By: Dr. Matthew Warnock
Berta Rojas
Paraguay According to Agustin Barrios features eight pieces performed by internationally recognized guitarist, and Paraguayan born, Berta Rojas. The performances are presented alongside biographical descriptions of significant moments in the life and career of Agustin Barrios (1885-1944).
The pieces chosen for the film represent the diversity of this prolific composer, who penned over 300 pieces during his lifetime, many of which are considered essential learning for any modern classical guitarist.
Each piece is filmed in a different Paraguayan setting, including an old train station, city streets, a luthier’s workshop and a forest hillside. With a high, though tasteful, production value, diverse selection of pieces and a masterful performance by Rojas, the DVD provides an educational and entertaining look at one of Paraguay’s most prolific and historically important guitarists and composers.
Each of the eight pieces on the DVD is set up with an audio commentary by Rojas, in both English and Spanish, where in she provides historical information and personal stories from Barrios’ life. After each introduction Rojas then performs the pieces in a different visual setting that is related to the story of that particular piece, or time in Barrios’ life. These settings provide a visual tour of Barrios’ life, and that of Paraguay itself, as they showcase the people, cities and country sides of the South American nation.
For example, Rojas introduces the first piece by describing the circumstances of Barrios’ death and the musical legacy which he left behind. The piece she has chosen to represent this moment is “Las Abejas” and the performance is set in a small restaurant where a bartender is cleaning glasses and Rojas is performing the piece as entertainment for the diners.
As the piece progresses the music she is reading is blown off the stand by a gust of wind and taken up into the sky, symbolizing the everlasting quality of Barrios’ music and the contribution he has made to the classical guitar heritage of South America and beyond. It is this use of symbolism throughout the disc, as well as the high production value of the project, that helps lift this DVD above the level of a documentary or concert performance. The mixture of both is not only enlightening and educational but is also visually and captivating and a pleasure to listen to.
The other seven pieces on the DVD are presented in a similar manner and are a well chosen representation of Barrio’s ample catalogue. Rojas has included several of the guitarist’s more popular pieces, including “Julia Florida,” which accompanies a series of Paraguayans holding a guitar in different national settings, and La Catedral, which Rojas performs in a beautiful outdoor setting that fully captures the majesty of the Paraguayan country side.
Aside from these famous pieces, Rojas has also included several lesser known, though still masterful, works such as “Caazapá,” which is used to describe Barrios’ time as a student and is set in an old train station, and “Un Sueño En La Floresta” which features Rojas performing at the foot of a forest waterfall and is one of the visual highlights of the film.
While there are many fascinating moments on the DVD, both in the commentary and in the performances, one of the most memorable is the presentation of the final piece of the disc, “Ùltimo Canto.” Rojas’ spoken introduction describes an event that took place shortly before Barrios’ death in 1944.
In the account, Barrios answers a knock on his door one evening and is met by an elderly beggar asking for money. Though Barrios has nothing to give this poor woman, he channels the emotions he felt during this chance meeting into his work “Ùltimo Canto.” Rojas herself channels these strong personal emotions as she delivers a masterful interpretation of the piece that is set in front of a lit building on a Paraguayan city night. Again, it is moments like this that make the DVD both entertaining and educational.
Aside from the visual and historical aspects of the DVD the main focus is Rojas’ performance of Barrios’ works. As a performer Rojas ranks among the top players of the day as she is both technically proficient and emotionally expressive on every piece. Her deep connection to the music of Barrios, and personal connection to the country of Paraguay, rings through on every note and chord she plays.
These are not simply new interpretations of historically significant pieces; they are a tribute to a country and to one of that country’s most important and beloved musicians. Rojas not only performs each piece with the utmost respect for the composer, she brings an understanding of Paraguay, its history and its people to each interpretation. This is one of the main reasons the music on the DVD is so powerful, the interconnectivity of the composer, the country, its people and the performer.
Paraguay According to Agustin Barrios is a heartfelt tribute to one of the country’s most famous composers by one of its most accomplished performers. Rojas’ performance on the disc is as stunning as the settings are visually compelling. The production value is first rate, the biographical information is educationally interesting and the music chosen provides a diverse representation of Barrios’ output.
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Berta Rojas
Matt Warnock: What was the inspiration behind choosing Barrios as the subject for your latest DVD, and what made you decide to record it in a documentary style, rather than in a concert setting?
Berta Rojas: First of all, the fact that I am from Paraguay and my country is one that very few people outside Paraguay know very well inspired me to do the project. It’s always been something that’s intrigued me, and I wanted to see if through music I could bring these beautiful images of Paraguay to the world.
