Ensemble for These Times: The “Latin” Album

Soprano Chelsea Hollow, the “new addition” to Ensemble for These Times (photograph by Veronique Kherian, courtesy of Aerocade Music)

Some readers may recall that, this past May, Ensemble for These Times concluded its concert season with a program called El Tiempo Latine. This is also the title of the group’s sixth album, which presents works by nine composers over the course of twelve compositions. Those familiar with the performers know that they consist of a piano trio and a soprano. Nanette McGuinness is the founding soprano, but she seems to have recognized that her voice is not what it used to be. As a result, she only appears on this new release in the performance of José Bragato’s Dos canciones argentinas; and the other vocal selections are sung by Chelsea Hollow.

Margaret Halbig is still the group’s pianist, performing with Lylia Guion on violin and cellist Megan Chartier. The album is available both as a CD and through digital download, and the above hyperlink leads to the currently available alternatives for either purchase or streaming. I have to confess that my own personal preference is for the solo piano performance by Margaret Halbig. Her selection is Tania León’s “Tumbao;” and my bias may be due to the fact that I have been trying to keep up with León’s compositions for several decades. (I think I had one verbal exchange with her, but that was at the very beginning of my exposure to music.)

That said, this is an album that will probably throw the “Latin” genre into an entirely new light for most listeners; and, as P. T. Barnum would have put it, that definitely makes it worth “the price of admission!”