Ancestros Sinfónico Live: A Journey of Rediscovery
After several months of dreaming of the live premiere of Ancestors Sinfónico (AS. 2022), the journey to retrace the path of the legacy has begun.
On June 23 and 24, at 8:30 p.m., the Avellaneda Hall of the National Theater of Cuba will host the world premiere of this album, which will be a tribute and a reinvention, a rediscovery.
More than a hundred musicians – 113 in all – will accompany Síntesis, X Alfonso and Eme Alfonso on stage in the first live presentation of the album, winner of the Latin Grammy 2022 in the category of Best Folk Album and Cubadisco 2023 Grand Prize, according to a press release from the Fábrica de Arte Cubano.
The National Choir of Cuba, conducted by Maestro Digna Guerra, and the Lyceum Orchestra of Havana, conducted by Maestro José A. Méndez Padrón, will participate in a special way in this revelation, composed of 10 pieces that, after an impressive performance exercise, X Alfonso has transformed into a powerful symphonic suite, with arrangements inspired by the works of authors linked to the history of Síntesis.
With the advice of maestro Leo Brouwer and ethnologist Natalia Bolívar, Ancestros Sinfónico is a new look at the iconic work of Síntesis, a family homage that, according to Brouwer, «shows a remarkable experiential legacy, authentic to its roots.»
«X proposes a musical-cultural interweaving (African chants, symphonic music, gospel choirs, batá drums, contemporary compositional language) that leads to a postmodern aesthetic. The result? Unsurpassable,» says the renowned Cuban composer, guitarist and orchestra conductor in the liner notes.
The album, the second production of the FacMusic label, was recorded in Portugal and Havana, and mixed and mastered at Cerrito Records in San Francisco, United States. Its re-release, 35 years after the release of Ancestros (1987), is an invitation to revisit the monumental work of his parents, Carlos Alfonso and Ele Valdés, as well as that of authors who have marked the career of Síntesis, such as Esteban Puebla and Lucía Huergo, among others.
On June 23 and 24, in the Avellaneda Hall of the Teatro Nacional de Cuba, songs from the center of the earth will be sung dedicated to nine great orishas, such as Elegguá, Oggún, Oshosi, Babalú Ayé, Changó, Obbatalá, Oyá, Yemayá and Oshún.
The invitation to witness the magic is made; as Rafa González Escalona, director of the music magazine AM:PM, would say: «Ancestros Sinfónico is a love story; of a son for his parents, of a family proud of its heritage. A family capable of reinventing a country through music, once again.»
Tickets will be available at two main locations: at the Fábrica de Arte Cubano from June 15 to 18, from 8 p.m. to 12 a.m., with a mobile stand; and from Tuesday, June 20, at the Teatro Nacional box office during regular hours. Tickets will also be available through the e-commerce platform La Papeleta.
Translated by Luis E. Amador Dominguez
