Tania León: In Motion
Ranjoe Darby (narrator), Harlem Ensemble, Son Sonora Voices, Dance Brazil Percussion, Sonora Ensemble, Tania Leon
Tania León was born and raised in Cuba but her ancestry spans Europe, Africa, and Asia as well as the Americas. In the music she has been composing for the past four decades, she has absorbed all of these influences and transformed them into a vibrant synergistic totality that foreshadows the omnivorous polystylism of the early 21st century. More than 35 years separate Haiku (1973) and Inura (2009), and they conjure up wildly different sonic universes. Haiku, created during León's tenure as composer-in-residence and music director for the Dance Theatre of Harlem, is an aphoristic and almost otherworldly re-imagining of seventeen classical Japanese haiku poems, which somehow form a cohesive and unified whole. The holistic approach León took with Haiku would however be anathema for Inura, a celebration of contradictions created for DanceBrazil that is inspired by Candomblé. Candomblé, like Santer'a in the Caribbean, is a syncretism of traditional African animism and European Catholicism that has been practiced for centuries.
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Track Listing
| Title | Composer | Performer |
|---|---|---|
| Haiku for Narrator and Mixed Ensemble | Tania León | Rajoe Darby, narrator, Dance Theatre of Harlem Ensemble, Tania León, conductor |
| Inura for Voices, Strings and Percussion | Tania León | Son Sonora Voices, Son Sonora Ensemble, DanceBrazil Percussion, Tania León, conductor |
Reviews
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"There is an allure in the music of Tania León that immediately grips the listener and demands his undivided attention, drawing him into her distinctive world."
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"The performances here are brilliant...These are compelling works."
*Album cover provided for Editorial use only. ©Albany Records. The Albany Imprint is a registered trademark of PARMA Recordings LLC. The views and opinions expressed in this media are those of the artist and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views and opinions held by PARMA Recordings LLC and its label imprints, subsidiaries, and affiliates.