Guacamaya: Chamber Music and Songs from Mexico Jamie MacDougall & Mr McFall’s Chamber

• María Grever (1885 - 1951): Cuando vuelva a tu lado:
• 1Grever: Cuando vuelva a tu lado03:33
• Javier Álvarez (1956 - 2023): Metro Chabacano:
• 2Álvarez: Metro Chabacano06:30
• María Grever: Júrame:
• 3Grever: Júrame02:58
• Joaquín Gutiérrez Heras (1927 - 2012): Canción En El Puerto for cello and piano:
• 4Heras: Canción En El Puerto for cello and piano04:48
• Agustín Lara (1897 - 1970): Arráncame la vida:
• 5Lara: Arráncame la vida03:00
• Manuel Ponce (1882 - 1948): Cuatro Danzas Mexicanas:
• 6Ponce: Cuatro Danzas Mexicanas: I. Vivo – Meno mosso, espressivo01:22
• 7Ponce: Cuatro Danzas Mexicanas: II. Vivo – Più lento01:43
• 8Ponce: Cuatro Danzas Mexicanas: III. Vivo – Meno mosso01:50
• 9Ponce: Cuatro Danzas Mexicanas: IV. Vivo – Poco meno02:08
• Por ti mi corazón:
• 10Ponce: Por ti mi corazón03:20
• Arturo Márquez (b. 1950): Homenaje a Gismonti:
• 11Márquez: Homenaje a Gismonti09:36
• Agustín Lara: Granada:
• 12Lara: Granada03:15
• Pablo Moncayo (1912 - 1958): Sonatra para Viola y Piano:
• 13Moncayo: Sonatra para Viola y Piano: I. Allego moderato05:48
• 14Moncayo: Sonatra para Viola y Piano: II. Lento06:49
• 15Moncayo: Sonatra para Viola y Piano: III. Allegro04:28
• Silvestre Revueltas (1899 - 1940): Three Pieces for violin and piano:
• 16Revueltas: Three Pieces for violin and piano: I. Allegro02:43
• 17Revueltas: Three Pieces for violin and piano: II. Lentamente02:24
• 18Revueltas: Three Pieces for violin and piano: III. Allegro - Allegro vivace02:06
• Manuel Ponce: Estrellita:
• 19Ponce: Estrellita06:24
• Total Runtime01:14:45

Info for Guacamaya: Chamber Music and Songs from Mexico

Confessing to a thirty-year love affair with the music of Mexico, Scottish tenor Jamie MacDougall enthusiastically joins forces with Delphian regulars Mr McFall’s Chamber, whose involvement in Latin American music goes back nearly as far.

The resulting album of songs and chamber music covers the whole of the twentieth century, charting a journey through nationalist, modernist, folk and Aztec influences to the work of Arturo Márquez and Javier Álvarez, two of the most prominent and successful composers in Mexico today.

At the heart of the programme are the classic songs whose writers grew up in the drawing-room culture as well as the bars and brothels of turn-of-the-century Mexico, a repertoire MacDougall reckons the equal of the American Songbook, that should be much better known and more widely heard.

Renowned for their innovative approach to programming and stylistic plurality, Mr McFall's Chamber have been described as 'the jewel in the Scottish musical crown' (The Scotsman), and lauded as 'potentially the most important single development on the Scottish music scene for a long time' (The Herald). The ensemble plays a range of music from tango through jazz and rock to contemporary classical, taking in quite a lot besides. It consists of string quartet, bass, piano, percussion and sometimes vocals - and more as required. The group's aim is always to create new audiences, new music and new directions in music.

Cyril Garac, violin
Robert McFall, violin
Brian Schiele, viola
Su-a Lee, cello
Rick Standley, double bass
Claudio Constantini, piano
Stuart Semple, percussion
Jamie MacDougall, tenor

Mr McFall’s Chamber
was formed with the aim to create new audiences, new music and new directions in music. The group has a policy of mixing widely different styles in the same programme – anything from progressive rock, tango, cartoon classics, folk, jazz, early music to contemporary classical – to introduce audiences to music they otherwise might not encounter. Running through the group’s history and planning for the future is a genuine desire to broaden the appeal of the (often lesser-known) music that it plays. The group is also dedicated to supporting the work of UK composers and regularly commissions new works, as well as generating new music from within the ranks of the ensemble.

The group was formed in 1996 from a number of players from the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Scottish Ballet, with a core group comprising two violins, viola, cello and bass. The group collaborates with additional musicians from project to project – regularly working with additional pianists, percussionists, singers and soloists, depending on the nature of the programme. Over the years, the ensemble has built up a reputation for excellent music-making and has a growing following who trust the group to deliver exciting and innovative programmes, even when this includes music that they may never have heard before. These aims are combined with a pursuit of excellence in performance and a desire to make the concert-going experience as enjoyable as possible.

The group is unique among ensembles in Scotland, and much of the rest of the UK, offering concert-goers a genuinely different and exciting live experience.

This approach to innovative music-making has not gone unnoticed and they have recently been called ‘the jewel in the Scottish musical crown’ (Jan Fairley, The Scotsman). Writing in The Times, Robert Dawson-Scott acknowledged what it is that sets Mr McFall’s Chamber apart from other groups: ‘Why can’t all concerts be like this - engaging, witty, relaxed, sophisticated, exquisitely played and just plain fun?’

Commissioning new works forms the core of the McFall's touring season, from supporting up and coming composers to commissioning international figures such as Tim Garland, Gavin Bryars, Martin Suckling and Martin Kershaw amongst others. Martin Suckling's What shall I give and Martin Kershaw's Closing In, were shortlisted as finalists for the British Composer Awards 2011.

"I believe the group – in what it does and in what it represents – is potentially the most important single development on the Scottish music scene." (Michael Tumelty, The Herald)

"Why can’t all concerts be like this - engaging, witty, relaxed, sophisticated, exquisitely played and just plain fun?" (Robert Dawson Scott, The Times)

Booklet for Guacamaya: Chamber Music and Songs from Mexico