Music of the Americas: Guitars

Tuesday, February 2, 10 a.m.

The ensemble of bandola, tiple, and guitar has been standard in the music of the Andes of Colombia for generations. Tibaguí Trio was founded in New York by guitarist and composer Alejandro Flórez and includes also Sebastián Cruz and Nilko Andreas.

Back in 2009, they were part of our annual collaboration with the New York Guitar Seminar at Mannes and performed this version of Florez's "Contemplar Matanza."

Wednesday, February 3, 10 a.m.

C4 Trio is an electrifying Venezuelan ensemble made up of three cuatros, the small guitar-like instrument popular in Venezuela and Colombia, and one bass. We had Héctor Molina, Edward Ramírez, and Jorge Glem in En Casa last year, but this is a memory of the first time they played in our series in 2012. The trio was already established back then, and they went on to play with orchestras, win Grammy nominations, and perform all over the world. "Periquera con seis por derecho," a classic of their repertoire, brought down the house at the end of their AS debut.

C4 Trio: Jorge Glem, Héctor Molina, Edward Ramírez, cuatros, Rodner Padilla, bass.

Thursday, February 4, 10 a.m.

In 2013 we presented the piano-guitar duo of Guillermo Zarba and Hugo Romero. We posted Chacho Muller's "Corazón de Curupí," which they played together but had never released any of the guitar solos included in the program. Romero played Griseta, a tango-romanza by Enrique Delfino with lyrics by José González Castillo that was published in 1922 and made popular by Gardel. The titular character is a young Frenchwoman in the mold of Manon Lescaut or Marguerite Gauthier who meets an early demise to consumption and tuberculosis after a short stint in Buenos Aires' cabarets. 

Friday, February 5, 10 a.m.

We close our "mostly" guitar week with a piece from the concert by the Bishop's Band in 2013, which we presented in collaboration with the Hispanic Museum and Library at their beautiful great hall decorated with monumental paintings by Joaquín Sorolla.

Music of the Americas followers may remember that this concert, an excerpt of which we shared a few weeks ago, was dedicated almost completely to the music included in the Codex Trujillo del Perú, created by Baltasar Martínez Compañón toward the end of the eighteenth century. This "Zarambeques" was published by Barcelona-born composer and harpist Lucas Ruiz de Ribayaz in 1677, upon his return to Spain after living in Lima for about a decade. The piece, which he likely heard in Peru, is a typical product of the cultural melting pot of Spanish America and he included it in his influential treatise Luz y Norte Musical para caminar por las cifras de la guitarra española y el arpa.

The video features just the plucked section of the Bishop's Band, including theorbo, baroque guitars, and harp, plus a brief, historically accurate percussive intervention at the end.

Bishop's Band:

Scott Pauley, theorbo, Nell Snaidas, Grant Herreid, Paul Shipley, guitars, Paula Fagerberg, harp, Danny Mallon, percussion, Tom Zajac, founder and director. 

The MetLife Foundation Music of the Americas concert series is made possible by the generous support of Presenting Sponsor MetLife Foundation.

The Spring 2021 Music program is also supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.

Additional support provided by The Augustine Foundation.