“Una Utopia Argentina” is the concoction of Leonardo García Alarcón, the turbulent Argentine conductor, bandoneon virtuoso William Sabatier, and Quito Gato on theorbo, and classical and electric guitar. This fireworks of sound that will blow you away. The recording is remarkably precise and airy, allowing you to appreciate the volumes and ambiances with an incredible sense of realism.”
24 September 2012, Audiofédération
Released in 2012 by Ambronay Editions
“I received a classical musical education, but thanks to my family, it was always accompanied by folk art, folklore and tango. When I was 35, I discovered Baroque music and held a lute in my hands for the first time. It awoke a late passion. At around the same time, I met Leonardo. It was clear that we were on similar paths and he invited me to work alongside him with Cappella Mediterranea. When we first discussed the Monteverdi-Piazzolla project, I felt honoured to be given the task of creating a dialogue between two periods that are so far apart in time, but so close in essence. These two composers were major innovators, creators who signalled a change in era and forever marked the future of musical aesthetics.”
Quito Gato
“Tango is an emotional inheritance that evokes the feelings of loss engendered by a departure, a lost memory or nostalgia. We don’t talk about these things when we go back home. I feel that the madrigalists of the early 17th century are closer to tango than the musicians of the 18th century, who put so much emphasis on form and less on the emotional content of the text. Madrigals and tangos are affetti (emotions) that dictate musical forms. It therefore seemed natural to combine them. The energy of Monteverdi’s music is similar to Piazzolla’s. You can work on their compositions with the same freedom, allowing yourself be led by your
As a ‘classical’ musician, it is liberating to reflect on how music evolves from one generation to the next. My grandfather sang tango, my father’s generation was passionate about rock. As for me, I make ancient music. In thirty years, everything has changed so radically. How are you supposed to perform 17th or 18th century music today? We know little about the gestures of the performers of the time. Performers of early music are immersed in a world of codes and signs that they have to decipher in solitude, because they can never know whether or not their interpretations are correct.”
Léonardo García Alarcón
Cappella Mediterranea co-produced this recording with the support of the Orange Foundation and the Rhône-Alpes Region.
Ambronay Editions thanks the Opéra de Reims for making its auditorium available for photographs.
