REENCUENTROS, a Reference Recordings CD release with CECILIA DUARTE

Singing songs from Perú, Ecuador, Brasil, Chile, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, and Argentina, in arrangements by William Carlton Galvez, Vincent A. Pequeño, David Hanlon, and Israel Alcalá, and accompanied by William Gálvez, Israel Alcalá, Jesus Pacheco, and Vincent Pequeño, the superb vocalist  Cecilia Duarte gives renewed life to a dozen Latin American songs in the about to be released Reference Recordings CD REENCUENTROS.

Chabuca Granda’s Fina Estampa and La Flor de La Canela, both gorgeous classics melding the European waltz and Peruvian creole rhythms, both enriched by intensely poetic lyrics, the Ecuatorian Julio Jaramillo’s Incertidumbre, the Brazilian ballad Peleas, the hauntingly melancholy Argentinian Zamba para Olvidar, the profound meditation on the end of life Alfonsina y el Mar, arranged by David Scanlon for his string bass as the sole accompaniment to Duarte in a posthumous homage to the Argentine poetess Alfonsina Storni, follow each other in impressive succession evidencing Cecilia Duarte’s beautiful voice and her impeccably musical vocalism.

Various songs of old and recent vintage by Omar Antonio Sánchez, Alvaro Carrillo, Bobby Capó, Virgilio González, and Teddy Fregoso are capped by an intriguing arrangement of Gracias a la Vida, in which Cecilia Duarte’s unaccompanied singing is paired with a neatly engineered multiple overlay of her voice carrying several parts in perfect blend.

The terrific multi-instrumentalists William Gálvez, Israel Alcalá, Jesus Pacheco, and Vincent Pequeño provide Cecilia Duarte with ideal support.

Produced by Cecilia Duarte and Blanton Alspaugh, recorded and mixed by Andrew Bradley, Reencuentros is an impassioned salute to the varied art of Latin American song sung by a singularly gifted artist.

Rafael de Acha © 2022