Palabras (Words) is a concert that I need to enjoy again. Only on repeat, watching again the musical proposal, I will be able to look further into the details of woven strands of a pillar of contemporary Cuban composition aesthetic, as is Marta Valdés, whose work led to the young singer Haydee Milanes for the concert on Thursday in the Mella theater in Havana.
There was nothing impersonal in each selection made by Haydée. Marta lyrics carry a depth of universal experiences, which can hardly fail to win over those who listen to them. Catching the essence was always a challenge that Milanes was aware of and managed to win by appropriating the life on those lyrics.
The singer became intoxicated by Filin, the Creole movement that Valdés is part of and precisely transcended because of its close way of speaking about loving distances, unique passions and sublime feelings.
Works born in the heat of intense 1950s and others that belong to the two subsequent decades were interpreted and articulated with simple and intimate scenery and a commendable job on the lights, all of which denoted a mastery of dramatic projection this Thursday evening. This led again to transcend the Leo Brouwer Festival of Chamber Music, an exquisite event, which values not only reside in the performance quality of the artists, but also on a careful and attractive repertoire.
These pieces received the freshness of ingenious orchestrations, which combined formats and different instruments. Musical arrangements were by Haydée, Ernan Lopez- Nussa and Nam San Fong based on original scores by Marta Valdes and enriched by the latter –since she was very aware of every detail as the final result of this project was an album, and a DVD filmed just yesterday, under the direction of Alejandro Gutierrez and recorded by Bis Music label.
Sometimes Milanes was followed by piano, bass and drums, and then trumpets along congas and strings of the Presto Quartet, or the vocal filling of three singers of the Schola Cantorum Coralina. The truth is that Palabras had this comprehensive look at a way to compose very Cuban and behold its greatest success.
In the Imagination (1955), sung a capella by Haydée, became perfect opening for a concert that, despite it didn’t last over one hour, left a huge intensity in the auditorium. They were followed by Tú dominas, Mutis, No te empeñes más and Ten.
A sensible piece was Pequeña Haydée(2012), a piece that Marta made especially for the daughter of singer and Milanes made a chilling duet with her father. With Pablo she also sang Deja que siga sola.
“It is a great joy to share with my father. He is my teacher and the person who taught me the songs of Martha, ” Haydée told the public, while the author of Yolanda and El breve espacio en que no estás took the opportunity to also revere the octogenarian composer, which he defined as a one breath in Cuban music.
A special moment of the evening was the performance of Tú no sospechas with its author on the guitar. That song was the prelude to Sin ir más lejos, a classic and was enjoyed in a duet between Marta and Haydee.
To close, the much anticipated Palabras, which the audience showered with applauses, was the selection made by this great artist.
