New York Festival of Song Releases MI PAÍS: SONGS OF ARGENTINA Featuring Federico De Michelis and Steven Blier

New York Festival of Song has released its next studio album Mi País: Songs of Argentina featuring bass-baritone Federico De Michelis and pianist and NYFOS Artistic Director Steven Blier on NYFOS Records. It is produced and mixed by Jonathan Estabrooks. In addition to De Michelis and Blier, the album features César Andrés Parreño (tenor), Shinjoo Cho (bandoneon), Sami Merdinian (violin), and Pablo Lanouguere (double bass). Watch the making of the album video!

"When I first heard Federico De Michelis in the winter of 2022,” Blier said, “I knew I was in the presence of an authentic Buenos Aires voice, filled with all its tenderness, its poetry, and its bruised machismo. Five minutes after our first concert together I asked him to make a CD with me to celebrate our shared love of porteño song. Mi país: Songs of Argentina is the realization of that dream, a dive into the spellbinding delicacy of its art songs as well as the sultry five o’clock shadow of its tangos.”

"The songs on Mi País come directly out of my soul,” said Federico De Michelis. “I feel fortunate to have a partner like Steve Blier, who feels them as deeply as I do.” 

The prolific composer Guastavino, known for his lyricism, simplicity, and faith in tonality, was nicknamed the “The Schubert of the Pampas” and the album features four of his works, “Abismo de sed (Abyss of Thirst)”, a recreation of the sound of a fierce Argentinean zamba; “El clavel del aire blanco (The White Carnation of the Air)”  from his 1970 song cycle Flores argentinas; “Noches de Santa Fe, canción del litoral (Santa Fe Nights, a Song of the Coast)”; and “Hermano, canción del sur (Brother, a Song of the South)” inspired by the great Argentine poet Hamlet Lima Quintana.

Guastavino’s works appear alongside three songs by Carlos López Buchardo, whose “music glows with a soft sensuality unlike that of any other Argentinean composer,” explains Blier. Buchardo’s “Canción de ausencia (Song of Yearning)” and “El niño pequeñito (The Tiny Boy)” were both written for López Buchardo’s wife Brígida and demonstrate the richness of his musical palette. His song “Vidala,” from his first collection of songs (1924), won Buenos Aires’s highest musical prize, the Premio Municipal de Música.

Also included on the album is Ariel Ramírez’s 1957 song “Allá lejos y hace tiempo (Long ago and far away)”, which is based on a book by the British writer William H. Hudson, Far Away and Long Ago. The lyrics take their inspiration from Hudson’s intense connection to the terrain of Argentina, eloquently evoking the majesty of its mountains and forests in just a few lines of poetry.

The album naturally turns to tango, which Blier said is “as intrinsic an expression of [Argentinean] culture as the blues is for North Americans.” Journeying from the classic “El día que me quieras (If ever you should love me)” from the 1920s and 30s “King of Tango” Carlos Gardel, the album also includes tracks by other renowned tangueros: Mariano Mores (“Cafétín de Buenos Aires” - Buenos Aires Café), and Héctor Stamponi (“Flor de lino” - Linseed Flower).

Astor Piazzolla, who melded elements of jazz with the counterpoint of Bach, lifted tango to some of its greatest heights. His music bears the imprint of Gardel, Ginastera, Nadia Boulanger, and Bartók, and his “Siempre se vuelve a Buenos Aires (You always come back to Buenos Aires)” captures the addictive feeling of nostalgia that runs through much of Argentina’s music and poetry.

"I carry a deep longing for Buenos Aires, even though I have never even been there and may never get to see that magical city,” said Blier. “But I’ll always have these beautiful songs to show me ‘that melancholy’—and irresistible—’way to love.’ And I shall always come back to Buenos Aires through her music—just as Piazzolla’s song predicts.”

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About Federico de Michelis
Federico De Michelis (Buenos Aires, Argentina) is a bass-baritone, composer and founder of "The New Song Project". He has performed in some of the world's most prestigious opera houses and organizations for over a decade and continues to expand his repertoire and musical boundaries. 

Coming from a popular music background as a pianist and guitarist, he is well versed in the works of Latin American chamber and folk music, jazz, the great American songbook, as well as the compositions of contemporary songwriters.  

He was a part of the Houston Grand Opera Studio, the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía in Madrid (where he received the honor of outstanding student, bestowed by the Queen Sofia), and the Opera Studio of the Teatro Argentino de La Plata in Buenos Aires, where he began his operatic career. 

