Iguazu Music

Quite an eclectic mix of artists and music. I am not sure this CD is for everyone...

From hypnotic instrumentals to howling blues to middle eastern influenced dances to chill dance grooves to classical piano to latin salsa, the soundtrack takes you on an aural journey through diverse cultures. I'm sure it reflects the culture clash depicted in the movie's storyline.

Listening to the sample tracks (at Barnes & Noble.com) makes me wish that I lived in a more culturally diverse area... This is the type of movie I have to watch on DVD because theaters won't risk showing independent films here.

To find the sample tracks at B&N search for "Yes" as the title, then sort the results by "date released". Since it just came out, it should be near the top of the list. Enjoy.

BTW, my 4-star rating is based only on the sample tracks I was able to hear.

Extremely little is known about this
great argentine composer, and so is
also very little known about his music,
so what I am wrting here is based on
my personal impression of the very little
music that I have heard by this gentleman.
First of all both works in this recording
are world premiere recordings. The seventh
symphony "Eterno Reposo" was composed in 1937
"Eterno Reposo" is actually Spanish for "Requiem Aeternam".
The symphony is in the usual four movements and
by the tittle of the movements one cannot help to
think of ancient Egypt. The first movement: The Pyramid(La Piramide)
opens loud and gradually slows down, and brings to mind
an andante. The second movement: Dancers of Amun (Danzarinas de Amon)
To those that are not familiar with egyptian mythology, Amun is
the 'father of all winds' the egyptian version of Zeus. The
second movements opens on a soft celesta melody that as it
goes on it is join by pizzicati strings, soft rolls on
suspended cymbals, and later taken by the harp, and after
all strings join in on what sounds like a lovely tango melody.
The third movement: "Femele Crotales players" (Tocadoras de Crotalos),
again this movements brings the percussion to the spotlight, this
time the castanets in the opening. The finale "Eternal Rest"
(Eterno Reposo) opens slowly on strings and then a little past
the middle of the movement a loud orchestral burst is heard
that is started by the trombones and later taken by the whole
orchestra, then a lovely fanfare is heard on trumpets, horns,
snare drum and timpani. The language of the Seventh Symphony
is post- romantic, thou lived well into the 20th century
Williams was educated in 19th century Europe, he was a student
of Cesar Franck. I can relate Williams to R. Strauss and S.
Rachmaninov who were born and educated in the 19th century
but lived well into the 20th century. The "Poema Del Iguazu"
is far more European than Latin-American in sound. it brings
to mind more the Rhine, or the Moldau, but I guess that in
its peace of mind and tranquility might relate to the Iguazu,
or perhaps in its majestic flowing. On this recording
the Orquesta Filarmonica de Gran Canaria under the baton
of Adrian Leaper do an outstanding job.

I had been drawn to this artist after hearing music of his backing a LVMH commercial played frequently on CNBC.
Very beautiful, dense, atmospheric and melodic.
This CD uses many guitar-like instruments that are unfamilar to my ears, which is interesting. However, I was expecting something very musical like the LVMH piece, but found more noodling than melody.

Still, worth hearing for the instrumentation.

I was not aware of what a ronroco was until I heard Argentinean composer Gustavo Santaolalla play one quite masterfully on the soundtrack of 2004's The Motorcycle Diaries. Among the film's many noteworthy qualities is the singularly resonant sound of the ronroco, a mandolin-like instrument, used to fill in the aural background for the adventurous road trip of the two young medical students out to experience the world outside Buenos Aires. Six years prior to the film in 1998, Santaolalla released this mesmerizing recording highlighting the versatility of his instrument in an evocative twelve-song cycle. Depending on the atmosphere he is trying to achieve with each composition, he plays a combination of eight different instruments, including guitar, pipes, tin whistle, and charango, a smaller cousin to the ronroco. Keyboard accompaniment is provided expertly by Anibal Kerpel, who plays both vibraphone and melodica, on several of the tracks.

As a whole, the album works seamlessly as a mood piece. Nonetheless, a few tracks are worth highlighting. The opening track, "Way Up", showcases the quiet fury of Santaolalla's uninterrupted strumming, while "Gaucho" , with its gentle beat, sounds like a street dance between two weary tango dancers. "Atacama" evokes mirages on a vast desert with the intricate fretwork seeming to escalate to a crescendo but never quite does. "Zena" and "Lela" are quietly seductive tracks. A certain geographical sensibility is evident on "Pampa", which springs to mind the image of a lonely cowboy sitting astride a loping horse over the grassy pampas, and "Iguazu", which sounds exactly like the torrential waterfall of its namesake. "Iguazu" was used again in the Mexican border deportation scene in Babel. The most familiar track is "De Ushuaia la Quiaca", which he also used again to great cinematic effect in The Motorcycle Diaries. "La Vuelta" is an appropriate closer as it is defined purely by Santaolalla's bravura playing.

This heavenly music is subtle and powerful at the same time. It makes you feel light and and slightly melancholic. It evokes the high land of South America.
This musician composed this type of music also for the movie 'motorcycle diaries'. The music has firm roots in the South-American Indian folkmusic.

I would recommend this CD even if you have gotten the Motorcycle Diaries soundtrack. It contains the tracks that make this work complete, wholesome.

Like several reviewers, I first heard of Gustavo Santaolalla via Michael Mann's film 'The Outsider' which made expressive use of the track `Iguazu'. This album (from which 'Iguazu' is taken) is an work of stunning beauty. All the tracks are slow, haunting guitar-driven mood pieces composed almost totally in minor keys. I was expecting `Iguazu' to be the highlight but there are many tracks that are equally exquisite. I recommend this album unreservedly to anyone with an ear for a beautiful melody and a romantic soul - believe me, you will not stop playing this. Quite outstanding.