Clarissa Bevilacqua plays 'Clarissa's Tango' by Richard Blackford [Digital Release]

Digital Release Only

- available to download and stream from all Digital Platforms

I love the idea that the tango is described in Buenos Aires as the forbidden dance and I remember seeing the amazing film Scent of a Woman starring Al Pacino and Gabrielle Anwar. Pacino plays a blind veteran who has an amazing sense of smell and scent. At one point he invites a beautifully young woman to tango with him, something he does supremely well and it's just one of the coolest most beautiful scenes that I can remember. After I saw it for about fifth time the idea of a tango became like an earworm which wouldn't go away.  For me the violin and piano capture not only the sound but also the essence of Tango creating a natural dance between the two instruments. The violin has the lead melodic material and the piano has some really exciting riffs and plays supportive role guiding their interplay. Because tango is so visual, we wanted to somehow capture this element as a part of our release. I am delighted that Clarissa Bevilacqua not only premiered this piece and has included it in her concert repertoire but also made a superb high bit rate audio recording and filmed an evocative video in Berlin using a second actor to portray the pianist in this teasing and tantalising dance. 

Clarissa’s Tango starts with a short, cadenza-like introduction on the solo violin, the tango is cast in rondo form, with the central C section moving from the home key of D minor to D major. It’s an ebullient duet that makes virtuoso demands on the solo violin, from extreme high tessitura passages and multi-stops to fast passage work as the violin elaborates on the main tango melody.
Richard Blackford