Chacarera – Carel Kraayenhof

Chacarera
I am the best bandoneonist of Noordbeemster! That’s not an alternative fact, but an accurate description: I am the only bandoneonist in our tiny village…So tiny, that, when my twins were born nineteen years ago, the population augmented with one percent.
At the edge of the village lives one of my friends, who is a biological greengrocer; when I asked him what kind of music he would like me to write for him, he said to my shock: a chacarera! Oh dear, I thought, I have never done that before! Chacarera is a special kind of Argentine folk music, polyrhythmic and rooted in an old tradition. Since 2010, when pianist Juan Pablo Dobal and I started our duo, I have been learning to play the chacarera, thanks to the knowledge and help of my brilliant collegue; on the other hand, writing one is another matter…
By the way, I should have mentioned that my friend is in fact the only Argentinian in our village. So now I am trying to write a chacarera for the best Argentine greengrocer in Noordbeemster!