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The Mackintosh Choir – Summer Concert 2024

Sunday 2 June, 2024 7pm

St John’s Renfield Church 22 Beaconsfield Road Glasgow G12 ONY

The Mackintosh Choir. Summer Concert. World premiere of TANGO MASS

Tango Mass was composed by Au Arias, and he will be the conductor. He will be joined by world renowned Bandoneon player Nicolas Maceratesi, flying in from Italy for the performance. Plus there will be a  String Quartet.

Part of WestFest 1 – 30 June, 2024

Tickets £15/children under 12 free.  Buy tickets

Argentinian, Au Arias, took over role of Musical Director for the Glasgow based Mackintosh Choir  Community Choir in June 2022. Nicolas Maceratesi, Bandoneon player is also Argentinian although now living in Italy. The two met in 2016, when they were working for Al Pacino when he presented a theatre play in Buenos Aires.

Au Arias

A conversation with Au Arias about Tango Mass

• What inspired you to compose the Tango Mass?

I started to compose the Tango Mass when I arrived in Scotland in January 2020.

Creating a large-scale work that connects the music of my country (Tango) with the

traditional Latin Mass setting as many composers have done in the past, was

something that obsessed me since I premiered my opera. I guess the influence of

Tango in my music is a way to keep the connection with the place where I was born,

despite Scotland being my new home.

• Why did you want to set a traditional mass to tango rhythms?

That’s a good question. But to answer this, I need to start from another point: What

does the traditional Latin Mass offer to composers in order to compose a new work?

Just lyrics and structure. In other words, if a composer wants to compose a Mass,

he/she will need to use the given lyrics and to follow the standard order of

movements. But for creating a new music a composer needs something else: The

music! And music is actually melody, rhythm and harmonies. So there is where Tango

takes its actual role. As a composer I used the distinctive feature of Tango, the

rhythm and mixed it with the given lyrics plus the music thats sounds in my head.

• Why is the bandoneon so crucial to this piece?

Bandoneon is the most distinctive instrument of Tango. It has the ability to touch souls

with a single sustained note. And it has the ability to take you on a journey to Buenos

Aires without even being there ever.

Composing a Tango’ish music without Bandoneon, is like playing football without the

ball.In this piece, the bandoneon is not used as a virtuoso-soloist. But its tone is crucial to

feel the general mood of the music.

• What do you think the audience will get from hearing the Tango Mass?

Firstly and most importantly, every single person attending this concert will witness

the birth of something new. Embarking on the journey to hear something that has

never been performed before is an unforgettable experience.

By hearing the Tango Mass I hope the audience can enjoy the rare tone blending of

choir, bandoneon, strings and piano. The audience will also hear the resonance of

Tango in a choral setting and the rare chance of hearing a bandoneon by Nicolas

Maceratesi, a bandoneonist who will come from Italy especially to perform with us

• How do you think the choir has benefited from working on this piece?

Premiering a brand-new work requires a lot of work, energy and skills. I think

The Mackintosh Choir will strengthen its abilities to tackle complex works.

Therefore the overall standards will rise considerably. I also think that the

choir will strengthen the socialising aspect as every single chorister has an

important role as performer and as part of the organisation of an event of

this kind .

Additionally, I hope by doing this kind of interesting repertoire more people

will want to join us as choristers.

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