CENTENARY OF THE BIRTH OF CARLOS PAREDES
‘I can’t talk about (Carlos) Paredes without sitting up straight in my chair’. We could start this text in many ways, but this simple sentence by Ben Chasny (Six Organs of Admittance) says almost everything. Carlos Paredes is unreachable. His Portuguese guitar has become ingrained in national culture and his legacy transcends genres and borders. In the year that commemorates the centenary of his birth, the American Ben Chasny and the Portuguese Norberto Lobo are joining forces for a series of concerts in which they pay homage, in their own way, to the composer and guitarist from Coimbra. Far from wanting to interpret Paredes, they celebrate his influence and spirit, just as they celebrate John Fahey or Robbie Basho. Between Chasny’s six strings and Lobo’s six, they evoke the twelve strings of the master Paredes, on a tour that will take in gnration (Braga), Convento São Francisco (Coimbra), Auditório de Espinho (Espinho), Teatro das Figuras (Faro), Culturgest (Lisbon) and the Tremor festival (São Miguel, Azores), where the duo will meet for an artistic residency.
Ben Chasny is responsible for introducing an entire international generation to Carlos Paredes. He dedicated Lisbon to him, the song that closes School of the Flower (2005), and engineered the cross-border reissue of the albums Guitarra Portuguesa (1967) and Movimento Perpétuo (1971) by Drag City in 2011. From his various collaborations with his best-known groups, Comets on Fire and Rangda, it is under the mantle of Six Organs of Admittance that he has built up a long and prolific discography with more than thirty releases. A key figure in experimental music, his innovative work with the guitar brings together the strumming tradition of folk and American primitive guitar, defining new canons of the genre.
More than just a great admirer, Norberto Lobo has been described as having a bit of Paredes in him. His debut album, Mudar de Bina (2007) is dedicated to the eternal Portuguese guitarist, in an allusion to the song Mudar de Vida. Since his debut, Norberto has been tirelessly searching for new ways to explore the guitar. Whether solo, in collaboration with João Lobo or Bruno Pernadas or as a member of Montanhas Azuis and Fumo Ninja, he never stops experimenting and reinventing. And the result is clear to see: he is one of the most respected guitarists of his generation.
Artistic/Technical File
Guitars: Ben Chasny and Norberto Lobo
Co-production: Academia de Espinho, Convento São Francisco, Culturgest – Caixa Geral de Depósitos Foundation, Tremor Festival, Gnration and Teatro das Figuras
Age Rating
M/6
Running Time
60 minutes
Enquiries
Ticket office: 239 857 191
bilheteira@coimbraconvento.pt
€12
€10 students / over 65s / groups (minimum 10 people) / unemployed / performing arts and music professionals
CSF Friend Card applicable (40% discount)
– To purchase Reduced Mobility tickets, please contact the Convento São Francisco box office (daily between 3pm and 8pm), telephone 239 857 191, or send an e-mail to: bilheteira@coimbraconvento.pt
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