About Steven Blier

Steven Blier is the Artistic Director of the New York Festival of Song (NYFOS), which he co-founded in 1988 with Michael Barrett. Since the Festival’s inception, he has programmed, performed, translated and annotated more than 150 vocal recitals with repertoire spanning the entire range of American song, art song from Schubert to Szymanowski, and popular song from early vaudeville to Lennon-McCartney. NYFOS has also made in-depth explorations of music from Spain, Latin America, Scandinavia and Russia. New York Magazine gave NYFOS its award for Best Classical Programming, while Opera News proclaimed Blier “the coolest dude in town” and in December 2014, Musical America included him as one of 30 top industry professionals in their feature article, “Profiles in Courage.”

Mr. Blier enjoys an eminent career as an accompanist and vocal coach. His recital partners have included Michael Spyres, Julia Bullock, Renée Fleming, Cecilia Bartoli, Samuel Ramey, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, Susan Graham, Jessye Norman, and José van Dam, in venues ranging from Carnegie Hall to La Scala. He is also on the faculty of The Juilliard School for three decades, and has been active in encouraging young recitalists at summer programs, including the Wolf Trap Opera Company, the Steans Institute at Ravinia, Santa Fe Opera, and the San Francisco Opera Center. Many of his former students, including Stephanie Blythe, Sasha Cooke, Paul Appleby, Dina Kuznetsova, Corinne Winters, and Kate Lindsey, have gone on to be valued recital colleagues and sought-after stars on the opera and concert stage. In keeping the traditions of American music alive, he has brought back to the stage many of the rarely heard songs of George Gershwin, Harold Arlen, Kurt Weill and Cole Porter. He has also played ragtime, blues and stride piano evenings with John Musto. A champion of American art song, he has premiered works of John Corigliano, Paul Moravec, Ned Rorem, William Bolcom, Mark Adamo, John Musto, Richard Danielpour, Tobias Picker, Robert Beaser, Lowell Liebermann, Harold Meltzer, and Lee Hoiby, many of which were commissioned by NYFOS.

Mr. Blier’s extensive discography includes the premiere recording of Leonard Bernstein’s Arias and Barcarolles (Koch International), which won a Grammy Award; Spanish Love Songs (Bridge Records), recorded live at the Caramoor International Music Festival with Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, Joseph Kaiser, and Michael Barrett; the world premiere recording of Bastianello (John Musto) and Lucrezia (William Bolcom), a double bill of one-act comic operas set to librettos by Mark Campbell; and Quiet Please, an album of jazz standards with vocalist Darius de Haas. On the NYFOS Records label, he has released From Rags to Riches, a journey through the 20th century in American song, featuring Stephanie Blythe and William Burden; Paul Bowles' surprising masterpiece A Picnic Cantata; and Black & Blue, with tenor Joshua Blue. September of 2023 will see the release of his next recording, Mi país: Songs of Argentina, with bass-baritone Federico De Michelis. His writings on opera have been featured in Opera News and the Yale Review. A native New Yorker, he received a Bachelor’s Degree with Honors in English Literature at Yale University, where he studied piano with Alexander Farkas. He completed his musical studies in New York with Martin Isepp and Paul Jacobs.

About New York Festival of Song

Now in its 36th season, New York Festival of Song (NYFOS) is dedicated to creating intimate song concerts of great beauty and originality. Weaving music, poetry, history, and humor into evenings of compelling theater, NYFOS fosters community among artists and audiences. Each program entertains and educates in equal measure. 

Founded by pianists Michael Barrett and Steven Blier in 1988, NYFOS continues to produce its series of thematic song programs, drawing together rarely-heard songs of all kinds, overriding traditional distinctions between musical genres, exploring the character and language of other cultures, and the personal voices of song composers and lyricists.

Since its founding, NYFOS has particularly celebrated American song. Among the many highlights is the double bill of one-act comic operas, Bastianello andLucrezia, by John Musto and William Bolcom, both with libretti by Mark Campbell, commissioned and premiered by NYFOS in 2008 and recorded on Bridge Records. In addition to Bastianello and Lucrezia and the 2008 Bridge Records release of Spanish Love Songs with Joseph Kaiser and the late Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, NYFOS has produced five recordings on the Koch label, including a Grammy Award-winning disc of Bernstein’s Arias and Barcarolles, and the Grammy-nominated recording of Ned Rorem’s Evidence of Things Not Seen (also a NYFOS commission) on New World Records. In 2014, Canción Amorosa, a CD of Spanish song—Basque, Catalan, Castilian, and Sephardic—was released on the GPR label, with soprano Corinne Winters accompanied by Steven Blier.

