Lars Ericsen

Night in Havana

Havana, the capital of Cuba, is not only the point of origin of exquisite cigars, but also the musical home of many dances and styles that have found their way into popular music: Cha Cha, Mambo, Rumba and Salsa have their roots in the Cuban metropolis. At the latest since the worldwide success of the CD 'Buena Vista Social Club' (1996) and the documentary of the same name by Wim Wenders (1999), the importance and influence of Cuban music have become more visible to the public.

Lars Ericsen paid his musical reverence to the cultural life of this city with his Cha Cha 'Night in Havana'. The first, verse-like part of the composition is in minor and depicts the dark, morbid charm of Havana with its largely dilapidated streets. However, this kind of 'nightly' darkness brightens up ironically at night, when the restaurants are illuminated and guests from all over the world let their day end cheerfully with live music. This is described in the second, refrain-like part of the piece in major. Commuting between these two poles, 'Night in Havana' paints a varied picture of Cuban lifestyle. Only the cigar has to stay outside in our country ...

Note: The audio sample is the BRASS ENSEMBLE version, not the wind band version!