El Canto del Viento

In 1965, the celebrated Argentinian folk artist Atahualpa Yupanqui published El Canto del Viento, a collection of proems that touched on ethnomusicology and rural life. Singer and guitarist Amando Risueno, born in Buenos Aires four years after the book appeared, pays homage to the legacy of his compatriot with 15 well-crafted covers. He brings conservatory classical training to the folk forms of the Pampas, but doesn’t sacrifice the popular spirit of the originals on the barbecue of showy virtuosity. On opener ‘La Nadita’, his aggressive, crisp picking delivers the melancholy signature phrase like a blacksmith hammer blow. But ‘Vidala Religiosa’ is more meditative and hesitant. ‘Campo Abierto’ ripples along sweetly, a sort of lullaby to the land. Risueno also has a lovely voice. What it lacks in huskiness and depth it mitigates with a plangent emotive quality that fills the space around his rolling scales and arpeggios.

The version of ‘Luna Tucumana’, best known as part of Mercedes Sosa’s repertoire, just about passes the test of authenticity, though the vocals do evince a hint of Gardelian urbanity; Risueño is a porteño (from the capital), after all, and cannot always emulate the rural rootsiness of his inspirational forbears. Based in France, it’s no surprise this talented soloist has tapped his country’s rich folk songbook for a career, and he doesn’t make the mistake of diluting the milongas, zambas and chacareras with jazz or bluesy touches. As covers go, this is classy and considered.