CD REVIEW -
CUBAN CHRISTMAS
THE SARAHBANDA
Deutsche
Grammophon 486 7594 [51:55]
This is a joyful
album as befits one devoted to
the Festive season. The story of
top horn-player Sarah Willis
MBE's love affair with Cuban
music has been told in these
pages and, beginning with 'Mozart Y
Mambo', her quartet of
earlier albums featuring home
grown musicians have been
acclaimed.
Hear here as you
might on the streets of Havana
favourites such as Jingle
Bells, Silent Night, White
Christmas, and featuring
legendary Cuban singer Carlos
Calunga: We Wish You a Merry
Christmas, Mel Tormé and
Robert Wells The Christmas
Song, and the classic Feliz
Navidad. A welcome discovery
is the original Cuban Christmas
carol Criolla Navidad.
Together with the
addition of Willis – the
Berlin Philharmonic's first ever
female brass player – the
Sarahbanda (saxophone, trumpet,
six violins, two each violas,
cellos and pianos, bass, congas,
timbales, bongos and percussion)
represent the bright, infectious
liveliness of Cuban music with
its salsa, mambo, bolero and son.
To help ensure
that the album is not just played
at Christmas, two further works:
Tchaikovsky's Cuban
Nutcracker Suite and J S
Bach's Brandenburg Concerto
No.3: Allegro, are also
re-envisioned in the musicians'
distinctive style. All the tracks
are conducted by José Antonio
Méndez Padrón.
Evidently, there
was much dancing and laughter
during the March recording in
Berlin. Willis ends her booklet
notes: "I truly hope it
brings as much happiness to your
home as it brought to mine while
creating it."
So, a delightful
disc despite a definitely
disappointing duration. A little
over 51 minutes is short measure,
especially when with postage it
cost the most your reviewer has
ever paid for a single CD.
©
Peter Burt, October 2025
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