SA Chorus and Piano

Recommended for: All ages

Optional Instrumentation: Piano, lead guitar, acoustic bass, guira, tambora drum

One day while making soup for my son Sebastián, my mother created a song and dance about the soup* that my wife Elizabeth was cooking. I was so excited and inspired by the song that I added verses and finished it as an arrangement for chorus, using the rhythms of the Dominican Republic. The merengue is based on the Dominican drum, tambora, in a 4-beat pattern that emphasizes the last beat as a pick up to the first beat, and the güira, a metal scraper that dances around the drum. Two guitars are often used, one to keep a strumming pattern and the other to pick the interludes. La Sopa de Isabel can be done with piano and/or guitars, and should be strong, even and driving. (*The ingredients of the soup are a combination of Irish potato soup with Dominican flavors.)

Performance Time: 5 minutes