Good Morning (or middle of the night as it may be)!

I finally recorded the Tango again, correcting the reading error I made two weeks ago. Not sure, but I believe I placed the H2 in a slightly different spot (off by inches) from where it was for the Prelude. I think the sound quality matches fairly closely, though.

This is about the 9th take from tonight. I had to wait until the children were asleep before recording. Amazingly, they never wake up and complain! LOL! I guess having constant music in the house since they were infants has them pretty well-acclimated to it all.

Comments and constructive criticism are of course welcome. Thank you so much for listening! I'll be recording the Malagueña from this same suite next. Fun!

~Adrienne

Albeniz - España Op. 165, no. 2 "Tango"

A really nice rendition of this famous and charming Tango ! I can't really think of anything to nitpick on. Unlike Iberia, this is not music that calls for grand gestures and fiery drama, and I like your unfussy, almost understated approach. Keep up the good work and we may have another complete recording of this fun set.

My daughter would come up and sing along or play a counter-melody but never complain! I liked your recording, which is the fist I have heard on the piano (I know it from a guitar transcription and from my own playing of it - I have just been practising it.), though I find it a bit dry, understated, as Chris says. Maybe it needs more emotion would add to it.

That sounded very nice, Adrienne. As far as being a bit dry; I think all it needs is a little reverb.

btw - my kids sleep through my practicing/playing piano too....

Yes I think a touch of reverb would do it. We should not fall into the trap of infusing even the slightest of Spanish pieces with tons of hot passion. I don't think these were intended that way. They are elegant salon pieces, no Goyescas. I think this modest approach works fine here, in fact it seems very similar to how I play it (not as if that is anything to go by ).

Okay, Richard.... haha again...

Anyway, it's got nothing to do with how Adrienne 'played' the piece. I agree it is really quite right and fitting. I'm talking about the 'sound', which I think a little reverb would enhance the recording.

Adreinne,
Very nicely played. You made me think of it as "Un Recuerdo." Having grown up on vinyl, I think the sound is fine too, but I must not be as much of an audiophile as others here .

I actually have a version (same recording) with some reverb as well. Here is that version. I just think it sounds a bit manufactured. What do you think? There is more hiss, too. :/

http://pianolex.tripod.com/mp3/20110213Tango_gverbON.mp3

Hi Adrienne,

I just listened to your "Tango" and thought it was charming. Very well played! I compared the two recordings you submitted, and thought that the original one (without the reverb) has the a more authentic and pleasant sound. The one with the reverb seems a bit too vibrant. I'd stick with the first recording.

David

I agree with David. Somehow the reverb'ed version sounds less pleasant, I can't say precisely why.

I like the reverb. It does add a slightly different sound to the piano, but at the same time softens the ends of the notes - makes things less harsh. Not that there is anything harsh here, just sort of puts a soft-ish envelope around the entire package. That probably doesn't make sense - I think I march to a different drummer or something. Oh well, sorry Adrienne, ultimately the decision is yours as to which recording you want to put up.

If I might say something, I am with Monica: I like the second version. It adds just what I missed in the first version.

thanks for submiting this piece, Adrienne!

I can't say much because I don't know Albeniz' output well (only one or two pieces from Suite Española).
this one is nice!

Chris, by emotion I did not mean flamenco dancers and girls with castanets shouting "ole, ole, ole! "I was about to upload a guitar version as an illustration but then, to my chargin, it is im WMA format and I cannot convert to Mp3. It is 2,5Mb. Is that too much and should I leave the matter drop?

That silly tourist stuff has little to do with emotion/passion.


No 2.5 Mb is not too much. MP3 is about 1Mb per minute. I guess you can simply rename it to .mp3 before uploading. Or drop it