Music to My Ears
By John Bills

Pro Musica of San Miguel closed out its 2007–08 season last weekend at St. Paul’s Church with a rousing pair of concerts by American pianist Richard Dowling.

With his prodigious technique, innate musicality and wide-ranging musical interests, these programs were richly rewarding on every level.

First up was an evening of American ragtime and music of George Gershwin. Dowling is one of the premier proponents of this repertoire working today, attested to by his numerous recordings on the Klavier label, and ably demonstrated on this occasion. From the classic, formalized rags of Scott Joplin (1868-1917), through the jazz-influenced rags of Eubie Blake and Zez Confrey, to contemporary practitioner William Bolcom, Dowling presented a celebration of this music that was both joyous and played with purity of style and a classic approach. It is clear Dowling loves and respects this music; his enthusiasm was contagious. As an entertaining and educational bonus, Dowling broke the fourth wall and spoke directly to his audience, introducing the music, putting it in historical context and telling stories of the composers. With his easy charm, playful sense of humor and boyish good looks, he perfectly set the stage for each piece.

Ragtime is that purely American genre that pre-dates jazz, usually in 2/4 or 4/4 time, owing its origins to the march. But in ragtime the melodies become strongly syncopated, with accents occurring between the metrical beats (originally “ragged time”). Ragtime had its heyday from about the turn of the last century until the 1920s, with its greatest composers coming from the rather disreputable roots of barrooms and brothels. Scott Joplin’s Original Rags showed not only thumping bass and syncopated melody, but also the strict formal style of early ragtime, while the Pastime Rags of Artie Matthews were dressed up with “stop-time” clapping and foot-stomping effects.

Dowling thundered in the aptly-titled “The Cannon Ball” by Joseph Northrup, filled with explosive and percussive effects, waxed nostalgic in “Solace” by Joplin, and had great fun with Eubie Blake’s “Poor Katie Redd,” with its walking bass, hints of boogie-woogie and blue-note finish. William Bolcom’s “Graceful Ghost Rag” (1970) was a formalized elegy, poetically played, and the musical “in-jokes” of Thomas Benjamin’s 1977 “That Old Second-Viennese-School Rag” (a parody of the Schoenberg/Berg/Webern atonal school of composition) provided a hilarious intermission send-off.

In the second half, Dowling gave a survey of the piano works of George Gershwin, from his earliest published work, the stride-bass “Rialto Ripples Rag” (1916), to his last work “Promenade” from the Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers musical Shall We Dance (1937). The Gershwin canon was filled in with classics like “Someone To Watch Over Me” and an arpeggio-laden arrangement by virtuoso Earl Wild of “Embraceable You.” A couple of rarities were included as well: the un-published “Meadow Serenade” (cut from the score of Strike Up the Band), and Dowling’s own transcription of the big theme from Rhapsody in Blue taken from original piano rolls made by the composer himself soon after the premiere in 1924. For me the highlight was “I Got Rhythm” from the Gershwin Songbook, the composer’s flamboyant arrangements of his popular songs. Has anyone ever gotten more sound from the Pro Musica Steinway than Richard Dowling? 

The evening closed with the pianist’s arrangement of “Nola” by Felix Arndt, a virtuoso extravaganza that brought the audience to its feet en masse, followed by a Scott Joplin encore, “The Entertainer,” made famous on the soundtrack of the 70s Paul Newman/Robert Redford Oscar-winner The Sting, with some rousing flourishes at the end providing a perfect end to a hugely entertaining evening. 

John Bills sang at the Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center for 26 seasons. A winter resident of San Miguel de Allende, he is also a contributing writer to ProOpera magazine, the Mexican Opera News.

Gracias a la Vida debut performance

Concert
Gracias a la Vida
Yoremem & Hopalong
Fri, Apr 11, 8pm
Teatro Ángela Peralta
Mesones 82
80 to 150 pesos

Two of the finest musicians in San Miguel present a concert based on their recent CD release Gracias a la Vida. Yoremem Jacobi, with her unique voice and enchanting style, joins José Luis G. Chagoyan “Hopalong” on acoustic guitar and contrabass.

The artists met in San Miguel in the eighties and developed an enduring friendship. After meeting again in 2006, they produced the CD combining their musical skills in the Bolero and Latin music genres. The CD is enjoying great success due to its carefully chosen songs and interpretations.

All of the original arrangements were written by Hopalong and were produced in Manchi Studios in Celaya in 2007.

The themes of the recordings were chosen for their poetic and melodic qualities and for the significance concerning the historical culture of brother countries like Mexico, Cuba, Argentina and Spain.

In this production we will hear songs such as “Bésame Mucho,” “Gracias a la Vida,” “Orgullo,” “Lágrimas Negras,” “20 Años,” “Cuando Vuelva a tu Lado,” “Deliro,” “Obsecion,” “Quiero Abrazarte Tanto” and “Amor a Medias.”

Also on stage will be Daniel Aguascalientes on violin, Fabian Solan on trumpet and saxophones, Julian Mendieta y Angel playing percussion and Jorge Estrada on the piano.

During Cuban culture week, the ensemble presented a delightful evening for the music lover in the Jardín, touching on just some of the songs they will play during the concert.

Tickets are on sale at the Peralta box office, Hernández Macías 62. We thank you in advance for your support of live music in San Miguel.

Touring Latin America in music
By Gabriela Servin

Concert
Folklore harp & flamenco guitar
Sergio Basurto
Mon, Apr 7, 7:30pm
Sala Quetzal
Biblioteca Pública
Reloj 50A
150 pesos, limited seating

On Monday, musician Sergio Basurto will play the folklore harp and flamenco guitar in the Sala Quetzal. Basurto’s sensitivity in interpreting folklore rhythms will transport us on a magical tour around Latin America. For example, “Cascada” (waterfall) is a Paraguayan polka inspired by the sound of water falling from the multiple cascades in that region. The Venezuelan joropo “Concierto de la Llanura” has been so representative of that country that many consider it the informal national anthem. Derived from the Spanish fandango, it has a joyous rhythm, fiesta-style.

The habaneras “La Paloma” and “La Comparsa” remind us that Havana is a port and the songs of sailors and fishermen—sad poetry from a culture of nostalgia and distant loved ones—were broadcast all over Latin America and Spain in the nineteenth century.

In contrast are the explosive rhythms of sones jarochos from the Mexican state of Veracruz, used in fiestas to accompany the zapateado, a Mexican flamenco.