Search - Gustavo / Piloto, Jorge Luis Arenas, Ernesto Cortazar, Vicente Fernandez :: 100 years of Mariachi

Depends if you are a mariachi afficionado

David Coletti | Dallas, TX | 08/20/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"My review for this CD brings up the same points as my review for "Flamenco" by Pepe Romero in that in both these cases, you have musicians who have spent most of thier careers in classical music and have tried their hand at a different genre.



And just as the case with Pepe Romero and Flamenco, 100 años of Mariachi gives us wonderful performances... refined, precise, not lacking anything on the surface. No doubt, Domingo sings wonderfully... but will not please "afficionados" who feel the music should have a certain earthiness and rawness of emotion only gained through years and years of specializing and living this type of music only.



Long ago as a teenager living in Mexico, Placido Domingo sang much Mariachi music for pleasure (himself a big fan of the ranchera greats) before he decided to concentrate all his energy on training for a full-time opera career. So this style of music is by no means "unnatural" for him to sing now or is it out of place for him as, say, American Broadway show tunes. However, he also admitted he could not produce the full range of mariachi vocal technique because such would possibly damage his voice for his operas.



Taking all that into consideration, I did enjoy this CD very much. I personally found Domingo's singing style highly refined yet strongly masculine... very much proper for this music. And always showing impeccable good taste and wonderful musicianship. What I always admired about Domingo is no matter what type of music he ventures into, he really tries his best to prepare and "live" the music as an actor does for a role. Don't be dissuaded by those claiming a mere opera singer can't sound convincing in Mariachi, or that he brings "nothing" to this music... as soon as I played this CD and Domingo sang the first phrase of "Paloma Querida", I was sold. Of course, Domingo is not a genuine ranchera specialist. But there are times when one can't help but believe he is based on his performance here.



I highly reccomend this CD for those new to Mariachi music, or for those more concerned with wonderful singing of this music in a general sense. True afficionados will of course prefer the genuine interpreters of yesterday and today and give this one a pass. But given the extremely poor taste of multitudes of singers who tried this music in recent years, I find it hard to believe that Domingo, with his wonderfully refined singing, could be dismissed by anybody."

Amazing Combination

Terhilda Garrido | SF, California | 04/06/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Mariachi music is operatic in its themes (it is larger than life in its passions) and the musical voice and ranges that it requires. Combining beautiful ballads and Placido Domingo's voice is an amazing combination. I had not been a big Mariachi music lover, but this is simply some of the most romantic music I have ever heard. It is emotion-invoking and gorgeous to hear. What a great concept, and what a great execution."

FANTASTICO!

Merci | Vienna, VA | 10/08/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I love Mariachi music, and I love Placido Domingo, so this is a perfect combination. The CD is beautiful, with a wonderful selection of old favorite Mariachi songs -- especially the Jose Alfredo Jimenez selections."