Astor Piazzolla - Histoire Du Tango

Fidelis Records Audiophile Master Series!
Recorded Live, Direct-To-Master using Tube Equipment! Extraordinary Dynamic and Lifelike Sound!

The Fidelis Record Philosophy:
It is Fidelis Records' fervent belief that the life, the energy, the soul of the music and the magic that happens between musicians is unique to the live performance and is unattainable when individual performers record their tracks independently and are later joined together in a mix. So what you get from Fidelis Records are LIVE recorded performances.

What this means is that the music Fidelis Records records is always:
• Played LIVE, start to finish, DIRECT-TO-MASTER, without over-dubbing or splicing together of notes.
• Recorded in acoustical spaces that allow the music to LIVE. The rooms that Fidelis uses are typically old church sanctuaries, art museums, or theatrical venues, chosen for their clean, balanced, and natural sound
• The signal path must be kept as short as possible and the typical electronic processing such as compressing, limiting and equalization are not used. Fidelis Records uses mostly custom tube recording equipment made by Tube Research Labs, Inc. In turn, the recording is extraordinarily dynamic and lifelike!
• Each disc is then made individually, burnt in "realtime" not stamped on a gold CD-R for dramatically increased fidelity and sound.

The music of Astor Piazzolla epitomized our situation in the modern world with his fusion of folkloric beauty and contemporary tension. He forged a new music that challenged the traditionalist and left the adventurous craving more. He took the music of the great tango masters like Garde, ripped it away from the velvet-walled concert hall and the soft-cushion drawing room, and slapped it down on the pavement of Buenos Aires. Reviled by the critics, shunned even by the conservative government, his music spoke to the next generation, and popular and jazz musicians and listeners all over the world eventually fell under the spell of his "nuevo tango."

In recent years, Piazzolla has taken the new tango back to the concert halls, composing and performing works for chamber ensembles like Kronos Quartet, larger groups like The Orchestra of St. Luke's, even an opera company. These works brought his once radical music back into the mainstream.

Histoire du Tango, for violin and guitar, four movements charting the development of the form at 30 year intervals. The interplay between the two instruments, which is often sprightly and joyous, does make this an accessible and interesting piece of music. Just try the infectious opening movement 'Bordel 1900', which develops into a memorable theme which you may find naggingly familiar yet frustratingly be unable to place. However, once again those hoping for anything in vaguely danceable tango form had better be very supple indeed.

Features:
• 16Bit/44.1kHz Stereo SACD
• Direct Stream Digital (DSD)
• Hybrid Dual Layer Disc will play on any CD Player
• Fidelis Records Audiophile Master Series
• Direct-To-Master Recording
• No Over-Dubbing or Splicing Together of Notes
• Recorded with Custom Tube Equipment from Tube Research Labs
• Recorded November 2001 at The Pumphouse Art Gallery and at St. Mark's Church, Niagara on the Lake, Ontario

Musicians:
Atis Bankas, violin
Simon Wynberg, guitar

Selections:
Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992)
Histoire du Tango:
1. Bordel (1900)
2. Cafe (1930)
3. Nightclub (1960)
4. Concert d'aujourd'hui
Libertango
5. Libertango
Etudes
6. Etude I
7. Etude II
8. Etude III
9. Etude IV
10. Etude V
11. Etude VI

Total Time: 43:17