GMCD 7197 You can order this CD in our E-Shop under Instrumental/Piano & Flute Reviews ***Sound Clips***	NOSTALGIA POR MEXICO   ELENA DURÁN - Flute JÓZEF OLECHOWSKI - Piano

Contents:

DDD Total Time = 60.02 / Recorded: Sala Nezahualcóyotl, Mexico City, February 1999

Romanticism, an aesthetic trend born two centuries ago, is an ingredient of   our culture still in use. However deviated or misinterpreted from its original sense, it remains a common feature of western civilisation, whether applied to an individual's character or to a piece of art. In the field of music, and contrary to our usual perception of history, it is not idle to remember that some of the most romantic music we know was written in our century. One may call upon the names of Rachmaninoff, Sibelius and the like, but many others will emerge as one looks into the fields of popular music into the lesser known realms of music of other countries, of the local and once-popular repertoire of different places.

Nostalgia and Romanticism run together, the former being a most effective spice of the romantic atmosphere. A sense of longing, of melancholy, is ever present in any romantic view, often deliberately sought after by the composers themselves as the prime goal of their music's discourse. For music, particularly acute in portraying such a mood with its abstract and yet clearly understood emotional message, lends itself like no other art to the task of awakening in its listeners what we may describe as an abstract sense of nostalgia, a sense which takes a particular form in every individual.

With a gathering of pieces written in our century, the present recording dwells upon an image full of possibilities. Throughout these pieces, Mexico may take as many different forms as the music is able to suggest. However, it is not the common image of Mexico what will emerge from this repertoire. The land of ancient marvels, misterious landscapes, Spanish conquerors and Indian ancestors hardly has a place in this repertoire. The nostalgia for Mexico contained here refers to a certain lesser known atmospheres associated with Mexico: certain landscapes as found in the wide terrains of the Bajío or lower lands, the image of a horse-carriage passing slowly through stoned streets in some quiet town, the ephemeral gaze of a beautiful girl in whose blood one may spot traces of Andalucian origins. Nostalgia for Mexico is also a recording about the interior patios of so many Mexican provincial houses, hidden to the common passer by, but proud of their plant pots and bird cages, with a thin stream of water sounding in the middle of it and whose sound mixes so well with the smell of flowers... It is also a nostalgia for the
local delights which the traveller can find at any place he goes: a certain dessert here, a cup of coffee there, an ice-cream of unknown flavours in the plaza of any town, or the wonderful scent of a cup of atole, not to be found anywhere else. Finally, Nostalgia for Mexico also refers to certain unique atmospheres, to an afternoon strolling along the Kiosko, or to the ever entertaining spectacle of sitting in the portales of any major provincial town, watching the ever-changing streets scenes. It also portrays something of the strong colours found in the markets, or of the contrasts between the concentrated blue of the sky and the pink-coloured cantera with which so many buildings are built.

Hardly known to non-Mexican audiences, most of the composers included in this recording have enjoyed a special place in the musical heart of many generations. Pieces such as Adios by Carrasco, Estrellita by Ponce -perhaps the most widely known Mexican song of its time- or Así es mi tierra, by Igancio González Esperón (better known as Tata Nacho) have long been recognised by different generations as landmarks of Mexican popular music. If one were to promote a survey regarding Mexican music, perhaps no other melodies would gain such a wide consensus, for they seem to represent an essence of what is Mexican not so commonly found. Other composers here included, such as José Sabre Marroquín, Pedro Valdés Fraga or Blas Galindo, although not so well-known, have all successfully captured a certain feature of what is Mexican, as their inclusion in this recording clearly demonstrates.

For the listeners not familiar with Mexican history it may be wise to remember that Mexico has enjoyed a rich music tradition (in the Western sense) since the XVIth century. Therefore it should come as no surprise if the musical idiom is that of European music, although at the same time one may detect a certain local style, evident in the ample melodic lines or in the syncopated rhythm underlying some of the pieces. It is also no surprise that all composers successfully manage to write in a romantic idiom,
producing compositions whose expressiveness is as evident as captivating. From the early pieces of Ricardo Castro, written at the turn of our century, to the recent work by Jozef Olechowski -a Mexican citizen of Polish origin- the repertoire invites the listener to a moment of musical introspection in which one is able to place oneself in the middle of the subtle landscape of a
Mexican afternoon: a rare and precious opportunity in the middle of our hectic contemporary life.

Page revised 30.06.03