New Choral Music Collection to be presented in Seoul WSCC10

by Alexis Páez

Back in 2005, María Guinand published a very special collection of scores with Latin American choral repertoire with the German publishing house Carus Verlag. Based in Stuttgart, Carus is one of the biggest music publishers in Germany, ranging all over the musical periods, it is a leader in this field. 

Makumbebé · Latin American Choral Repertoire · Carmina mundi 1 was the title of that first collection focused in songs for mixed choirs that includes, among others: Carreño's Mañanita pueblerina,Simón Díaz's Todo este campo es mío and Federico Ruiz's El Santiguao.

Information about this collection is availables here: Carus Verlag.

Now, it is being announced a second collection curated and edited by Master Conductor María Guinand. Titled Makumbebé II, this new edition will be focused in the Latin American Repertoire for equal voices and will be supported by a brand new recording by Venzuelan choir Cantoría Alberto Grau.

The new collection will be christened and presented in the coming "Tenth World Choral Music Symposium" to be held in Seoul, South Korea, between August 6th and 13th, 2014. The María Guinand Sessions are called: "Carus Session with Maria Guinand: The Musical Treasures of South America – Repertoire for Mixed Choir".

Thanks to the Editor Guinand, we present here the preamble and contents of this new collection Makumbebé II: 

Preamble

This second collection ' Makumbebé II ' of Latin American Choral Repertoire for equal voices  consists of original works of contemporary authors and a wide selection of choral versions of popular melodies that belong to the cultural heritage of our region.

The repertoire for equal voices is less extensive than that of mixed voices, perhaps because the number of choral groups of this nature is also smaller.
It has been our desire to incorporate a wide spectrum of compositions and arrangements, with different levels of difficulty, so as to make this collection accessible to all types of choirs .

Some arrangements and original compositions are simple and graceful, and the possibilities of interpretation are varied and flexible.  Other works , which are more complex and difficult, but of excellent quality, such as Paisaje by Guido Lopez Gavilán and Caracolitos Chicos by Alberto Grau (published as a single edition by CV)  require more experienced groups and a  thorough preparation on the part of the directors.


In the course of my 30 years as founding director of the Cantoría Alberto Grau, pioneer female choir  in Venezuela, I have experienced and performed all this repertoire  which is presented today in this printed and recorded collection. It is my hope that many choirs can enjoy singing this music and transmit to their audiences the feelings of the Latin American soul ,  its rhythms and  its colors. To help you - if necessary- getting familiar with the music of different regions of Latin America, I recorded the music of this collection with the Cantoría Alberto Grau and some instrumentalists who have much experience performing this kind of music.

Performance with instruments

All the  instrumental accompaniment in our popular music is generally improvised by  musicians who have some expertise in the different styles and the rhythmic subtleties . 
However, in this collection we have suggested for each piece an instrumentation according to the musical traditions of its region. Conductors are free to use these arrangements or create new ones  according to the possibilites of their choirs.Nevertheless , we advise to use the percussion instruments suggested in the arrangements.
Also, some tunes were written for either the introductions or the interludes , which  may be modified, replaced or simply overlooked by the interpreter . 
It is clear that the instrumental accompaniment in many of these original works and arrangements , enhances the interest and success of the performance.

María Guinand

Contents

Title	Authors: Text (T) Music(M) Choral version (C.v.)	Country
1) He venido a despedirme	Anonymous C.v Jesús Ochoa	Bolivia
2) Cana-fita	Anonymous C.v. Eduardo Lakschevitz	Brazil
3) Natal	L/M: Ernani Aguiar	Brazil
4) Cántica No. 8	L/M: Luis Antonio Escobar	Colombia
5) El Torito	Anonymous C.v. Pedro Silva	Costa Rica
6) Paisaje	L: Felipe González M: Guido López Gavilán	Cuba
7) La rosa y el clavel	Anonymous C.v Albert Hernández	Chile
8) El Barreño	Anonymous C.v Alberto Grau	Guatemala
9) La Golondrina	Anonymous C.v. Alberto Grau	Mexico
10) Mariposa Candorosa	T: Rosa Carreño M: José A. Rincón	México
11) Aniceto Rondón	Anonymous C.v. Jesús Ochoa	Venezuela
Separate publication:
Caracolitos chicos	L: fragments García Lorca M:Alberto Grau	Venezuela