"Histoire Du Tango: Bordello, 1900" by Astor Piazzolla. This is a piece that we love to play together and have performed countless times. This recording comes from our 2014 CD, which can be purchased here!
Originally written for Guitar and Flute (1986), this adaption for Harp and Saxophone was created by Dannel and Kristina. A 4 movement piece designed to represent the development of Tango in Argentina, the first three movements are included on our CD.
Bordello, 1900: The tango originated in Buenos Aires in 1882. This music is full of grace and liveliness. It paints a picture of the good natured chatter of the French, Italian, and Spanish women who peopled those bordellos as they teased the policemen, thieves, sailors, and riffraff who came to see them. This is a high-spirited tango.
"Fantasie" Op. 124 by Camille Saint-Saëns was written in 1907 for two sisters, a Harpist and a Violinist. Interested in the combination of the timbres the non-obvious instrument pairing Saint-Saëns strove to create a piece that explores the dichotomy between soloist and collaborator between the two performers. Beginning in a very traditional manner with the violin playing a soaring solo line and harp, an arpeggiated accompaniment the work goes on to explore and expand upon this relationship through its five complimentary sections.
As one of the first large works that we ever performed publicly the "Fantasie" holds a very special place in our repertoire. Building upon Saint-Saëns' original intention of an exploration of timbres we created a transcription arrangement of the work that is almost completely true to the original.
Released in 1953 "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas" was written by John Rox and performed by then 10 year old Gayla Peevey. The song became such a hit in the year it was released that a community member of her hometown of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma successfully launched a campaign to present Gayla with a hippopotamus for Christmas. The baby hippo, named Matilda, was donated to the Oklahoma City zoo, where she lived for over 50 years!
This is Kristina's favorite holiday song, and the year we acquired the Bass Saxophone we knew that this arrangement needed to happen. It has become one of our holiday staples - and is a true joy to perform!