Latin American Dances

Description

• Composer: John Carmichael
• Publisher: Emerson Edition

This suite of four pieces is a journey through dances native to Latin America. The Joropo is popular in Venezuela and Colombia. It stems from the Viennese waltz, but the 3/4 pulse is now spiced with 6/8 cross rhythms. The Habanera comes from Havana, and this particular one is obsessed with a little five-note figure initiated by the piano. Bahama Rhumba's lazy tune suggests the easy-going character of life in the Caribbean, while the Jongo is a dance brought to Brazil by the slave trade, danced collectively against an inexorable rhythmic beat.