Sexteto Andiamo – Gira Gira

What a wonderful, old-fashioned (in its best sense) album! Sexteto Andiamo spreads a great cafe-house atmosphere, where my heart rises: A warm, nostalgic sound is rolled out and there is no chance to resist. Their music is dominated by the typical sound of two bandoneons (Stine Engen and Anderson Perea da Silva), two violins (Santiago Zamboni and Gonzalo Lesta), piano (Mariano Flores González) and double-bass (Luigi Coviello).

The ten compositions with the mostly simple and elated melodies are all danceable, and surely will bring the milongueros and milongueras to the dance floor wherever they may play. The ensemble´s  arrangements of old tangos (by Francisco Canaro, Miguel Caló, Lalo Scaliese, Enrique Santos Discèpolo etc.), and new own songs (by their musical director Luigi Coviello) rely on the dynamic change of beautiful melody arches and rhythmically accentuated passages which makes it interesting to dance. Coviello´s Gira Gira is an irresistible vals, simple and rousing. Who intends to leave the dance floor too early, has no heart.

Twenty-five minutes later the album is over. Nevertheless, what we hear is a clear recommendation for a young ensemble that is worth paying attention to.

Artists´website: www.sextetoandiamo.com

Ángel y Diabolo – Tango auf zwei Harfen

Laura Oetzel and Daniel Mattelé are two Concert Harp player with a home base in Germany. They have recorded their second album with 14 tracks (62 min.), now exclusively with classical Tango compositions: La Cumparsita from Gerardo Matos Rodríguez, Yo no sé me han hecho tus ojos from Francisco Canaro, La Yumba from Osvaldo Pugliese, Malena from Lucio Demare, Mi noche triste from Samule Castriota, El día que me quieras from Carlos Gardel, and the two associated sets Serie del Ángel and Serie del Diablo with their seven compositions from Astor Piazzolla, and his Libertango.
Tango and harp? On the first glance, this sound is quite unexpected, because we are used to hear these songs with the ‘typical’ instruments, i.e., bandoneon, violins, piano etc. With their arrangements the excellent duo came back to the pure essence of these compositions, reduced it to the basic melody and underlying harmonic pattern. No chance to seduce the dancers with the impressive sound and groove of a big orchestra. Does this experiment work? Yes, one can discover the evergreens with their ‘new clothes’ – simple and pure. They still have their charm and beauty.
I appreciate most their interpretations of the Astor Piazzolla compositions, particularly Milonga del Ángel is very beautiful and attracts with its quite serenity. Libertango as played by two harps works fine, but does not offer any surprise. Romance del Diablo is per se beautiful and both musicians are able to cover the underlying emotional site of this strange romance. Mi noche triste reminds me too much at a children's play clock. The same could be true for Gardel´s El día que me quieras; however, it has more depth and their arrangement attracts.
In my opinion, the duo´s music fits best to the concert hall, where both are trained and are at home. Whether their music is suited also for a milonga, remains to be shown. I could imagine a candle light milonga during a warm summer night.

Artist´s website: www.dasharfenduo.de