Music

273’2022 (2022-09-30) – Friday

Posted on by What did you learn in School today ?

Hoje, eu aprendi que:

Brasil pode não ser o país mais rico financeiramente, mas quando se pensa em riqueza cultural está definitivamentemente no topo.

Tive o prazer de assistir um show com o sambista Paulinho da Viola e sua família no Sesc em São Carlos na semana passada. A foto do cabeçalho mostra Paulinho flanqueados por Beatriz e João. Paulinho toca seu cavaquinho com mestria, Beatriz canta e João toca o violão, e ainda há um trio acompanhando por piano, bateria e guitarra.

Paulinho é uma homem muito carismâtico. Possui 79 anos, mas da maneira que ele age parece mais como um jovem artista de 29 anos, impressionante! No show foram apresentadas várias músicas conhecidas dele, de uma carreira com mais de 50 anos. Para quem quer conhecer as músicas, há amplas possibilidades pela internet, mas quero somentar acrescentar uma estória que ele contou.

Paulinho está muito ligado à escola de samba carioca Portela, mas uns atrás participou, sem querer, numa competição de canções de samba em São Paulo e ganhou um prêmio. Isso não foi recebido bem na Portela. Em compensação, Paulinho escreveu “Foi um rio que passou em minha vida”. A estória completa segue aqui, mas infelizmente a qualidade do som não está muito boa:

Paulinho da Viola conta a estória que fez ele compensar a Portela com a bela canção “Foi um rio que passou em minha vida”.

Mais sobre Paulinho na referência 1, abaixo.

Paulinho da Viola with daughter Beatriz, son João e and a trio performing at Sesc in São Carlos on 263’2022 (2022-09-20).

(The story above in Portuguese is about a show that the samba legend Paulinho da Viola held in São Carlos last week. The header photo shows him together with his daughter Beatriz and son João, as well as an accompanying trio. More about Paulinho da Viola can be found in reference #2 below.)

And, finally, soon there will be some photos from my May visit to Ouro Preto. In my blogs from 151’2022 (2022-05-31) and 181’2022 (2022-06-30) I already showed you some pictures, and during the month of December there will be more to come.

That’s what I learned in school today!

Ref.:

1: Paulinho da Viola (em português)

2: Paulinho da Viola (in English)

*: What did you learn in school today ?

2017-11-11 (Saturday)

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Today, I learned that:

Exactly 39 years ago today, I was studying in the French city of Compiègne, located 80 km north of Paris. And on that very day, there was a big crowd coming into the city to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the signing of the armistice agreement of the first world war between France and Germany. The signing had taken place in a railway car in the forest of Compiègne, and the railway car is still there close to the original site, and copies of the documents and utensils used for the signing can still be found inside. However, the car as such is also only a replica, the original one was confiscated as a war bounty when Germany invaded France in June, 1940. The following painting of the 1918 event is also considered to be not totally true to the original. More information can be found in references #1, 2 and 3 below.

Waffenstillstand

This image appears to be a painting, not a colourized photograph. (It might have also been published as a sepia postcard.) The probability that it is not a photograph is also indicated by the inaccurate depiction of furniture, in Maréchal Foch’s ‘dining car’, which had a fixed-to-the-floor table and French chairs (as seen in photographs of the event). The probable inaccuracy of the depiction might be the reason for its anonymity.

Then, on the very same day 4 years later, I had the pleasure of going to a concert with the Swedish singer Lill Lindfors. After the concert, she signed her portrait with a dedication to me. In reference # 4 you can read more about her and references # 5 and 6 give links to one of the songs she sang then. In Swedish the title is Teresa (about a young girl and her dreams), whereas the original Brazilian title is Tristeza (which means sadness, but you can make it go away when you sing, just like Elis Regina does here). ENJOY!

Lill

The newspaper insert from Svenska Dagbladet reads, translated into English : “Lill finishes her concert tour in Akalla. Lill Lindfors will give her last concert of the tour she is making in the outer suburbs of Stockholm tonight at 19.30 at Akalla Träff. The set list is based on the theme of longing and it is a performance of songs and music, where also the trio Anders Ekdahl (piano), Jan Bergman (base guitar) and Ola Brunkert (drums) participates.”

