In Mexican slang, "del tingo al tango" means to go "from pillar to post" without stopping, a phrase that seems to sum up mixed quintet Voz en Punto's career in many ways. From its founding by director Jose Galvan in 1990, the ensemble has focused its artistic energy on the colorful arena of Mexican culture, from Mexican colonial polyphony from the 16th and 17th centuries to songs in native tongues and/or with African influences, up to the folklore and music of living Mexican concert composers. The group has also presented programs of European composers, including motets and madrigals, Latin-American bossa novas and tangos, and negro spirituals. To quote the group's press notes, audiences become "Ecstatic," "On Fire" or "Delirious." "Del Tingo" is a 16-song smorgasbord of the group's repertoire, beginning with the spirited Mexican "La Negra" and the French "Margot labourez les vignes," the Brazilian "Rosa Amarela" and the German "Tanzen und Springen;" and country-hopping into England's "Come Again," Cuba's "Mama Ines," Japan's "Ue wo muite," Italy's "Amor Vittorioso" and the US spiritual "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot." Brazil's "Samba de uma nota so," Spain's "Chacona," Finland's Satumaa Tango" and Glenn Miller's "In The Mood ...Voz continually amazes us with their spirited versatility. Listen to this multilingual a cappella gem and become an instant Voz en Punto fan! |