Their latest endeavor is NYFOS Records, which released its first album (From Rags to Riches, with Stephanie Blythe and William Burden) in January of 2022. They also issue a monthly single, with archival performances by artists such as Lorraine Hunt Lieberson and Bernarda Fink, and newly recorded songs by Joshua Blue and Sasha Cooke. NYFOS Records has reached rapidly growing audiences in over 100 countries, with well over half a million streams since the beginning of the year. 

In November 2010, NYFOS debuted NYFOS Next, a mini-series for new songs, hosted by guest composers in intimate venues, including OPERA America's National Opera Center, National Sawdust, the DiMenna Center for Classical Music, the Ann Goodman Recital Hall at Kaufman Music Center, and now the Rubin Museum in Chelsea.

NYFOS is passionate about nurturing the artistry and careers of young singers, and has developed training residencies around the country, including with The Juilliard School’s Ellen and James S. Marcus Institute for Vocal Arts (now in its 16th year); Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts (its 14th year in March 2022); San Francisco Opera Center (over 20 years as of February 2018); Glimmerglass Opera (2008–2010); and its newest project, NYFOS@North Fork in Orient, NY.

NYFOS’s concert series, touring programs, radio broadcasts, recordings, and educational activities continue to spark new interest in the creative possibilities of the song program, and have inspired the creation of thematic vocal series around the world.

Mi País: Songs of Argentina Tracklist 

1. Cafetín de Buenos Aires by Mariano Mores [3:32]
                 Arranged by Pablo Lanouguere; lyrics by Enrique Santos Discépolo
2. Noches de Santa Fe by Carlos Guastavino [4:07]
                 Lyrics by Guiche Aizenberg
3. Abismo de sed by Carlos Guastavino [3:03]
                 Lyrics by Alma García
4. El niño pequeñito by Carlos López Buchardo [2:59]
                 Lyrics by Ida Réboli
5. Siempre se vuelve a Buenos Aires by Astor Piazzolla [3:16]
                 Arranged by Pablo Lanouguere; lyrics by Eladia Blázquez 
6. Allá lejos y hace tiempo by Ariel Ramírez [4:48]
                 Arranged by Federico De Michelis; lyrics by Armando Tejada Gómez
7. Canción de ausencia by Carlos López Buchardo [3:51]
                 Lyrics by Gustavo Caraballo
8. Flor de lino by Héctor Stamponi [4:06]
                 Arranged by Pablo Lanouguere; lyrics by Homero Expósito
9. El clavel del aire blanco by Carlos Gu we astavino [2:47]
                 Lyrics by León Benarós
10. Hermano by Carlos Guastavino [4:08]
                 Lyrics by Hamlet Lima Quintana
11. Vidala by Carlos López Buchardo [2:44]
                 Lyrics by Gustavo Caraballo
                 Featuring César Andrés Parreño, tenor 
12. El día que me quieras by Carlos Gardel [5:13]
                 Arranged by Steven Blier; lyrics by Alfredo Le Pera

Federico De Michelis, bass-baritone
Steven Blier, piano

Featuring:
César Andrés Parreño, tenor
Shinjoo Cho, bandoneon
Sami Merdinian, violin
Pablo Lanouguere, double bass

Producers: Jonathan Estabrooks, Steven Blier
Engineer: Chris Benham 
Mixing: Jonathan Estabrooks 
Mastering: Bryan Lowe
Design: Gillian Riesen, Emitha LLC
Cover Photo: Ashley Canario
Recorded at Big Orange Sheep, Brooklyn February 16,17,19 & May 23, 25, 2023
NYFOS Records 2023

This recording was funded, in part, by generous grants from dear friends of NYFOS. Our deepest gratitude to them, and to all our founding NYFOS Records supporters. 

NYFOS Records is part of New York Festival of Song, a 501(c)3 nonprofit arts organization.
Steven Blier, Artistic Director
Charles McKay, Managing Director
Claire Molloy, Deputy Director

Board of Directors: Richard A. Rosen, president; Philip Kalikman, treasurer; Joseph Kaiser; Karen Koch, Robert Krinsky, Judy Goetz Sanger; Peter M. Thall

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