Ramírez is known primarily for his Misa Criolla (1964). It allowed him to travel around Europe and Latin America to build his reputation. He had more than 300 compositions during his career and sold millions of albums. By the time he died in 2010, his work was globally renowned.Plácido Domingo, José Carreras and Mercedes Sosa are some of the artists to have recorded his work. He was also associated with Miguel Brascó and Felix Luna.
Ariel Ramírez was born in Santa Fe, Argentina. His father was a teacher and it had been thought Ramírez would also pursue this career path but the job lasted for just two days due to "discipline problems".He pursued initially tango before switching to Argentine folklore. He began his piano studies in Santa Fe, and soon became fascinated with the music of the gauchos and creoles in the mountains. He continued his studies in Córdoba, where he met the great Argentinian folk singer and songwriter Atahualpa Yupanqui and was influenced by him. Following a suggestion from Yupanqui, he visited the North East of Argentina and deepened his research into the traditional rhythms of South America. He spent time in Mendoza and Buenos Aires. At the same time continuing his academic studies as a composer at the National Conservatory of Music, in Buenos Aires. In 1946 he made his first recording, with RCA. He made twenty records with RCA until 1956.
Ramírez went on to study classical music in Madrid, Rome and mainly in Vienna, from 1950 to 1954. Back in Argentina, he collected over 400 folk and country songs and popular songs and founded the Compañía de Folklore Ariel Ramírez.
Ramírez married Inés Cuello de Ramirez. Together they had two sons.
In 1964, the Ramírez' composition Misa Criolla marked the beginning of a period of high musical productivity for the composer which also heralded the premieres of the works Navidad Nuestra (1964), La Peregrinación (1964); Los caudillos (1965); Mujeres Argentinas (1969), and Alfonsina y el Mar (1969), all produced in collaboration with writer Félix Luna. Misa Criolla was an early non-Latin Masses post-Second Vatican Council.[2][5] The Washington Post described Misa Criolla as "a stunning artistic achievement, combined Spanish text with indigenous instruments and rhythms".[5] It led to album sales numbering in the millions internationally.[5] Ramírez once told The Jerusalem Post how Misa Criolla was inspired by a visit to Germany after World War II.[5] While there he had an encounter with a group of nuns, which led him to consider writing "a spiritual piece". This would eventually become the Misa Criolla.[5]
Misa Criolla and Alfonsina y el Mar are probably his best known compositions. The Misa, a mass for either male or female soloists, chorus and orchestra, is based on folk genres such as chacarera, carnavalito and estilo pampeano, with Andean influences and instruments. It is also one of the first masses to be celebrated in a modern language following the lifting on their ban by the Second Vatican Council. Ramírez wrote the piece in 1963–1964 and it was recorded in 1964 by Philips Records, directed by Ramírez himself with Los Fronterizos as featured performers (Philips 820 39 LP, including Navidad Nuestra, remastered in 1994 and released by Philips as CD 526155-2). It was not publicly performed until 1967 in Düsseldorf, Germany, during a European tour which eventually brought Ariel Ramírez before Pope Paul VI. His Mass for peace and justice (1981) is quite famous.[2] Equally famous are the recordings with the solo voices of George Dalaras (1989), José Carreras (1990), and Mercedes Sosa (1999). Plácido Domingo recorded the Kyrie (i.e., the first movement of the Misa) with Dominic Miller on guitar (2003).
Albeit not sharing the same worldwide success,[citation needed] Alfonsina y el Mar enjoys great popularity in Latin America and Spain, being one of the most regarded songs in Argentinian folk music. The piece pays homage to poet Alfonsina Storni, evoking her tragic suicide in 1938, when she walked into the sea at La Perla beach in Mar del Plata, and the poem she wrote as a goodbye message, I Am Going to Sleep. Artists of the stature of Mercedes Sosa, Violeta Parra, Alfredo Kraus and José Carreras (with Pasión Vega) have made recordings of the song, as well as many other popular singers including Shakira, Miguel Bosé, Andrés Calamaro and Paloma San Basilio.
Other major compositions by Ramírez include the Cantata Sudamericana (again with text by Félix Luna, 1972) and another mass: Misa por la paz y la justicia (with liturgical texts by Félix Luna and Osvaldo Catena, 1980). He had more than 300 compositions during his career. With Luna he created the Merecedes Sosa hits Mujeres Argentinas (Argentine Women), which documented women fighting for their freedom, and Cantata Sudamericana (South American Cantata).
