Various Artists - American Songs / Various - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

When they began playing together in 2017, Stefano Cardi and Enrico Pieranunzi went in search of repertoire which would harmonize with their disparate musical backgrounds, that of a classical guitarist with a passion for jazz and blues, and a jazz pianist with a thorough grounding in the classics. They turned quickly to America, both north and south, and found there a well-stocked but little-known library of pieces by composers who moved easily and skillfully between popular and classical idioms. This unique recital opens with one of Joplin's best-known piano rags, The Easy Winners, and follows it with a pair of waltzes, also in arrangements for guitar and piano. Cardi and Pieranunzi then sail down to Buenos Aires for a trio of tangos by Joplin's Argentinian contemporary, Ernesto Nazareth (1863-1934). The juxtaposition of Gershwin and Guastavino is more familiar, none the less beguiling for that, especially played with such easy-going charm. The final pair of North and South American composers is the most ingenious the Prelude and Waltz from Dave Brubeck's 1961 album Points on jazz, answered by two of the Cuatro Danzones by Ignacio Cervantes (1847-1905), the Cuban composer who studied with Alkan at the Paris conservatoire and played an instrumental part in establishing a classically formed voice for Cuban music. Most of the pieces chosen by Cardi and Pieranunzi were originally conceived for solo piano, but these arrangements draw out the particular, nationally accented character of their melodies when transferred to the guitar. Listened through in an hour-long sequence, the album takes the listener on an often nostalgia journey through the waltz as it was played and danced and heard throughout North and South American during the first half of the last century. Album Tracks 1. The Easy Winners 2. Bethena 3. Pleasant Moments 4. Nove de Julho 5. Odeon 6.

Album Tracks 1. Yankee Doodle 2. American Salute - US Military Academy Band 3. Battle Hymn of the Republic 4. Pledge of Allegiance 5. Preamble 6. Amazing Grace 7. Seeds of Freedom 8. God of Our Fathers 9. America the Beautiful - U.S. Army Band 10. God Bless America - U.S. Army Band

Album Tracks 1. Pie Jesu from Requiem 2. Ave Maria, InchEllens Gesang IiiInch 3. Duel of the Fates from Star Wars Episode 1 The Phantom Menace 4. Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again from Phantom of the Opera 5. Rose 6. Nella Fantasia 7. Pavane for Guitar and String Orchestra 8. 'O Mio Babbino Caro (From Gianni Schicchi) 9. Jesus, Bleibet Meine Freude (Jesus, Joy of Man's Desiring) 10. 'O Sole Mio 11. Maria from West Side Story Suite 12. The Second Waltz (Music from the Motion Picture Eyes Wide Shut) 13. Now We Are Free (From the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack of Gladiator) 14. The Eternal Vow from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 15. 'O Fortuna from Carmina Burana 16. Theme from Braveheart (From the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) 17. The Prince of Denmark's March 18. Spring - I. Allegro 19. Appalachia Waltz 20. Nessun Dorma! (From Turandot)