Aurora N√°tola-Ginastera- Pampeana No. 2 (Rhapsody) For Cello and Piano

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Aurora Nátola-Ginastera- Pampeana No. 2 (Rhapsody) For Cello and Piano

Ginastera gave his Pampeana for cello and piano the subtitle "rhapsody," and one hears in it the musical portrait of the great plains of Argentina in a series of tightly-woven vignettes.  La pampa (from the native Andean word for flatlands) contains the country's vast agricultural regions and the metropolis of Buenos Aires, a contrast that the composer exploits to great effect in the contrasting moods of the piece.

Written for cellist Aurora Natola, Ginastera's future second wife, the second Pampeana begins with a cello proclamation related to the declamations in gaucho singing competitions. The piano, initially restricted to sharp, intermittent chords, launches a vigorous folk rhythm and engages the cello in a brief dance, but soon the cello spins off into its own cadenza, full of double stops and pizzicato. The piano spends a couple of bars trying to lure the cello back to the dance floor, but the cello answers with low growls. Soon, the two instruments unite in a slow, nocturnal meditation.  Eventually the instruments fall into a final, frenzied dance with hints of the malambo, a male-only tango-like Argentine dance.  16 pages. 

AMEB:

Cello / Licentiate / List D

• Pampeana Op. 21 No 2.