My next topic for Writing Workshop is 'The Year that Made Me'... mid 1976 - mid 1977 were certainly 12 months that made me... especially in relation to Music Appreciation, for which class I put together the following...
I spent a year across 1976/1977 in Madrid, Spain, teaching English as a Second Language at 'La Casa Inglesa', Plaza de Salamanca. I loved the music I experienced in Madrid, music from all over Spain and the Latino diaspora.
Classical guitar was of course a highlight - Paco de Lucia's 'Concerto de Aranjuez' conjures up for me memories of a visit to Aranjuez and the beautiful palace there.
Classical guitar was of course a highlight - Paco de Lucia's 'Concerto de Aranjuez' conjures up for me memories of a visit to Aranjuez and the beautiful palace there.
I was most surprised, on the first of many visits to the Plaza de Major in central Madrid, to come across the music of the 'Tunas', usually university student based minstrel like troubadour bands which serenaded people sitting in outdoor cafes. Dressed in medieval regalia, they invariably had excellent voices. A longish video clip which portrays tuna music in the Plaza de Major precinct can be found here https://youtu.be/Ni1sGxksFV8?list=RDCfCgUuSZyAc (start at 2.26 mins). I've decided as this is a music appreciation class to link to the following clip which allows us to appreciate the voices of the university student 'tunas' as they sing to diners in the famous Botin restaurant..
Another surprise was to hear the sounds of bagpipes as I heard the sound of bagpipes in Madrid! I looked - and there was a rather drunken bagpipe playing Galician in the middle of a roundabout on a busy central boulevard.
Galicia, the part of Spain north of Portugal and on the west coast of Spain, is very close to Scotland and Ireland, and bagpipes are an instrument in their traditional music. I found this wonderful video clip of a famous Galician musician Carlos Nunez playing with the Irish 'Chieftain' group, which is a delightful way of observing links between both the music and dance of Galicia and Ireland.
A few years before I lived in Spain I'd been the choreographer for a high school production of Gilbert and Sullivan's 'Patience' and while a university student had danced in our light opera's production of Kiss Me Kate. I was rather intrigued to find Spain has a musical genre somewhere between serious and light opera known as 'Zarzuela'. Here's a clip of young Placido Domingo singing zarzuela's
'Night of Love', followed by a more recent Placido in the zarzuela 'Jota La Dolores'...in which we see the folk dance the Jota, which is accompanied by castanets...also evocative of Spain.
'Night of Love', followed by a more recent Placido in the zarzuela 'Jota La Dolores'...in which we see the folk dance the Jota, which is accompanied by castanets...also evocative of Spain.
And then of course, there was the music of the bull fights...
Throughout the year there were festivals - often religious; also community; and festivals celebrating music and dance from all parts of the 'Latino' diaspora... I've chosen this clip because it evokes today the same feelings I experienced when I watched folkloric events in Madrid.
1976/1977 were important years in the development of modern Spanish democracy. Dictator Franco had died however memories of the Spanish Civil War were still ever present. The young King Juan Carlos returned from exile and set about ensuring a referendum and subsequent return to democracy. It was a time of military upheaval in Argentina and Chile, but it was now possible for young people, including political exiles, from Latin America to live in Madrid, just as young Australians flock to London. At times we visited basement clubs where exiled musicians from South America sang about freedom. My flat mate had lived in Madrid for over a decade and bought me two cassettes of groups of musicians from Chile who at that time made Madrid a base - Los Calchakis and Inti Illimani. I have played and played them over the years and have followed the concerts of Chilean groups such as Inti Illimani and another group Illapu when they come to Melbourne. Illapu, exiled from Chile for over a decade, played at the Melbourne Concert Hall in 1987 -- I was there!
We have our own exiled Chilean musicians near Thoona who I've seen playing at the vineyards during the Glenrowan area winery walkabouts. Whenever I know they are playing... I'm there! The last time I saw them play they, like me, had aged. To honour their and our ages, and the fact that time brings change, here are two of groups of musicians once exiled from Chile and living in Madrid playing together in concert together in Chile where they have now returned.
I began with classical guitar. I'd like to finish with some flamenco guitar, the music of the dance. I was so lucky to know someone in Melbourne who knew a bar man at the best flamenco restaurant in Madrid. When I made myself known to Justino (pronounced Husteeno) at the bar on my first visit, and whenever I later took visiting friends to see the 'tablao flamenco' when they were in Madrid, I was given a flagon of a beautiful Spanish sherry '43', and the best available table in the house. Lucero Tena was dancing at Coral de Mororea throughout the time I lived in Madrid. Enjoy!
