Top Pick Oscher: Barroqueana Sudamericana Nr. 1

Barroqueana Sudamericana No. 1 for viola and orchestra is inspired by the folk music of Venezuela, Uruguay, and Chile.

The first movement features the theme of the Polo Margariteño and its variations. The harmonies of this folk song from Isla Margarita (Venezuela) are similar to the folia, one of the oldest European melodies. The slow second movement, “Milonga,” presents the melancholic milonga campera from Uruguayan folklore. In the third movement, two dances meet in the same 6/8 time signature: the Baroque gigue and the cueca from Chilean folklore.