take a listen – hear an audio preview:
| “Untango” (or, “Untangle”, as implied) is the main theme from the upcoming film “Serpent’s Breath”, written and directed by Michael P. DiPaolo. In the film, four relationships are intertwined and shattered over one weekend, reaching towards a shocking climax.
The film’s gritty urban tone and dark subject matter made it a natural fit for a tango-influenced score — but the world of tango was somewhat alien to my own. Having spent the recent years composing and arranging music more in the Eastern European / Persian / Asian and Indian styles, I tried to create a tango sound which would somehow reflect my recent pursuits. To me, the main melody has a very Indian line, and the accompanying figure in the viola is very Arabic; the piano line is a transfigured version of a Cuban “son montuno” riff (which is running in 6/4 against a general 12/8 feel), while the bass and percussion play primarily in jazz-ballad feel. “Untango” is dedicated to my mentor Osvaldo Golijov, whose scores are of an immense inspiration, particularly in their heartfelt personality and painstaking attention to detail. |
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| CATEGORY | Chamber Music, Ljova and the Kontraband, lead sheet, world music, jazz, tango, film soundtrack |
| INSTRUMENTATION | accordion, viola, piano, bass, percussion |
| DURATION | 7 minutes 50 seconds |
| WORLD PREMIERE | June 1, 2007 – Brooklyn Academy of Music (part of the Sundance@BAM Film Festival) |
| WORLD PREMIERE PERFORMERS | Patrick Farrell, accordion; Ljova, viola; Uli Geissendoerfer, piano; Mike Savino, bass; Mathias Kunzli, percussion |
| OTHER NOTABLE PERFORMANCES | n/a |
| RECORDING | Recorded on Ljova and the Kontraband’s debut CD, “Mnemosyne”, with special guest accordionist William Schimmel. [album details] |
| SCORE AVAILABILITY | All arrangements are available for sale via PDF or mail delivery; arrangements for combinations not listed above may be commissioned on request. [contact for more info] |
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