Little Tango in Her Blood, A

A Little Tango in Her Blood
Music from Argentina
for Flute and Piano
Arranged and Edited byAlison Young
Published by Ellis Road Press
Includes score and flute part

Contents:
Fuga y misterio by Astor Piazzolla
Don Agustin Bardi by Horacio Salgan
Pastoral Calchaqui by Hector Gallac
Milonga de dos hermanos by Carlos Guastavino
Suite Argentina by Horacio Salgan
Milonga sin Palabras by Astor Piazzolla
Chiquilin de Bachin by Astor Piazzolla
El Desbande by Astor Piazzolla
Lo que vendra by Astor Piazzolla

Queridos amigos,
      One April in the last years of the last century, I was afforded an opportunity to travel and work for two months in a place I'd only dreamed about, Argentina. I tend to be a bit on the naive side, making assumptions about places and even entire cultures based on reading and very limited experience. This time was no different. Up to that point, I'd only added up a few hours lost in the musical language of Borges, heeding Evita's request not to cry, feeling shocked numb at the magnitude of the atrocities committed by military junta, and holding close a secret desire to master the sultry, clinging dance of the tango. To better understand this place of such rich history, diversity, and creativity, I knew I simply had to go. And the best way to do that would be as myself, as an artist. 
      I first met the Argentinean pianist Ana Chaves through her agent and then in Buenos Aires in queue for a short hop to northern Patagonia and a small city called General Roca. We resembled each other – only a little – but that didn't keep people from calling us Hermanas en Otra Vida. When my “sister” and I arrived at our destination, the setting sun was lighting up the fruit trees of the Rio Negro valley a fiery orange as it melted into the ruddy desert. It seemed to me this beautiful place was most unlikely for a music school, but starting the adventure here turned out to be ideal. It was two weeks of luxury at Ciudad de las Artes. My days began with classes of eager students spanning generations. After lunch I took the customary siesta sipping yerba mate. The afternoons gave way to long evenings of a complete take-over of the auditorium – the concert grand and custom-made music stand included – to read through piles of Argentine repertoire, mostly songs and tangos written for other instruments than the flute. 
      It was a wild musical ride, long, but by no means exhaustive, beginning on those cool autumn afternoons, followed by a concert tour of both Argentina and the United States, a recording including my arrangements, and finally, this moment today and the enormous privilege to share with you music arranged and edited with just the tiniest bit of Argentina flowing through my veins. I am pleased to present to you A Little Tango in Her Blood: Music from Argentina for Flute and Piano.
– Mil gracias y saludos, Alison