Hyperion Records

Gottschalk astonished audiences with the exotic, syncopated rhythms of the Caribbean which he incorporated into such pieces as Les yeux créoles (Ojos criollos) (recorded on CD 1), Manchega (recorded on CD 2) and Bamboula (recorded on CD 3). As early as the Civil War, Americans were given a foretaste of the popular music that was to develop two generations hence. But whatever the rhythm, their craving for lively, vibrant music was insatiable and Gottschalk duly obliged. La Colombe is a sparkling salon polka reminiscent of his Polka in A flat (RO275) and, thematically, his own celebrated Ojos criollos.

from notes by Jeremy Nicholas © 2000