Sunday, July 11, 2010

Revised Celso Machado Page at AfriClassical.com Reflects Recent Interview


[Celso Machado at the Regina Folk Festival Gala Dec. 5, 2009 (CBC Radio 2)]

On May 19, 2010 we posted an interview with Celso Machado, the Afro-Brazilian classical guitarist and composer who has been featured at the website since the early days. His own website is: http://www.CelsoMachado.com Celso's page at AfriClassical.com has now been revised and expanded to reflect the content of the interview. The page has a new subtitle, Brazilian Music With Baroque Inspiration. Celso explained in the interview that because of the architecture he saw while traveling and performing in France and Italy, and the Italian Baroque Music he heard in Europe, he was inspired to compose pieces with Baroque influences.

The two audio samples from the 1997 CD Varal are still found at the beginning of the page. Machado plays guitar on Parazula, and sings the haunting song Canto de Escravo (Song of the Slaves). Varal is readily available, as are all of his CDs. The renowned Zagreb Guitar Quartet recently performed Machado's composition Folguedo. The composer explained it was first written for 8 guitars, so “I had to adapt to a version for 4 guitars because I knew they were such great guitarists.”

Celso's parents had 6 children, all boys, and he was the second youngest. Celso was about 2 when his father died, and was 12 when his mother died. He relates that he and his younger brother lived with an Aunt and a Grandmother for a year before moving in with their oldest brother, who had a wife and children of his own. Celso is a multi-instrumentalist and improvises with objects found in nature, including gourds. He has built a thriving career on touring, often in Brazil, Europe, and throughout the Americas. For aficionados of the guitar as well as everyone else, his page at AfriClassical.com is well worth a visit!





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