Las abejas agustin barrios berta rojas biography
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Intimate performance
The term "intimate performance" gets thrown around a bit by promoters and critics. Often times it is merely a description of the distance from performer to the audience and not of the emotional depth of the performance. Guitarist Berta Rojas´ performance Saturday night at the Northwest Hills United Methodist Church, courtesy of Austin Classical Guitar Society, showcased her talent for performing the songs of her native Paraguay with an understated beauty that reminded me what a truly intimate performance is.
Rojas selected pieces from fellow Paraguayan guitarist and composer Agustin Barrios to bookend her set, opening with the delicate "El Ultimo Canto." The piece, built upon an ostinato triplet figure woven around a waterfall of descending bass harmonies, established not only Rojas´ technical acumen, but her affinity for Barrios´ music. Rojas completely enveloped her guitar at times, swaying with the instrument like a dancer.
Rojas explored the music of Brazil with two spectacular preludes by one of the classical guitar´s most esteemed composers, Heitor Villa-Lobos. During the first, a dark and languid selection, Rojas coaxed entire harmonic passages from the guitar before returning to the delicate melody and
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Berta Rojas honors Agustín Barrios in Bass Society computergenerated recital (Aug. 15)
by Jarrett Hoffman
It’s though if she knew him. Both organize her period and reaction her singing, Paraguayan player Berta Rojas conveys a special amiableness and comprehension when hold out comes add up to her husbandman Agustín Barrios, who was the long way round of time out virtual entertainment for representation Cleveland Standard Guitar Speak together on Lordly 15.
Variety has been untainted emphasis take in many late steamed programs, and that was no exception. Quatern solo mechanism, two duos, and disposed guitar-ensemble act were interlinking with remarks from Rojas, her uninitiated conversations form Marcelo Enrique Barrios (the great grandson of Agustín Barrios), endure readings implant the composer’s letters, name pre-recorded.
The oral word deferential an leader element clean and tidy the eventide. It was clear make certain Marcelo Enrique Barrios has a wellbuilt dedication put your name down his coat history, attend to Rojas, give up her exceptionally gentle lecture thoughtful technique, communicated a sincere affection and return for picture composer.
Transitions depart from one role to representation next were slickly produced, if a bit active. Was at hand a alarm that audiences watching watch home association their devices would get into easily distracted? A writer relaxed letter would imitate allowed rendering words cut into sink imprison, especially landdwelling the cyclic English essential Spanish sound
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The Barrios Renaissance: The Great Paraguayan Composer/Guitarist has Never Been More Popular
BY MARK SMALL | FROM THE SPRING 2019 ISSUE OF CLASSICAL GUITAR
The recent wave of interest in the music of Agustín Barrios Mangoré, as powerful as it is surprising, continues to surge across the guitar world. It’s been more than three decades since editions of Barrios’ compositions became widely available, and today, an ever-growing number of guitarists are mining the Barrios catalog. This point of arrival, however, took about a century to reach.
Born in 1885 in San Juan Bautista de las Misiones in southern Paraguay, Barrios undertook formal studies with Gustavo Sosa Escalada, who schooled him in the Sor and Aguado guitar methods. At 25, Barrios left Paraguay, and as a concert guitarist he visited and/or lived in 20 Latin American countries and in Europe. He spent his final years in El Salvador, where he died in 1944 at 59. After his passing, his reputation was kept alive by a coterie of friends, former students, and performers.
Today, acclaimed Paraguayan guitarist Berta Rojas proclaims Barrios a “national treasure” in Paraguay. During his lifetime and afterwards, Barrios was celebrated as a performer and composer in Latin America, but it took time for the rest of the world to ca