‘Waves of Brazil’ concert regales audience in Kuwait
Brazilian guitar virtuoso Yamandu Costa gives unique performance
KUWAIT CITY, Feb 19: Dar alAthar al-Islamiyyah, in cooperation with the Brazilian Embassy presented a guitar performance by the Brazilian guitarist Yamandu Costa ‘Waves of Brazil’ on Sunday, Feb 18 at Yarmouk Cultural Centre.
While the six-string guitar has been more or less the standard instrument since the mid-19th century, guitarists and luthiers have experimented with additional strings to extend the range of the instrument practically since the emergence of the modern guitar form, sometime in the 15th century. Seven, eight, nine, ten and more strings have been used by guitarists seeking to increase the range of pitches available from the instrument. Some of these guitars are ethnic instruments, specific to different cultures such as Russian and Brazilian guitars. During the 90s the seven string guitar became popular among metal bands such who used the additional string for extra low end.
The Brazilian seven-string guitar (Portuguese: violão de sete cordas) is an acoustic guitar used primarily in choro and samba. It was introduced to Brazil in the late 19th century as a steel string guitar. The style of “baixaria” counterpoint and accompaniment technique was developed throughout the 20th century, especially by Dino 7 Cordas and Raphael Rabello. In the early 1980s, guitarist Luiz Otavio Braga had a nylon string version made, and this has become the norm for most contemporary choro musicians such as Yamandu Costa.
The Brazilian seven-string guitar is typically tuned like a classical guitar, but with an additional C below the low E as follows: C2 E2 A2 D3 G3 B3 E4; although some musicians tune the C down to a B resulting in: B1 E2 A2 D3 G3 B3 E4.
Yamandu Costa’s diverse styles include chorinho, bossa nova, milonga, tango, samba and chamamé.
Yamandu Costa, 7-string guitar virtuoso, has created his very particular style of compositions, somewhere between the typical music from the south of Brazil, Choro and Samba with finger acrobatic like passages, high tempo and yet very delicate and melodious pieces. For the audience his music is somewhere between breath taking and breath holding, accompanied by Yamandu’s way of melting with his instrument and being one for the duration of the concert. Yamandu is embracing the range of ‘root’ Latin-American music with a clear basis on South Brazilian swing.
One of the greatest geniuses of Brazilian music of all times, Yamandu deserves the highest praise. Whenever he is on stage, he fills with joy the most select audience since his impressive performance shows the deep intimacy between Yamandu and his guitar. The recognition he has earned throughout the years reveals what he can offer the audience — recreation of the magic of music — once the music he plays from his fingers travels through his body and soul when it is miraculously transformed.