THE WHOLE NOTE REVIEW:
TANGO FADO PROJECT – MANHATTAN CAMERATA
By Tiina Kiik
"Tango and fado may differ rhythmically yet their shared lyrical and melodic styles thrive when combined. […] Other successful reworkings include compositions by Astor Piazzolla and Carlos Gardel among others. But the original compositions are the highlights."
"... music that soars in astonishing lyrical emotion and rhythmic drive."
"The brilliant virtuosic playing by all the performers is inspiring and captured clearly in the production."
"Nathalie Pires sings da Silva and Caruso’s Amor é Fogo with both understated remorse and a dramatic powerhouse ending."
FANFARE MAGAZINE REVIEW: TANGO FADO PROJECT
By Colin Clarke
"Of all the discs I have been sent by this august publication of this kind (that is, ones that include tango and/or fado) this is by far the finest from every angle. Production values are superb; even the booklet is a class act in its own right. The performances appear absolutely faultless; more, there is a feeling of rightness about each and every track. The drama of the opening of the first item, the Fado Magala Mais importante Que Amar, seems to cut to the heart of the enterprise.”
"The “Fado Canção” Amor é Fogo is a beautiful, slow song composed on Valentine’s Day 2013 by da Silva and Caruso… Pires’s climactic lines have something of the power of the great chanteuses about them… In terms of sheer gorgeousness, this track perhaps takes the prize."
FANFARE MAGAZINE REVIEW: TANGO FADO PROJECT
By Dave Saemann
"...world-class talents.”
"Their music director, Pedro H. da Silva, in addition to being a deft hand at composing, arranging, and conducting, is a spirited performer on the Portuguese guitar.... Artistic director Lucia Caruso, also a composer and conductor, creates soulful piano solos. Daniel Binelli is a bandoneón player par excellence; this album owes much to his arrangements and performing skills. Polly Ferman is a stylish pianist. Lastly, the fado singer Nathalie Pires is a major presence here, performing vocals with elegance and passion.”
"The CD’s sound engineering is excellent.”
"This is music of emotional seriousness and technical sophistication. It is deeply enriching.”
FANFARE MAGAZINE REVIEWS: TANGO FADO PROJECT
By Henry Fogel
"...two art forms [tango and fado] combine brilliantly, and are performed exquisitely...
"Their take on Carlos Gardel’s Mi Buenos Aires Querido, which here becomes Minha Lisboa Querida, is delicious, and their arranging of Piazzolla’s four-movement suite … is a complete success.”
“The music here is wistful and smoky at times, sensual at other times, and dark and even tragic at others. The performances are technically superb and emotionally gripping, virtually ideal.”
"I expect to return many times to this disc for pleasure. In fact, I already have."
OSBURNT.COM Review: THE Tango Fado Project
by John Osburn
"At the heart of the project… is Amor é Fogo (Love is Fire), written on Valentine’s Day 2013 by Couple #1, Caruso and da Silva. ... Nathalie Pires’ lilting vocals and Caruso’s keystrokes converge in a sonnet-lullaby of romantic love, going from tender spark to effulgent flame. February 15 will mark three years and a day since its composition.”
“… the most convincing use of the piano as a fado instrument, with Caruso on the pedals and keys, that I have heard."
"The sound it produces, live or recorded, is luxuriant: Caruso’s intensity on the piano, so commanding as to leave an imprint; Ferman’s lighter touch, classical and reflective; the plunge and ascent of da Silva’s fingers on the guitar; the gasp, bellow and slow complaint of Binelli on the bandoneón. Pires is at her best with them…"
“Listening to the CD, one is most aware of the richness of the whole. Live, the musicians add the auras of their presence: the robust Caruso, the scholarly da Silva, the elegant Ferman, the earthy Binelli."
FANFARE MAGAZINE REVIEW: TANGO FADO PROJECT
By Maria Nockin
"This is a disc I want to keep handy for frequent outings. I find its music calming, satisfying, … with charm and sophistication."
"The arrangements of the music on this disc are not recorded elsewhere, so there are no recordings to compare with the Tango Fado Project. The sound is pristine and the soloists are in front of the orchestra, which is also clearly heard”
Fanfare Magazine Review: Tango Fado Project
By Raymond Tuttle
... I am a connoisseur of pleasure, and this CD has been giving me plenty of that all evening long."
... the sound on this CD is startlingly life-like - what used to be called, in the pages of Gramophone, a demonstration disc.”
"Pires’s voice is literally arresting - on the tracks in which she participates, you will stop whatever you are doing and say, “Wow, that woman can really sing!””
"I was looking on YouTube and I found their performance… of two of the Beatles’ trippier songs… was, um, transcendental. I hope this ensemble receives more exposure. Perhaps this CD will do it for them.”
"Tango Fado Project, instead of falling between two stools, it hovers above them gracefully, pulsating with excitement. … The pleasure is both theirs and ours. Recommended!”
Fanfare Magazine Review: Tango Fado Project
By Carla Maria Verdino-Süllwold
"The arrangements of these pieces are intricate and play to the strengths of the ensemble, allowing for a rich palette of instrumental textures and moments of virtuosic playing, especially by the guitar, bandoneón, and piano. Binelli is legendary on the bandoneón, and he gives a performance here of intense emotion and technical wizardry. He is matched by the lyrical articulation of Lucia Caruso and Polly Ferman’s piano support, and by the crisply articulated and eloquently phrased Portuguese guitar playing of Pedro H. da Silva. Nathalie Pires delivers the various vocal moments in a haunting voice whose rapid vibrato and throaty overtones often remind one of Edith Piaf.”
... this Tango Fado Project is well realized and put together and offers an exhilarating exploration of the confluence of these forms and styles."
FANFARE MAGAZINE REVIEW: TANGO FADO PROJECT
By Phillip Scott
... stunningly performed and thoroughly entertaining. The secret behind this music is that it has to make you want to dance, and it has to bring tears to your eyes. The musicians of Manhattan Camerata know the secret, and they know how to make it happen. They also understand the virtuoso aspect: There is a level of showing off your chops that is shared by the whole ensemble, not merely the guest artists, yet it never veers towards parody. When they get into a groove, as in 1=3=7 and Non- absolutist Universal Anthem, the joie de vivre is irresistible.”
"After 10 years of writing for Fanfare I am now in the enviable position of being able to request the releases I wish to review. Occasionally our editor still sends me something unexpected and, more often than not, it turns out to be something special that I would not have known about otherwise. This disc absolutely falls into that category. Manhattan Camerata has made my day.”