Description

La Rencontre features works by several contemporary composers: Julie Spencer, Oleksa Lozowchuk, Emmanuel Séjourné, Guillo Espel, and Keiko Abe, along with Caron’s own transcriptions of Letter from Home by American guitarist Pat Metheny, and Cinco Piezas by Argentinian master Astor Piazzolla.

The compositions are full of musical subtleties that call for highly acrobatic technique on the part of the performer, who plays an instrument that ranges over five octaves. The marimba’s roots can be traced to primitive traditional instruments developed in Asia, pre-Colombian America and Africa. In the 16th century, black slaves imported the marimba to Latin America. It has come to be considered the national instrument in Mexico and Guatemala.