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Introduction
Although Misa Criolla was composed nearly half a century ago and has been widely performed and admired, surprisingly little has been written about this monumental work. This article is drawn from, with minor adaptations, a lecture and performance presentation given in April of 2007. It was around this time that I met Oscar Escalada and began work with him on an English version of his article on the subject (published in the August 2008 Choral Journal). After providing a general background on the composer and Misa Criolla, Ramírez's most popular work, this article will examine the folk elements that contribute to its structure, providing musical examples from regional folksong.
About the Composer
Ariel Ramírez was born in 1921 in Santa Fe, Argentina. He traveled his country extensively as a young man, performing as a pianist and studying Argentina's various regional music traditions. His knowledge of Argentine folklore expanded to include European folklore when, in 1950, he studied the folklore of central Europe at the Academy of Vienna during his overseas education.1 While in Europe, he continued to pursue his Argentine roots. He arranged and performed a highly acclaimed concert of Argentine music for the Vatican Radio, and was awarded a fellowship from the Institute of Hispanic Culture in Madrid to study the origins of Argentine music.2 Following his formal music education in Europe, he returned to Argentina in 1954 to complete his studies in Buenos Aires, and, in 1955, he founded the Compañía Argentina de Folklore, which performed concerts in Latin America and Europe.
The 1960s saw a Renaissance in Argentine folk music, and Ramírez became a principal figure associated with the movement. Folkloric festivals were held in the country beginning in the late 1950s. One significant festival, held annually in Cosquín, Córdoba, began in 1960 and continues to this day. These festivals are locally organized and include singing and dancing, and sometimes conferences, crafts, and seminars.3 Ramírez quickly gained a reputation as an Argentine folklore specialist and became an important leader in the folk movement.
As a composer, politically-themed popular songs earned Ramírez renown in his own country, but it was his composition Misa Criolla that launched him onto the international stage. The pervasive folk influences in the work are informed by...