After many years of performing these works in recitals, we wanted to record them—not as two separate sets but as a confluence of dance-inspired music influenced by two distinct regions and cultures. We chose to travel back and forth between duo and solo, interweaving Balkan dances and tango nuevo in the way we have done in live performances. During the Covid-19 pandemic, which continues at the time we write these words, we’ve repeatedly found ourselves performing for audiences virtually, separated from one another

by the computer screen and yet connected to one another by that same screen. In recording this audio CD we sought to bring some of the live concert experience to the listener. The track order, tempos, pacing between selections, the improvisatory nature of some of the phrasing, dynamics, articulations, and embellishments, were elements in our process that we felt could contribute to providing some of the live concert feeling that we’ve all been missing during periods of lockdown.

This music is especially close to each of us: The tangos were composed for me (Zachary) to play, and like the sonatas of the Italian violinist-composers of the Baroque Era, these compositions provide an environment for exploration, an invitation to embrace improvisation as part of the process. As a classical violinist who utilizes improvisation as part of violin study and as a means to develop a particular relationship to a musical score, I feel a closeness to music that is structured in a way as to invite a particular type of partnership with the musician studying and performing the work.

The Balkan Dances are a musical reflection of the cultural influences in my (Mina’s) childhood, in what was then Yugoslavia. Certain rhythms, melodic fragments, and harmonic progressions conjure visceral memories from traveling throughout the rich cultural landscapes across the region, and of singing and dancing traditional songs in several dialects as a child and music student. My mother helped with analysis of the musical material thanks to her extensive performances of Balkan folk music as a singer and player of the traditional recorders, and her many musical collaborations across all the regions of former Yugoslavia.

-Mina Gajić & Zachary Carrettin

Ray Granlund (b.1975)

Selected Tangos

Marko Tajčević (1900–1984) 

Seven Balkan Dances

1)  Maureen (Granlund) [3:39]

2)  I. Con moto (Tajčević) [1:39]

3)  TangoVals (Granlund) [5:28]

4)  II. Rustico (Tajčević) [1:39]

5)  III. Vivo (Tajčević) [0:54]

6)  Sollozo Perpetuo (Granlund) [6:23]

7)  IV. Sostenuto e cantabile (Tajčević) [2:59]

8)  Tango Peregrino (Granlund) [5:17]

9)  V. Allegro ritmico (Tajčević) [1:07]

10)  VI. Allegretto (Tajčević) [0:48]

11)  TangoNometría (Granlund) [3:17]

12)  VII. Allegro quasi pesante (Tajčević) [1:12]

13)  Tango du joli printemps, after Poulenc (Granlund) [4:04]

Total time: 38:36
Release date: April 22, 2022
UPC: 053479225627

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Quotes & Reviews

“A highly dynamic piano/violin duo, they raise the roof on a set of tangos and Balkan dances that is purely non-pareil. A killer recital that goes the extra mile, Piazzolla would be doubly proud of what they do here since the tangos they focus on were written by a cat not even born until 1975. Purely hot stuff.” - Chris Spector, Midwest Record Guide

“angoNometría, for example, employs metres unusual for a tango, such as 5/8 and 5/4, which give the music a playful unpredictability, and yet even when the metric ground is shifting like quicksand, he manages to project an unwavering lyricism. He has a good ear for piquant harmony, too, and his peculiar harmonic sensibility means that these tangos are no slavish retreads of Piazzolla as one hears in so much modern tango nuevo.” - Andrew Farach-Colton, Gramophone

“The strong sound from the Sono Luminus studios is another draw on this release, capturing the energy of the players without a hint of distortion. A novel album that is enjoyable from start to finish.” - AllMusic

“Tajcevic’s brief Balkan Dances succinctly make their vivid musical points, helped by the gusto and verve characterizing Mina Gajic’s wonderful rhythmic élan. Despite the disc’s relative brief playing time (38 and a half minutes), adventurous listeners will not feel shortchanged.” - Jed Distler, Classics Today

“The tangos by Ray Granlund (b. 1975) were composed for Carrettin to play and further allow the violinist to impose his personal stamp on them when improvisation is part of their compositional makeup. The Seven Balkan Dances by Osijek-born Marko Tajcevic (1900-84), on the other hand, distill into musical form the cultural influences of Gajic's childhood in what was then Yugoslavia. Such personal ties make the music sing all the more sweetly when executed by the instrumentalists…. Adding to the project's appeal, Confluence, recorded in July 2020 at Sono Luminus Studios in Boyce, Virginia, exhibits all of the pristine clarity we've come to associate with the label's releases.” - Ron Schepper, Textura

“The pairing of Marko Tajčević’s folky Balkan Dances with the contemporary tangos by Ray Granlund may seem risky at first glance but it works very well and is a reflection of the cultural influences that are meaningful to these two performers. Here we have a flowing together, a merging of two different compositional languages, coming from regions that are geographically distanced but complementary with their distinct rhythmicity and melodic flavour.” - Ivana Popovic, The Whole Note