Brazilian traces history on guitar
Brazilian classical guitarist Alvaro Henrique deconstructed his national anthem ala Jimi Hendrix but instead of psychedelic feedback there was rapid arpeggios racing from first position to the 20th fret at a Thursday night concert in Kingston.
Plucking the melody deep in his guitar’s belly, he raced back to first position blending a rapid wave chord (arpeggio) spanning his entire — $1million Simon Marty — guitar in order to continue the melody in the belly. It was a series of these movements in Fantasia Triunfal sobre o Hino Nacional Brasileiro composed by LM Gottschalk and arranged by Henrique himself.
There was also slow virtuosity, especially during his right hand drumming on the guitar’s side whilst continuing the melody with his left hand — creating a full band sound.
“Ohh that section. I was doing hammer-ons and pull-offs,” he later told Splash at the Edna Manley College auditorium, about the pop guitar technique developed into contemporary classical guitar. The concert was filled with contemporary atonal phrases or the visual equivalent of a master painter trying to mimic child scribbling in order to evoke new art.
The Brazilian ambassador who hosted the event jokingly warned the audience about the music arguing that it would be art-filled, but enjoyable. The concert even incorporated visuals and recorded sounds into the performance. Props included a Coca-Cola bottle and projector which showcased the photographs of Brasilia by Leon Rodriques.
The concert was a tribute to his nation’s capital Brasilia (not Sao Paulo) constructed 50 years ago in the country which gained independence in 1822.
The composition musically inspired by key events during the first 11 years of the city, drew inspiration from the resignation the dictatorship in which he muted scales and bass slapped the guitar; Pele’s 1000th goal and subsequent world Cup victory in which he detunes the strings. But it also drew on US events including the assassination of John F Kennedy where shots fired whilst drumming his guitar; Vietnam War in which two melodies clashed then shifted to a rich 9th chord; and the Lance Armstrong moon walk in which he ran a bottle hissing along the fretboard.
That piece was followed by Reconstrução de Brasilia composed by Carlos Alberto Silva. “The Spirit of Brasilia has faded and I wanted him to write a piece about the reconstruction of Brasilia.
Henrique considered to be a guitarist of immense talent took up playing guitar “seriously” at 13. He has toured Greece, Germany, England and also Jamaica last October.