Yo-Yo Ma – Soul Of The Tango: The Music of Astor Piazzolla (1997) [Japanese Reissue 2003] {SACD ISO + FLAC 24bit/88,2kHz}

Yo-Yo Ma might seem like an unlikely protagonist for the tango, but this intrepid musical explorer has taken his task seriously, collaborating with experienced tango musicians. Ma even participates in a posthumous collaboration with one 1987 Piazzolla recording. Furthermore, while he’s obviously the headliner here, he doesn’t dominate the arrangements nearly as much as he does the billing and photography of the disc. While the result isn’t your essential Piazzolla album (that would have to include more of the composer’s own playing), it’s an atmospheric and convincing collection, perhaps a good introduction for those who don’t know the music.

Inspired by a general love of the tango, and more specifically the tango of Astor Piazzolla, on the part of Yo-Yo Ma, the Soul of the Tango album is a masterful work of the nuevo tango, played by Ma’s cello and many of Piazzolla’s former associates. Piazzolla’s old guitarists Sergio and Odair Assad even showed up to work on a pair of tracks arranged by Sergio: the Tango Suite (consisting of Andante and Allegro). The sheer beauty of one of Piazzolla’s tangos is generally enough to warrant the purchase of an album involving them. An album such as this one, where all of the songs (save one: Tango Remembrances, where Ma plays along with outtakes from Piazzolla’s recording of The Rough Dancer and the Cyclical Night album) are compositions by Piazzolla is even better. Add to this the masterful playing of Ma, and the surprising facility in which the cello fits into the tango, and you’ve got what could become a classic album, if only it weren’t on the classical label from Sony. The album begins with Libertango, a composition from Piazzolla’s first album that became the theme song for the movie The Tango Lesson. Following is the pair of tracks in the Tango Suite from Sergio Assad. Then comes Sur: Regreso al Amor, a softer work, though with some definite virtuosity displayed. Le Grand Tango is an eleven minute tour de force in the tango, and Fugata is a tango written under the guidelines of a classical fugue. The next work is the aforementioned Tango Remembrances, which is a particularly nice work, probably due to the appearance of Piazzolla’s own playing. Mumuki is a more complicated composition, and Tres Minutos con la Realidad is a choppier, peppier work. Milonga del Angel is a seemingly sentimental work that shows off Piazzolla’s ability to express the emotions of a song perfectly and purely. To finish the album, Ma presents Café 1930, a rather slow paced work, but again, as in Milonga del Angel, expresses emotion very fully in its nostalgia. Overall, the album is a stunning work of art, and even those that may not have heard of Piazzolla could easily be lured to his music via this single album.

Tracklist:
01. Libertango
02. Tango Suite: Andante
03. Tango Suite: Allegro
04. Sur : Regreso al amor
05. Le Grand Tango
06. Fugata
07. Tango Remembrances
08. Mumuki
09. Tres minutos con la realidad (Three Minutes with Reality)
10. Milonga del Angel
11. Cafe 1930

SACD ISO

mqs.link_YYMaSulfTheTang1997Japan2003SACDIS.part1.rar
mqs.link_YYMaSulfTheTang1997Japan2003SACDIS.part2.rar
mqs.link_YYMaSulfTheTang1997Japan2003SACDIS.part3.rar

FLAC 24bit/88,2kHz

mqs.link_YYMaSulfTheTang1997Japan2003FLAC2488.2.part1.rar
mqs.link_YYMaSulfTheTang1997Japan2003FLAC2488.2.part2.rar