Album Notes

Lied: Art Songs of Latin America is a compilation of 25 of the most beautiful Latin American art songs, works inspired by German lieder and written by 20th century Latin American composers for piano and voice.

Works by Ginastera, Guastavino, Estevez, Ovalle, León, Ponce, Morales Pino, Calvo y Obradors, some of them recorded for the first time on this CD, are a thorough review of the complexities of Latin American sensitivities and musical expression. These are songs of extraordinary beauty with texts taken from the giants of Latin American poetry and letters.

The sweetness and understanding with which Patricia Caicedo interprets this repertoire and the quality of the works themselves make this CD a must-have for everyone interested in expanding their musical horizons to include what has been, until now, a relatively undiscovered but vitally important and musically satisfying genre.

Art songs of Latin America

The Latin American Art Song, also known by the name of its German cousin, "Lieder," is a music characterized by its beauty, poetry, and extraordinary subtlety and sensitivity.

The Latin American Art Song repertory was written from the end of the 19th century to the early part of the 20th. The origins of the style are in 19th century Germany where Lieder (lit. song) for piano and voice were being written by well-known composers such as Schubert, Schumann and Wolf. The "Lieder" style was a lyrical one that stresses a link between music and poetry and it soon spread worldwide.

Latin American composers quickly began following the Lieder model, though in a unique socio-cultural context that was being shaped by nationalist social trends and a period of fertile musical renaissance in the Americas.

Beginning at the end of the 19th century, composers sought and found a unique sound by setting poems by "their" poets to music. In so doing, they opened the door to extraordinary musical possibilities.

Composers experimenting with the Lieder style were influenced by the European model but the results clearly had a Latin American language and flavor. The style spread throughout the Americas, with new and exciting interpretations at every stop.