Singing with the Whistlebinkies
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As I remember them
The Wistlebinkies and the Laggan were two Scottish folk political
bands from Glasgow of the 70s. As far as I can remember they were
always at the centre of the Chilean Solidarity Campaign in Glasgow.
Both bands are the responsible for me to have fallen in love with
the Folk music of Scotland. Unfortunately The Laggan disbanded
but I know that Arthur Johnston, their Glasgow singer and founder
of the successful Star Folk Club in Glasgow is still going strong
with the singing. Mick Broderick, The Whistlebinkies storyteller
and singer, was not only a lovely and funny character but a very
supportive man with the Chilean Refugees. In several occasions,
our Chilean Folk Group shared a platform with The Whistlebinkies
and the Laggan and for me it was always a joy and although I could
not understand the lyrics of their songs, I could feel deeply
their music. Click here to see
a small but interesting gallery of the Laggan and Arthur Johnston.
The Whistlebinkies are still around either touring or recording
and their leader, the composer Edward McGuire, has become today
very well known in Britain and abroad for the beautiful music
he produces. Eddy and another Whistlebinkies' member, the musicologist
Stuart Eydmann, are friends of mine and together always encouraged
me to carry on with my singing. Eddy wrote a guitar
piece dedicated to the People of Chile.
All
songs are mine except 5 and 6. Song number 6 is a poem written
for my son and in Spanish by my Scottish friend and Poet John
Gillies. I set the music to John's poem. All songs except 1 and
5 were recorded with my daughter. Number 5 is a free version
of Sergio Ortega's famous song "The People United will never
be defeated".
 El
Hallazgo
The Finding
I always said that this is an archaeological
song as it speaks about the finding of an old civilization in the
Atacama Desert. In this song we see: the landscape, people, objects,
solitude and drama. At the end of the song I ask myself if in the
future our own civilization will be found, underneath the earth,
by people who will discover not only our remains, our drama but
our fate as a race.
Señor
Moyano
I imagined a very Latin American situation
where Mr Moyano had to leave his country because of political turmoil.
He left behind a sad personal story and a beautiful country. The
desire for Mr Moyano to return to his "beautiful" place
is a utopia. A blacksmith remind him that his country is the scenery
where his wife and brother have been murdered: His wife," a
beautiful girl by the name of Rosa", was his flower" "Era
una linda moza de nombre Rosa era mi flor"
El
coraje
The Courage
We must have the courage to expose the agents
of despair and wars: these people dress well, has good education,
have adorable families, goes to the church, some wear colourful
uniforms and looks normal from any perspective. From my viewpoint,
however, I know that many of them: politicians, scientists and military
men are responsible for the death of so many innocent people and
the brutal chaos found today in many part of our world.
Canción
para Pablo Neruda
A song for Pablo Neruda
When the centenary of the birth of Neruda
came in 2004 I wrote this commemorative song. Neruda deserves it.
He is one of the 20th century's greatest poets in any language.
Many will disagree with me but I know that Gabriel Garcia Marquez,
will agree.
El
pueblo Unido Jamas Será Vencido
The People United Will Never be Defeated
This song by Chilean composer Sergio Ortega
is one of my all time favorite. It is magic music and it must be
because: the pianist and composer Frederic Rzewski composed 36 variations
of the same tune. Mine is a free version and I love it because I
am playing with real musicians, who are also happened to be my friends
among them the Scottish composer, Edward McGuire who played the
flute in the song.
A
camilo Jorge
This is a poem written by my friend John Gillies
to commemorate the birth of my son. John wrote it in Spanish and
I dared to set music to his poem. The poem provides beautiful imagines
of South America and Italy via Scotland. The song finished with
a good blend of Chilean and Scottish Rhythm.
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