Yupanqui: La paloma enamorada

We Say...

Review by Jon Lusk

Atahualpa Yupanqui was the stage name of the late Héctor Roberto Chavero Aramburo, considered to be Argentina’s greatest twentieth century folk musician. Roberto Aussel in turn is the most widely acclaimed contemporary Argentinean guitarist. He’s best known for his interpretations of compositions by tango legend Astor Piazzolla (who actually wrote pieces specifically for the young Aussel) but he’s also recorded baroque, Venezuelan and classical material. Unlike Piazzolla, who reluctantly admitted that he had little feel for the rural ‘folk’ styles such as zamba and chacarera that Yupanqui mined so successfully, Aussel adapts his crisp, classically trained technique to them with ease, as these 15 adaptations of classic Yupanqui pieces show. In any case, the line between classical and folk music is far more blurred in Latin America than in Europe or the US.

Compared with the original recordings, Aussel’s have handsomely rich reverb. Even so, he mostly sticks quite faithfully to Yupanqui’s use of harmonics, as well as his tendency to knock the body of his guitar for percussive effects, so maintaining a slightly rough-hewn feel. Surprisingly, not all of the original pieces were exclusively instrumental, but Aussel is no singer, and his wordless but intensely lyrical — and rather novel — version of “Vidala del Yanarca” is a revelation. On “El Indio y la Quena,” and the sad, sweet huayno (Andean dance) of “La Cacharpaya” second guitarist Bénédicte Frétaud joins him. There’s a breathtaking segue from “Melodia des Adios” into “Danza Rustica”, and other highlights include the halting title track and the epic closing malambo “Cruz del Sur.”

This is a beautifully reflective set, with a strong and quite instant appeal, best suited to late night listening. The closest comparison would be Peru’s Raúl García Zárate, who similarly transposes folk styles more typically played by ensembles onto solo guitar, and has a classical background. Fact fans will note that the title in English would be "The Dove in Love." But somehow this doesn’t have quite the same lilt to it.