NOVEMBER 2021 | Per Lei | Dúo González Figueroa – Ballerini | Virtuoso Records

NOVEMBER 2021 | Per Lei | Dúo González Figueroa – Ballerini | Virtuoso Records

by RAY PICOT

Dúo González Figueroa – Ballerini present a unique pairing of songs on their album Per Lei (For Her) from this year’s centenarian, Ariel Ramírez and Franz Liszt. Whilst the music was written over a century apart, this surprising coupling really works in the hands of this enterprising duo, the Argentine pianist Natalia González Figueroa and the Italian-Argentine tenor Santiago Ballerini. Five songs from Ramírez’ 1969 album Mujeres Argentinas (Argentine Women), with its revolutionary ideologies are contrasted with Liszt’s Tres Sonetos del Petrarca and Oh! Quand je dors. The latter’s music inhabits a romantic musical world, through the poetry of Petrarch who describes a platonic, passionate, tortuous love for an ideal woman, whereas Felix Luna and Ariel Ramírez evoke the independence, strength and pain of iconic Argentine women.

At another level, the album cover, designed by Ignacio Astigarraga, reflects the title and is intended to also make us think about the inequalities, mistreatment and prejudices that remain toward women today; appropriately the album was issued on International Women’s Day.

However, no matter how important the concept of the album, it will be ultimately judged on the quality of the music and its performance; in my view it is a complete success and deserves the widest circulation. We also have a great opportunity to hear more of Ramírez’ powerful songs, and not just the popular Alfonsina y el mar.

Whilst this may be the duo’s first recorded collaboration, they are clearly a very well matched partnership consistently finding the emotional heart of these songs. Liszt’s music was strongly influenced by Italian ‘bel canto’, and with Santiago Ballerini’s background in this style of opera, having a warm and passionate tenor voice, he is a perfect fit. He also rises to the challenge of interpreting Ramírez/Luna songs which were not only written for a woman, but in this case the distinctively voiced Argentine folk singer, Mercedes Sosa. Not only does he succeed in making these songs sound comfortable within the compass of a tenor voice he offers a fascinating new interpretative stance. Surely now this should encourage other young classically-trained singers to take up these wonderful songs.

The paring back of accompaniment to solo piano, works too and gives the music a more classical ambience. Of course in Las Cartas de Guadalupe Mercedes Sosa is simply accompanied by Ariel Ramírez on piano, but the duo create a magical moment that just suits the song by allowing the tenor to sing the opening bars of music alone.

The classic song Alfonsina y el mar is simply beautiful and heartfelt, with a superbly balanced accompaniment from Natalia González Figueroa, who is no passive partner, but gives her instrument full voice as she does in all the songs, without becoming too dominant; this in part must be due to the excellent recording which serves the duo to perfection. I should add that the richness of the original Ramírez recording with its wider instrumental palette has not been lost due to very effective arrangements by Natalia González Figueroa; she subtly enriches her piano accompaniment, using gestures from the composer’s own recordings, to achieve a more chamber music orientation. She is clearly in tune with this music and I very much look forward to her Echoes Festival recital later this month.

I am sure that notwithstanding Santiago Ballerini’s busy operatic and recital calendar we shall hear more of his warm lyrical tenor voice in future recordings. Whereas this is the fifth recording made by Natalia González Figueroa, who plays a wide range of music from her homeland as well as classical repertoire, which can also be warmly recommended. In conclusion, getting to know this music again through these two exceptional artists has been a pleasure. The album is available digitally as a download or through the usual streaming platforms.


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News News Archive Concert Reviews CD Reviews Musicology Newsletter	NOVEMBER 2021 \| Per Lei \| Dúo González Figueroa – Ballerini \| Virtuoso Records NOVEMBER 2021 \| Per Lei \| Dúo González Figueroa – Ballerini \| Virtuoso Records by RAY PICOT Dúo González Figueroa – Ballerini present a unique pairing of songs on their album Per Lei (For Her) from this year’s centenarian, Ariel Ramírez and Franz Liszt. Whilst the music was written over a century apart, this surprising coupling really works in the hands of this enterprising duo, the Argentine pianist Natalia González Figueroa and the Italian-Argentine tenor Santiago Ballerini. Five songs from Ramírez’ 1969 album Mujeres Argentinas (Argentine Women), with its revolutionary ideologies are contrasted with Liszt’s Tres Sonetos del Petrarca and Oh! Quand je dors. The latter’s music inhabits a romantic musical world, through the poetry of Petrarch who describes a platonic, passionate, tortuous love for an ideal woman, whereas Felix Luna and Ariel Ramírez evoke the independence, strength and pain of iconic Argentine women. At another level, the album cover, designed by Ignacio Astigarraga, reflects the title and is intended to also make us think about the inequalities, mistreatment and prejudices that remain toward women today; appropriately the album was issued on International Women’s Day. However, no matter how important the concept of the album, it will be ultimately judged on the quality of the music and its performance; in my view it is a complete success and deserves the widest circulation. We also have a great opportunity to hear more of Ramírez’ powerful songs, and not just the popular Alfonsina y el mar. Whilst this may be the duo’s first recorded collaboration, they are clearly a very well matched partnership consistently finding the emotional heart of these songs. Liszt’s music was strongly influenced by Italian ‘bel canto’, and with Santiago Ballerini’s background in this style of opera, having a warm and passionate tenor voice, he is a perfect fit. He also rises to the challenge of interpreting Ramírez/Luna songs which were not only written for a woman, but in this case the distinctively voiced Argentine folk singer, Mercedes Sosa. Not only does he succeed in making these songs sound comfortable within the compass of a tenor voice he offers a fascinating new interpretative stance. Surely now this should encourage other young classically-trained singers to take up these wonderful songs. The paring back of accompaniment to solo piano, works too and gives the music a more classical ambience. Of course in Las Cartas de Guadalupe Mercedes Sosa is simply accompanied by Ariel Ramírez on piano, but the duo create a magical moment that just suits the song by allowing the tenor to sing the opening bars of music alone. The classic song Alfonsina y el mar is simply beautiful and heartfelt, with a superbly balanced accompaniment from Natalia González Figueroa, who is no passive partner, but gives her instrument full voice as she does in all the songs, without becoming too dominant; this in part must be due to the excellent recording which serves the duo to perfection. I should add that the richness of the original Ramírez recording with its wider instrumental palette has not been lost due to very effective arrangements by Natalia González Figueroa; she subtly enriches her piano accompaniment, using gestures from the composer’s own recordings, to achieve a more chamber music orientation. She is clearly in tune with this music and I very much look forward to her Echoes Festival recital later this month. I am sure that notwithstanding Santiago Ballerini’s busy operatic and recital calendar we shall hear more of his warm lyrical tenor voice in future recordings. Whereas this is the fifth recording made by Natalia González Figueroa, who plays a wide range of music from her homeland as well as classical repertoire, which can also be warmly recommended. In conclusion, getting to know this music again through these two exceptional artists has been a pleasure. The album is available digitally as a download or through the usual streaming platforms. Site design and content copyright © 1998-2023 The Iberian and Latin American Music Society, all rights reserved. ILAMS is a registered charity, No. 1092749