Latest news: December 2009, singer Javier Rodríguez of Misa Criolla will visit Europe. Choirs in Europe can contract him. From 2008 on there will be a possibility to sing the other Ramírez mass with Rodríguez: Misa por la Paz y la Justicia, Ramírez favourite composition. The Foundation of Argentine Music in the Netherlands can give you more information.

Ariel Ramírez composed the Misa Criolla in 1964 as one of the first masses in the national idiom. Ramírez not only used the language of his country but also the musical rhythms of Argentina, partly played by local instruments.
It is a Creole Mass indeed. Creole means: native, which is not the same as indigenous. The Argentine Creoles are descendents of many peoples, such as Europeans and  Indians. New immigrants are called gringos. The Argentine rhythms and instruments also descend from many places.
The first recording of the Misa Criolla took place in 1964, sung by the choir of the Basílica del Socorro and the folkloric male quartet  'Los Fronterizos', who sang the soloist parts either one by one or together.
The first live performance took place in Colón Theatre in Buenos Aires in 1965 (you can read a critic about this concert on the Ariel Ramirez website), the first European performances were in March 1967 in Germany.
The score was edited  in 1965 in Buenos Aires, together with the score of the Christmas cantata Navidad Nuestra. The
Misa Criolla became extremely popular. It was sung all over the world and its recordings were sold in huge amounts.  Almost 25 years after its birth, millions of  CD's of the piece were sold when the famous classical tenor José Carreras recorded it (1988).  At the end of 1998, Ramírez performed the mass  in Buenos Aires with the three main folkloric singers that sung the mass in its 35 years of existence: Gerardo López ( Los Fronterizos, he died in 2004), Zamba Quipildor and Javier Rodríguez. The mass was recently recorded by Mercedes Sosa (1999) and by Javier Rodríguez (2002).
 

Voices and instruments used in the Misa Criolla

• tenor
• mixed choir
• harpsichord or piano
• percussion: bombo is essential, but many accessory percussion instruments are used, like goat nails (picture).
• guitar
• double bass (Ramírez frequently uses a bass guitar instead)
• charango (an Andean snare instrument)
• quena (the straight Inca flute)
• siku (the Andean Pan-pipe)

Movements and rhythms, to listen to parts in Real Audio: click the title.
 

	Title	Rhythm
	Kyrie	vidala-baguala	slow rhythms from the North-Western plateau
	Gloria	Carnavalito - Yaraví	a quick and a slow rhythm from the North-West
	Credo	chacarera trunca	quick rhythm from the Middle-North of Argentina
	Sanctus	carnaval cochabambino	Bolivian rhythm
	Agnus Dei	estilo pampeano	rhythm from the Pampas

Misa Criolla on CD (selection)

year	soloist	choir	remarks	rest of contents	availability in Holland
1968	Los Fronterizos	Basilica van Socorro	the original version with a folkloric male quartet	Misa Flamenca (Spanish)	Internet
1987	José Carreras	Coral Salvé de Laredo/ Soc. Coral de Bilbao	a classical tenor	Navidad en Verano, Navidad Nuestra	yes
1991	Zamba Quipildor	Asoc. Coral Lagun Onak	the tenor was the regular tenor of the composer for about 20 years.	other  compositions of Ramírez	no
1996	Opus Cuatro	Coro Universitario La Plata	an adaptation for a male quartet using more of their voices at the same time.	otherArgentine choir works	via SAM
1999	Mercedes Sosa	Estudio Coral de Buenos Aires	an adaptation, sung by 'the voice of Argentina'.	Navidad Nuestra	yes
1999	Grupo Alturas	Studio vocale Alturas (?)	an adaptation by a Peruan group, Kruidvat, only € 1,79	other South-American repertoire	via Kruidvat-site
2002	Javier Rodríguez	Coral de las Américas	CD Misa Criolla/algo+ en Vientos de Hermandad by the last regular tenor of the composer	other Argentine music, a.o. Ramírez	via SAM

Rehearsal
Scores
Be aware, that most scores lack the original Andean instruments! However, Argentine or other Latin American musicians, who know how to play the accompaniment, live in many countries.

The score you can buy in Europe and USA is not the same as the score you can buy in Argentina. From the first concert Ramírez adapted much in the way he performed Misa Criolla. A lot of these changes were wrtitten in an arrangement that was edited in Argentina in 1989. There was a smaller adaptation in 2001 by Damián Sánchez, who worked frequently with Ariel Ramírez. This is the official arrangement now. Our Foundation sells this score. It contains a page about pronunciation of Argentine Spanish, suggestions for the use of instruments and the choral score is put in four pentagrams in stead of two.  SAM only accepts orders in EURO-countries.

The piece lasts only some 20 minutes and does not seem to be very difficult because the music is quite accessible and stirring  However, the most difficult  part for non-Latin choirs are the rhythms of the mass.  Especially, the chacarera (in the Credo) may be problematic. An Argentine folkloric musician once told us that hardly any choir sings the mass completely correct!
Trying to learn the rhythm just from the score is no use. Even for the director, it would be wise to frequently listen to a non-adapted recorded version. Though the José Careras version cannot be considered as an original one because of the lack of a folkloric voice and an Argentine pronunciation, it can be used quite well for studying the rhythms. This CD is world-wide available. You can also use the Javier Rodríguez version, which is almost completely authentic.

How to pronounce Argentine Spanish?
Like Spanish except:
Like all South-American the Argentine pronounce 'c' just like 's'. So don't use the Spanish way of saying something like 'th'.
The Argentines pronounce 'll' more or less like 'j' in journal. (For instance in 'llenos están los cielos'). However, in journal, there is in 'j' a d-like sound which is not heard in the Argentine 'll'.