Finally, today’s photo shows the Ayrton Senna bridge joining the Brazilian states of Mato Grosso do Sul and Paraná. On the right side can be seen the city of Guaíra, PR. Photo taken on 2017-10-28. See also my post from 2016-11-30.

Ponte Ayrton Senna 2017

Ponte Ayrton Senna, the bridge that joins the Brazilian states of Mato Grosso do Sul and Paraná. In the right corner can be seen the city of Guaíra, PR. Photo taken on 2107-10-28.

 

That’s what I learned in school !

Refs.:

1: Forest of Compiègne

2: Compiègne Wagon

3: Painting of November 11, 1918

4: Lill Lindfors

5: Lill Lindfors – Teresa, 1987

6: Elis Regina – Tristeza, 1965-1968.

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2017-08-31 (Thursday)

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Today, I learned that:

Finally, the month of August is coming to an end. In Sweden it is called ‘rötmånad’, literally meaning ‘the rotten month’. The reason for that is the relatively high humidity at the end of Summer, which makes food susceptible to rapid deterioration. And in Brazil, the month is called ‘mês do cachorro louco’, i.e. ‘the month of the mad dog’, the month when the dogs wake up to life after Winter in a bad state of health.

But, apart from the terrible terror attacks, there have been some interesting highlights, such as the solar eclipse I wrote about on 2017-08-21. However, I would like to dream myself back to 40 years ago, when I first visited the USA during June, July, and August. We were 80 people from my university in Gothenburg who travelled there for a 2-months Summer job and with August off to travel around in this mighty country. Most of my colleagues preferred a 1-month air pass called “7 stops”, which permitted them to visit 7 different locations in one month.

However, I decided to make a different voyage. After my initial two months at Gould Inc. in Rolling Meadows, IL, I boarded the Continental Trailways bus and it took me to 28 different US states and Washington D.C., 2 Canadian provinces, as well as a sneak peak of Tijuana, Mexico. I have mostly good memories from that trip, but what still is imprinted in my mind is when, on 1977-08-16, while hanging around in Dave’s house at Hermosa Beach, CA, there was a breaking newscast on the radio. It started with the words “The King of Rock is dead!”. And when Dave and I gathered with his friends at the bar in the evening, everyone was soooo sad.

August, 1977, was also the month when NASA sent its Voyager 1 out into space. Besides all the scientific instruments aboard, it also included an optical disc with recordings of human talk, music, and pictures. Reference # 2 will lead you to a web portal that has all the information you might ever need about Voyager 1 and its sister ship, Voyager 2.

But of course I also remember Las Vegas, NV with its casinos; Flagstaff, AZ at the edge of the Grand Canyon; the ferry ride from Victoria, BC to Seattle, WA; Preservation Hall in New Orleans, LA; playing football in Central Park, NY and so many other joyful moments.

Elvis

The King of Rock is for ever connected with Las Vegas, and that is where I took this photo. Unfortunately it is just a copy cat, and the photo was taken in Las Vegas on 2007-01-18. But the music really rocked!

As a tribute to the King, here is a photo of a copy cat performing in Las Vegas. But the video clip in reference # 1 is the real thing, ENJOY!

… That’s what I learned in school !

Refs.:

1: Elvis Presley – Blue Suede Shoes

2: An Insider’s Guide to Voyager: 1977-2017

*: What did you learn in school today ?

2016-03-02 (Wednesday)

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Today, I learned that:

After some recent very negative posts, today I would like us all to be merry!

I saw this interesting article about a music machine, that is simply adorable. It is the Swedish musician Martin Molin that created it out of 3 000 pieces of wood, and where an army of 2 000 marbles are striking the chords. See the article of reference #1 and watch the video in reference #2, it is amazing! The name of his band is strikingly called Wintergatan, the Swedish word for Milky Way, so why not listen to the music of the spheres?

Wintergatan

Wood and marble in unison to play the music of the spheres. Copyright by Wintergatan

Do you remember when George Harrison sang “Ring out the old, ring in the new”? Well, that is exactly what is happening in the small Ukrainian town of Kalini. The regional governor there decided that enough is enough, and changed the name of the main street from Lenin Street to Lennon Street.

… That’s what I learned in school !

Refs.:

1: Musician creates bizarre instrument that uses 2 000 marbles and some impressive engineering to play tune

2: Wintergatan music machine

3: Lennongatan i Kalini

4: Ring out the old, ring in the new

+: What did you learn in school today ?