Along with the Hamlet Lima Quintana, Ramírez also composed the music for Spanish film director Carlos Saura's TV film El Sur, which is based on the short story El Sur by Argentine author Jose Luis Borges.
Sanctus
Ariel Ramírez Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
////Creo En Dios////
//Padre Todo Poderoso Creador De Cielo Y Tierra//
//Y En Jesucristo Creo//
Fué Concebido Por Obra Y Gracia
En el Espíritu Santo
En el Espíritu Santo)
Nació de Santa María De Santa María Virgen
Padeció Bajo El Poder, Poder de Poncio Pilato
Fué Crucificado, Muerto Y Sepultado
(Descendió a Los Infiernos, Descendió a Los Infiernos
Descendió a Los Infiernos, Descendió a Los Infiernos
LARALALALALA
Al tercer Día
(Al tercer Día)
Resucitó
(Resucitó, Resucitó Entre Los Muertos)
Subió A Los Cielos
Subió A Los Cielos
(Subió A Los Cielos)
Estás Sentado A La Diestra De Dios
(PADRE TODO PODEROSO...
Desde Allí Ha De Venir
A Juzgar Vivos Y Muertos
Desde Allí Ha De Venir
A Juzgar Vivos Y Muertos)
Creo En El Espíritu Santo
(Santa Iglesia Católica)
La Comunión de Los Santos
Y El Perdón De Los Pecados
(Resurrección de la Carne
Y La Vida Perdurable
Amén, Amén, Amén, Amén
The lyrics of Ariel Ramírez's Sanctus are a profession of faith in the Catholic Church's doctrine of the Holy Trinity. The first lines of the song begin with an invocation to God the Father who is described as Almighty and the Creator of heaven and earth. Next, the lyricist affirms their belief in God the Son, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. The lyrics then describe Jesus' suffering under the power of Pontius Pilate, his crucifixion, death, and burial, followed by his descent to hell.
The song's most notable reference to Jesus' resurrection and ascension to heaven is captured in the powerful repetition of "Descendió a Los Infiernos" and "Subió A Los Cielos." The lyrics also describe Jesus' position at the right hand of God the Father, from where he will come to judge the living and the dead. The song concludes with a declaration of belief in the Holy Spirit, the Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and eternal life. Overall, the song is a reaffirmation of a Christian's faith, emphasizing the centrality of Jesus Christ in the fulfillment of God's plan for humanity.
Line by Line Meaning
Padre Todo Poderoso Creador De Cielo Y Tierra
I believe in God the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
Y En Jesucristo Creo
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, Our Lord.
Su Unico Hijo, Nuestro Señor
Fué Concebido Por Obra Y Gracia
En el Espíritu Santo
En el Espíritu Santo
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day, He rose again. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
Descendió a Los Infiernos, Descendió a Los Infiernos
Descendió a Los Infiernos, Descendió a Los Infiernos
LARALALALALA
He descended to the dead.
Al tercer Día
(Al tercer Día)
Resucitó
(Resucitó, Resucitó Entre Los Muertos)
On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
Subió A Los Cielos
Subió A Los Cielos
(Subió A Los Cielos)
Estás Sentado A La Diestra De Dios
He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
Desde Allí Ha De Venir
A Juzgar Vivos Y Muertos
Desde Allí Ha De Venir
A Juzgar Vivos Y Muertos
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
Creo En El Espíritu Santo
(Santa Iglesia Católica)
La Comunión de Los Santos
Y El Perdón De Los Pecados
(Resurrección de la Carne
Y La Vida Perdurable
Amén, Amén, Amén, Amén
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
Writer(s): Osvaldo Armando Catena, Jesus Gabriel Segade, Ariel Ramirez, Nacional de Las Artes Fondo, Alejandro Mayol
Contributed by Julian P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@mbguantay
hermosísimo!! me hace acordar a mi niñez, mis padres nos ponían la misa criolla para le época de la navidad... muy lindos recuerdos. Me llena el alma de buenos sentimientos.
@rubenveizaga4947
Gracias por compartir es muy hermoso y es muy clásico
@anthonypazana6105
This is such a wonderful piece of music of adoration of the people.
@isaiasortolan252
Obra magistral. Um exemplo de como o Eterno deve ser adorado e reverenciado.
Muito obrigado por compartilhar 👏👏👏