for giving us the opportunity to perform and compose within their wonderful monuments, full of magical inspiration.

© 2023 Imaginary Animals ℗ 2023 Mahavira Music