"Born as a dance between men waiting for their moment of pleasure in houses of ill fame, the tango has developed into a form of music which has become part and parcel of the variety of Paris, New York, Tokyo and, not least, Berlin. Today, tango is a memory of something we never had, a recollection of places never visited. Even so, they are missed all the same". It doesn't happen too often that you come across such a unique and interesting recording. Commonly, the bandoneon is associated with the tango orchestra, but on this CD Paul Raackow presents himself as a soloist; the fact that Piazzolla's arrangements also included works for solo bandoneon is not so well known. Even its cover gives very good and interesting information: "The history of the bandoneon and the way it is played began in Germany, the birthplace of concertina. It was manufactured from approximately 1857 at the instigation of the person whom it takes its name - Mr. Band from Krefeld. The bandoneon was originally an instrument which was 'programmed' for popular melodies and mainly simple interpretation of this music. There are a number of stories which relate to how this instrument found its way to Buenos Aires at the turn of the century. According to one, it was pawned by boozing and insolvent German seamen in a sailor's pub, whereby a guitar player began learning how to play the instrument the same evening. Argentina and Uruguay were the scenes of anarchic research carried out into the new instrument and its advantages and disadvantages. Consequently, it was incorporated in the most fashionable form of music of the time: the tango. The tango itself played a crucial role in the sound experience created by the tango. In the 1940's the bandoneon reached the peak of its popularity in Argentine dance music, while German bandoneon associations were fighting for their survival. Attempts to restore interest in the bandoneon after the war failed. Only after the efforts of those who initiated a revival of the Argentine tango (initially Piazzolla followed by Mosalini and Saluzzi) are we reminded that the instrument which has become a symbol of tango music is actually a concertina from on ore mining region in Germany". Paul Raackow is a well known German bandoneon player. The time he spent in Argentina working and learning from professional tango musicians such as Nestor Marconi, Osvaldo Montes and Rudolfo Mederos helped him further develop his understanding of the 'Tango Argentina'. He is the founder and arranger of the internationally renowned tango orchestra "Tango Real" and is actively promoting the bandoneon by appearing at many international festivals. I very much liked Paul's own words about this CD: " Mi Refugio tells the story of a very intimate tango, for the player and his instrument only - a 'secret' tango which only confides its story of loss and sadness in a good friend......" Well, after such thorough information supplied by the artist himself, there is not much left to say. I'm sure that this highly intimate, passionate, seductive music and brilliant performance will find its way to your heart as well. |
