It was an honor to perform at the celebration of 75th years of the Chemical Engineering Faculty at the National University of Colombia. This was this past September 14th and I performed music by Sor, Lennon-Mc Cartney, Tárrega and Campo Vives/Zuleta.
I have been very excited to release my fifth CD which is a selection of songs that have been meaningful at some point of my life. Thus, I this CD offers a vartiety of pieces in nice arrangements from Toru Takemitsu or Roland Dyens among others. Some of the songs that I perform are Yesterday (Lennon-Mc Cartney), Göttingen (Barbara) or Ne me quitte pas (Jacques Brel). I have also included the wonderful Fantasía Caribe No. 1 based on “La gota fria” written for guitar by Colombian composer and guitarist Rafael Campo Vives. At the moment the CD is only available in Colombia through Tango Discos. However soon it should be available worldwide and the plattforms.
“La gota fria” is a Colombian very famous song from the coast of this country, It was written by Emiliano Zuleta in 1938 and became like an anthem for Colombian people. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SURvU68xhgA Listen the arrangement made by fellow Colombian composer arranger and guitarist Rafael Campo Vives.
Recently I had the honor to be selected as one of 200 pioneers women in Colombia! Here is the link for you to follow the interview!
https://www.facebook.com/RTVCColombia/videos/743855316305520
One of the projects in which I have been involved in the last years is to promote and perform new music written by Colombian composers. I have recently the opportunity to work on the piece by Carlos Lora “El retrato de Cecil”. I was very thrilled to learn this piece that Carlos composed inspired in his beloved mother, Cecil and he kindly dedicated to me. I hope you like this beautiful piece added to the new Colombian guitar repertoire!
Yesterday is like a hymn of our times. It was recorded in London on June 15th 1965. One of the features that made this song such an everlasting success is, that besides the beatiful melody, it includes a string quartet, a fact rarely seen in a long play of popular music. I have really enjoyed learn this fantastic arrangement of inconmensurable Toru Takemitsu. I hope you enjoy too the version I made from my home some weeks ago.
Even though the Spanish composer Isaac Aléniz (1860-1909) has not actually written for guitar, his music has been strongly inspired by the rich sounds of this instrument. Indeed, the arpegios that appear in his work Granada from Suite Española Op. 47 remind the typical playing of the guitar. Thus, the guitar transcription is very idiomatic seeming very natural and original for the instrument.
Here, then an interpretation I made of Granada!
Gracias a la invitación del Taller de Tardes Literarias y Artísticas organizado por mi amiga residente en New York Marcela Coello, grabé el famoso y hermoso tango “El Dia que me quieras”. Esta obra universal ha sido arreglada para guitarra por Anibal Arias. Escucha mi versión hecha en casa en tiempos de pandemia…
For the Month of Hispanic Heritage my friend Marcela Coello a resident of the New York area, invited me for her “Literary and Artistic evenings”. I played from the classic tango “El dia que me quieras” by Carlos Gardel. I hope you listen and enjoy this “homemade” version!
Quarantine has been an uncertain period, but it has also been maybe the gap we needed to encounter with ourselves and to see things in a different way. It has also been a good time for perhaps, catching up with those books readings and to update in the learning or re-learning of the music that has been there on our shelves waiting to be re-discovered.
Indeed it has been the case for Francisco Gonzalez, Colombian Suite No. 1 that I performed around twelve years ago, last time in Canada. This time I made a homemade record for the National Museo of Colombia.
Here are then, Bambuqueando and pasillo Canela.
During the last years I have had the great opportunity to introduce some of my videos through the great American company for musicians Strings By Mail. We released together videos with the music from Bach until Colombian tunes such as Cacao by J.C. Guio. Also to release videos with the music of Albéniz, Pedro Sarmiento and Scott Ouellette has been thrilling and rewarding. Additionally, I have presented some pedagogical videos and writings on history of the guitar and music in general among others.
Now that we are living the effects of the unexpected virus, not only financial aspects of life can be suffering, but also other aspects such as the emotional one. For this, nothing is better than art and music to enhance somehow the spirit with some hope. Hope remind us that we can overcome many things (better if we feel that superior mind or energy that support us in different circumstances in our lives), and more fortunate if we have access to art and culture. The human history has proven how the art has been an exit to overcome difficulties.
Thinking of this, I thought it would be a good idea to send a special message to SBM followers along with a home video as many artists are doing in these times.
Here is the result of this, a video made one afternoon at my place with a recently learned version of “Here, there and everywhere” (Beatles-Takemitsu arrangement).
I hope you enjoy the version of this song and I hope that we will get through the circumstances we are going through adding myself to the, I know, internal wish of everyone that at the end we will be stronger and better human beings.