Regina’s best-kept musical secret? By Brian Bowman
If you’re searching for information on the musical archival material of the world’s most prolific and arguably greatest classical guitar composer, you would be well advised to begin, and maybe end, your quest in Regina.
Birdsong vignette:
Agustin Barrios (b1885 in Paraguay - d1944 in El Salvador) is virtually unknown in North America. But he composed over 300 pieces for the classical guitar and is championed by such renowned performers as John Williams. Williams has released entire albums of Barrios’ music and compares his technique to Django Reinhardt. Today, Barrios is revered in Europe and throughout Latin America, but due to American immigration policy of the day and a lifelong bitter rivalry, he is virtually unknown here or in the USA. (Barrios was married to a Brazilian woman of African descent and due to racist policies of the time, he was prevented from entering the United States. In addition, due to an early misunderstanding, Andres Segovia ridiculed and despised him).
Notwithstanding, he was the first person to record a full-length guitar album and he performed throughout Europe and Latin America for over 40 years. Of the 300 compositions he left the world, over half are yet to be found and published. Barrios’ compositions have unique elements of baroque and romantic genres combined with his unique musical sound, which often includes indigenous harmonies. His music is often described as romantic, or "eclectically classical" and is the best example of how one tradition can meld with another to produce something that transcends both – which probably explains Ramses Calderon’s interest in it from an intercultural perspective. To hear it for yourself, check this clip of John Williams playing and commenting on Barrios’ Vals #3 Opus 8
Currently residing in Regina, Ramses Calderon heads up the Nitsuga Mangore Academy and has inherited a wealth of knowledge from his masters, Barrios’ original disciples. (Check the Birdsong vignette). It is noteworthy that so talented a man as Ramses is a solid contributor to Regina’s cultural scene and that this city is (at least for the time-being) the go-to place for information and material on one of the world’s great classical composers. This is not a backwater town, folks, nor is it a cultural wasteland. There may be more hidden treasure in this city. Stay tuned.
The evolving sound of culture By Brian Bowman
Interview with Ramses Calderon:
Computer interpreted rendition of newly discovered 19th Century music by Salvadoran composer, José Escolástico Andrino
Aging leaves of yellow gold. Piled into mounds and stacked into columns that cover every flat surface of the room. Manuscripts and holographic scores; requiems, marches, waltzes, symphonies. Over 1500 musical pieces, by 250 composers dating from the mid-eighteenth century – all to be sorted, scanned, digitized, catalogued and heard (sort of) maybe for the first time ever, on computer. (Link to video segment 1) There have been many attempts to find the new world’s gold over the years. But this - the real treasure of Latin America, is in safe hands, and carefully maintained to museum standards right here in Regina. It’s well worth doing because the through line of the collection reveals the gradual union of indigenous music with the classical tradition of Europe, thus reflecting the synthesis of new and old world cultures that characterizes contemporary Latin America.
“It’s important to preserve and keep this music because it is the history of a region, of a people, of Latin America,” says Ramses Calderon.
The music is here because Ramses is here. A native of El Salvador, Calderon has been living in Canada since 2000, and for the past few years in Regina. The music crowding this room in his home is the result of a 17 year project to find, collect and catalogue the music of Latin America. He is cataloguing the music he has acquired, digitizing it and playing it through his music program, which scans, reads and plays music, to get an idea of how it sounds. And he’s definitely the man for the job. Calderon has had extensive musical training and an enviable musical background. Having studied guitar with several of Agustin Barrios’ original students, he is a leading authority on Barrios and is now the head of the Nitsuga Mangore Academy. (see related story) An accomplished guitarist he is also a composer of classical guitar, popular music and orchestra. He is also the director of Red Musical: www.redmusical.org, which is dedicated to the research, study and preservation of music and manuscripts from El Salvador and Central America from the 17th to 20th centuries (‘Red’, in Spanish means network). A devotee of music as a vehicle of cultural unity, Ramses wants to share the music of all cultures with all other cultures and hopes that it will influence people’s sense of consciousness and humanity.
“All of the arts are a powerful tool to change consciousness. But music affects your emotional and spiritual and physical body; in seconds. I always say that music is one of the most powerful tools we have,” says Calderon. “It is extremely important in today’s world to get to know your roots. And then to get to know other cultures, so we don’t have the issues we have nowadays.”
Since taking up residence in Regina, Calderon has been working with Michele Sereda on various projects with youth in Regina. He has also been working with Ed Minevich, the concert master of the RSO, on several projects including working with the Chief and Council of Piapot First Nation to develop a musical program for youth and developing a concert of the music he has collected. When that happens, Regina will host the premiere concert, as some of these compositions have never been performed and others have not been heard for over a century. He is also touring with Ed Minevich, Pauline Minevich and David McIntyre to El Salvador and Guatemala this March where they will be offering master classes and performing original compositions from Calderon and McIntyre, thanks to the support of the Saskatchewan Arts Board’s Culture On The Go program. In addition to all of this Calderon has been working as the artist in residence for Sakewewak First Nations Artist Collective for the past eighteen months.
