Alicuanta: signifying a quantity or part that does not fit into its larger whole evenly or equally.
Alicuanta is a staged song cycle set to the texts of Mexican poet Francisco Serrano, co-composed by pianist David Ryshpan and vocalist Gitanjali Jain Serrano. Through poetry, music, dance and visual elements, Alicuanta is an examination of the memory of an ancestor; an attempt to find peace within the tumultuous history of 1920s Mexico. The legacy explored is that of the General Francisco Roque Serrano (1889-1927), an influential yet mysterious figure of the Revolutionary era and Gitanjali’s great-grandfather, assassinated by his opponent in the midst of the presidential campaign. In addition to the songs, the suite includes three improvised interludes based on Serrano’s poem “Elegía trágica” (Tragic elegy), in homage to the General. The album closes with powerful excerpts from General Serrano’s “Manifiesto a la Nación.”
The process of creating Alicuanta began in 2010, when Gitanjali introduced David to the work of Francisco Serrano – her uncle – as David harbours a great creative affinity for Latin American poetry. On his 2008 album, Cycles (Ropeadope), David set poems by Pablo Neruda and Jorge Luis Borges to music for Indigone Trio & Strings. As he writes in the liner notes, “the poetry of Francisco Serrano immediately got my compositional cylinders firing.” Work began in earnest with the assistance of a grant from the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec. Along the creative path, David and Gitanjali sought out the mentorship of Argentine pianist/composer Guillermo Klein, sound designer David “Dubline” Drury, and vocal coach Madeleine Palmer. The fully staged premiere of the work, including projections created by Mexican visual artist Pablo Serrano, and Toronto-based dancer/choreographer Danny Wild, took place November 2, 2012 at Montreal’s Salle Gesù, and was re-mounted in Toronto in early 2014 as part of Aluna Theatre’s Panamerican Routes festival.
Gitanjali and David have been colleagues over the past several years. As improvisers they can be heard in saxophonist/composer Matana Roberts’ ensemble on her acclaimed record, Coin Coin Chapter One: Gens de couleur libres (Constellation, 2011), and that same year they accompanied legendary “salsoul” singer Joe Bataan for his performance at Pop Montreal. They share a passion for socially engaged and melodically inventive singer-songwriters including Rubén Blades, Caetano Veloso and Stevie Wonder. These mutual influences are set atop David’s particular harmonic language, informed by his jazz training. Their broad stylistic palette can be heard across the disc, from the more overtly jazzy “Vas a venir de dia” to the metrically shifting interludes of “Canción mía” and “El hombre sin hastío” to the driving tumbao of “Aforismos.”
David Ryshpan, originally from Toronto, has been a fixture in Montreal’s music community for the past decade as a pianist, composer, arranger, and journalist. Since moving to Montreal to pursue his studies at McGill University, he maintains an active career as a sideman with groups that range from jazz to hip-hop. He currently leads the samba-jazz group, Trio Bruxo, and has been touring internationally over the past year with samba-rock pioneer, Jorge Ben Jor.
Vocalist Gitanjali Jain Serrano is an alumna of l'École Internationale de Jacques Lecoq, and further specialized in voice and improvisation at Paris’ Panthéâtre. As an aerialist, actor and dancer, she was part of the cast of the acclaimed production 'Ulalena in Maui, Hawai'i for five years. In Montreal, she has performed in Scapegoat Carnivale’s award-winning productions of The Bacchæ and Medea as well as multiple editions Montreal Jazz Festival as a member of Roma Carnivale.
The ensemble on Alicuanta, masterfully documented by Juno-award winning recordist Paul Johnston, includes David’s long-time colleagues Sebastien Pellerin on bass and Mark Nelson on drums, cajón and percussion, with a string quartet consisting of Toronto’s Anna Atkinson (Grannis Bea) and Steph Park on violins, Lilian Belknap on viola, and Montrealer Élisabeth Giroux (La La La Human Steps) on cello.
