Monday, December 11, 2023

Music of the Americas: Harmonicas and More

We feature two harmonica ensembles, two folk music trios from Argentina, and the video of Stephanie Griffin's portrait concert from February 2023.

The last En Casa week of 2023 features videos selected by harmonica player Santiago Álvarez, who was in the series recently both alone and with his trio Chúcara. We were so intrigued by the use of his instrument in tango that we asked him to select other artists who perform in this stripped-down version of the bandoneon (the inside of a bandoneon indeed comprises several harmonicas attached to a frame). He chose Crispy Aguirre's Trío de Armónicas Buenos Aires and the Fain-Perkal duo. Two folk music trios feature percussionist Mariana Mariñelarena, and we close the week with the video of Stephanie Griffin's concert on our stage in New York in February 2023, including several premieres.

En Casa: Florencia Dávalos Trio

Tuesday, December 12, 10 am

Argentine singer Florencia Dávalos grew up in an artistic family and, after working as a stage costume designer, she launched her first award-winning folk music album in 2013, Memoria de la semilla, an homage to her father, legendary poet Jaime Dávalos. She has performed in Argentina and abroad, including in a European tour in 2022. She teaches singing at Universidad Nacional de Hurlingham in Buenos Aires.

Together with her trio, which includes guitarist Manu Navarro and percussionist Mariana Mariñelarena, she sent this version of "Zamba de los mineros," a classic of the Argentine folk songbook written by her father and Cuchi Leguizamón.

En Casa: Duo Fain-Perkal

Wednesday, December 13, 10 am

The Duo Fain-Perkal (harmonica player Nahuel Perkal and guitarist Matías Fain) duo was established in 2018 to explore a new sound for tango. Diving into the traditional folk music of the River Plate region, the duo built a repertoire that includes traditional music and new compositions in innovative arrangements.

From Buenos Aires, they sent us this version of Carlos Marcucci's 1929 hit "Mi dolor."

Stephanie Griffin

Friday, December 15, 10 am

In February 2023, we presented a portrait concert of Canadian violist and composer Stephanie Griffin. The program included the premiere of her Americas Society-commissioned song cycle Beautiful You Are, the live premiere of Garota de Itaparica (which had been premiered virtually on En Casa in 2020), and the new dance piece "For Sameena."

Find more information and watch the video here.

Funders

The MetLife Foundation Music of the Americas concert series is made possible by the generous support of Presenting Sponsor MetLife Foundation.

The Fall 2023 Music program is also supported, in part, by the Howard Gilman Foundation, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, by The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, by the MexAm Cultural Foundation, by the Alice M. Ditson Fund of Columbia University, and by The Augustine Foundation.