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“Derek Bermel is the quintessential 21st-century musician…staggering eclecticism from a true musical renaissance man.” – Gramophone Magazine
“…intricate, witty, clear-spoken, tender and extraordinarily beautiful.” - San Francisco Chronicle
Canzonas Americanas marries two postmodern forces – American composer/clarinetist Derek Bermel and the contemporary chamber band Alarm Will Sound. Sharing a joy for stylistic eclecticism, complexity, and clashing dissonances, they form a remarkable recording that combines Bermel’s wild range of instrumental colors with the tight rhythmic ensemble that his music demands. This marks Bermel’s follow-up CD to the Grammy-nominated Derek Bermel: Voices (BMOP/sound) album of large orchestral works.
“Canzonas Americanas establishes Derek as a composer firmly in an American tradition; like Copland, Ives, Gershwin, and Ellington before him,” says Alan Pierson, Artistic Director/Conductor of Alarm Will Sound and the Brooklyn Philharmonic. “Derek synthesizes the diverse musical languages of his time into a unique, thoroughly individual American voice that is tuneful and rich, engaging and sophisticated.”
The versatile Bermel has been widely hailed for his creativity and theatricality. He re-imagines the sounds of indigenous world music, jazz, rock, and funk in his uniquely virtuosic and dynamic compositions. Canzonas Americanas takes listeners on a rhythmic and sonic journey – from the yearning, pulsating chôros at a club in Rio di Janeiro to the intricate, colorful xylophone music of a West African village. “Music is a prism through which I see and reflect the world,” says Bermel.
The title track Canzonas Americanas (2010) was commissioned and premiered by the Los Angeles Philharmonic led by Gustavo Dudamel. Through a wide array of American popular music idioms and Latin rhythms, Canzonas Americanas evokes the spirit of Gershwin, Ellington, Villa-Lobos, Bernstein, and other trailblazing composers who have been indelibly influenced by both North and South American musical traditions.
supported by 5 fans who also own “Canzonas Americanas”
Wow, those are breathtaking compositions! Mostly, they belong to the contemporary classical category, with very strong - and quite fascinating - post-minimalist influences. Occasionally, borderlines to other genres are crossed, most notably in "forced march", with its rock-orientated drums and guitar parts. Sven B. Schreiber (sbs)
This stunning two-part work from classical guitarist Kevin Daniel Cahill is suffusive ambient that aims for transcendence. Bandcamp New & Notable Jul 18, 2023
Inspired by the Welsh notion of “cynefin,” which is thematically similar to the LP’s title, “Notes on Belonging” is both warm and wistful. Bandcamp New & Notable Oct 16, 2017
supported by 4 fans who also own “Canzonas Americanas”
Julia Wolfe's Anthracite Fields is revolutionary and moving in every way. Moments of intense, furious complexity are balanced by a delicate and unique sound world. This became one of my favorite pieces of music immediately after listening. Murphy Adams