Release date: November 27, 2014 Launch party November 27, 2014 La Vitrola (4602 St-Laurent), Montreal, 7:30 pm
Alicuanta is a staged song cycle set to the texts of Mexican poet Francisco Serrano, co-composed by pianist David Ryshpan and vocalist Gitanjali Jain Serrano. Through poetry, music, dance and visual elements, Alicuanta is an examination of the memory of an ancestor; an attempt to find peace within the tumultuous history of 1920s Mexico. The legacy explored is that of the General Francisco Roque Serrano (1889-1927), an influential yet mysterious figure of the Revolutionary era and Gitanjali’s great-grandfather, assassinated by his opponent in the midst of the presidential campaign. In addition to the songs, the suite includes three improvised interludes based on Serrano’s poem “Elegía trágica” (Tragic elegy), in homage to the General. The album closes with powerful excerpts from General Serrano’s “Manifiesto a la Nación.”
The process of creating Alicuanta began in 2010, when Gitanjali introduced David to the work of Francisco Serrano – her uncle – as David harbours a great creative affinity for Latin American poetry. On his 2008 album, Cycles (Ropeadope), David set poems by Pablo Neruda and Jorge Luis Borges to music for Indigone Trio & Strings. As he writes in the liner notes, “the poetry of Francisco Serrano immediately got my compositional cylinders firing.” Work began in earnest with the assistance of a grant from the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec. Along the creative path, David and Gitanjali sought out the mentorship of Argentine pianist/composer Guillermo Klein, sound designer David “Dubline” Drury, and vocal coach Madeleine Palmer. The fully staged premiere of the work, including projections created by Mexican visual artist Pablo Serrano, and Toronto-based dancer/choreographer Danny Wild, took place November 2, 2012 at Montreal’s Salle Gesù, and was re-mounted in Toronto in early 2014 as part of Aluna Theatre’s Panamerican Routes festival.
Gitanjali and David have been colleagues over the past several years. As improvisers they can be heard in saxophonist/composer Matana Roberts’ ensemble on her acclaimed record, Coin Coin Chapter One: Gens de couleur libres (Constellation, 2011), and that same year they accompanied legendary “salsoul” singer Joe Bataan for his performance at Pop Montreal. They share a passion for socially engaged and melodically inventive singer-songwriters including Rubén Blades, Caetano Veloso and Stevie Wonder. These mutual influences are set atop David’s particular harmonic language, informed by his jazz training. Their broad stylistic palette can be heard across the disc, from the more overtly jazzy “Vas a venir de dia” to the metrically shifting interludes of “Canción mía” and “El hombre sin hastío” to the driving tumbao of “Aforismos.”
David Ryshpan, originally from Toronto, has been a fixture in Montreal’s music community for the past decade as a pianist, composer, arranger, and journalist. Since moving to Montreal to pursue his studies at McGill University, he maintains an active career as a sideman with groups that range from jazz to hip-hop. He currently leads the samba-jazz group, Trio Bruxo, and has been touring internationally over the past year with samba-rock pioneer, Jorge Ben Jor.
Vocalist Gitanjali Jain Serrano is an alumna of l'École Internationale de Jacques Lecoq, and further specialized in voice and improvisation at Paris’ Panthéâtre. As an aerialist, actor and dancer, she was part of the cast of the acclaimed production 'Ulalena in Maui, Hawai'i for five years. In Montreal, she has performed in Scapegoat Carnivale’s award-winning productions of The Bacchæ and Medea as well as multiple editions Montreal Jazz Festival as a member of Roma Carnivale.
The ensemble on Alicuanta, masterfully documented by Juno-award winning recordist Paul Johnston, includes David’s long-time colleagues Sebastien Pellerin on bass and Mark Nelson on drums, cajón and percussion, with a string quartet consisting of Toronto’s Anna Atkinson (Grannis Bea) and Steph Park on violins, Lilian Belknap on viola, and Montrealer Élisabeth Giroux (La La La Human Steps) on cello.
Release date: November 27, 2014 Launch party November 27, 2014 La Vitrola (4602 St-Laurent), Montreal, 7:30 pm
