Soledad

Spare and aching, "Soledad" strips Piazzolla's ensemble down to its emotional skeleton. The bandoneon sings here rather than attacks, its timbre close to a human voice in the middle register — breathy, searching, never quite arriving at comfort. Loneliness is the subject and the texture simultaneously; the arrangement's space is as expressive as its notes, silence functioning as a kind of presence. There is none of the rhythmic ferocity of his showpieces here, only a long, unhurried meditation on what it means to be alone in a room, a city, a life. The strings enter sparingly, like thoughts interrupting a reverie. This is music for the small hours, when the noise of the day finally quiets and the deeper quiet underneath it becomes audible. Close your eyes and let it sit with you.