I thought, what better way to do this than with the music of one of the greatest guitar composers ever, Augustin Barrios, who was born in Paraguay and who found so much inspiration from the country and its people throughout his lifetime. When I decided to work on the DVD project it was always with the music of Barrios and images of Paraguay in my head. So that’s how the project came about.
Matt: Barrios had such a large and diverse portfolio of more than three hundred pieces written for the guitar. Why did you choose to feature these particular pieces on the DVD? What was it about them that spoke to you and made you feel they were strong representations of his overall catalogue of works?
Berta Rojas: It was very hard, choosing the pieces. In the end, to be totally honest, I sent a list to the director of pieces that I would be happy to film. He and his production team went out and found script ideas and placements for some of those pieces, which is how some of the pieces were chosen for the DVD. It was a group decision, we all came together to find the pieces that we felt best represented Barrios’ work, and correlated with the images of Paraguay we wanted to portray on the DVD.
Matt: How involved were you with the script writing, scene setting, etc, the production side of the DVD, that sort of thing?
Berta Rojas: I was involved up to a certain point, not really in the local production or selecting places to film, more in the larger scope issues. It was such a great experience working with the director, Marcelo Martinessi, because he knows Paraguay so well and did an amazing job with directing the DVD.
I have lived most of my life outside of Paraguay, because Martinessi knows Paraguay so well it really impressed me in the job that he did showing the true Paraguay. We didn’t want to show the exported Paraguay, we wanted to show real scenes of real people doing everyday things.
If you look at the scene from “Julia Florida” there are images of Paraguayans from the countryside, which is the majority of the country. So it’s a very real, natural description of what one would see if they spent time in Paraguay.
Matt: It seems like all of the pieces you ended up choosing were representative of Barrios’ overall work, but they were also connected to important moments in his career. Was that a conscious decision to program the pieces that way? Did you sit down with the director and say “we need a piece that will go well with the announcement of his death and this is it,” or did the music just happen to line up well with the overall storyline of the DVD?
Berta Rojas: We thought about all of those things. About finding the right pieces to connect to the story that we wanted to tell. The idea was to visit the places that Barrios probably went during his time in Paraguay. The underlying story is that Barrios came back to Paraguay, he revisited his homeland later in life. That’s why the train station is in one of the scenes, the train was the way that he travelled from Rio to Asunción. There is also a river scene because that’s how he travelled from Asunción to Buenos Aires. These and other moments are where you can clearly perceive that conscious choice, as far as the scene and musical selections are concerned.
Matt: It is immediately evident by listening to you perform that you have a very strong connection to the music of Barrios. As a Paraguayan, and a classical guitarist, this seems like a natural fit, but your interpretations of his music go beyond mere adoration or imitation. I was wondering if you could comment on how you developed this deep understanding of Barrios’ music throughout your career.
Berta Rojas: Thank you for your kind words. There are two different aspects to Barrios’ music that I, as a performer, have to be conscious of when performing his music. The first is that he was a highly-accomplished guitarist. His technical abilities were amazing. So I have to have the technical background to properly interpret these pieces in a manner that doesn’t sound forced, or make the pieces sound too technical. They should sound musical and the technical side of them sound be hidden.
The other side of Barrios’ work is that he was a popular, folk, musician. Most of the time he was accepted more by the circles of popular musicians rather than the classical musicians of the time. So there are a lot of rhythms that come from folk music, that were meant for dancing. I have to really feel those when playing his music, to make it successful.
Sometimes bringing out this dual nature is hard for us classical musicians. To play popular music requires a different training. We need to lead the music, to dance with it, being nurtured with it from a young age. Those two aspects are always involved, at least for me, when playing Barrios’ music. I have also been born and raised in South America and have always loved the popular music side of those countries’ musical heritage. When I perform Barrios I try and find a marriage between my classical background and my love of popular music, that’s what I find helps me to interpret his pieces in the way that I do.
Matt: Since you have a full repertoire of Barrios’ music do you also perform entire concerts of his music? Do you bring the DVD to life on stage for people to enjoy in a concert setting as well as on the screen?
Berta Rojas: Yes. I have been performing concerts of Barrios’ music for several years now. I also use images from the DVD in the live shows. Usually in the opening and the middle of the second half of the concert I perform repertoire from the DVD and use the images along with the music. I have plans to perform this concert a few more times in the coming months, but at the same time I am starting to focus on new projects that I will be working on throughout the coming year.
Matt: Which guitar or guitars did you use to record the DVD?
Berta Rojas: I played two guitars on the DVD. I played my recording guitar, which is a Ruck. It’s a beautiful and very sweet instrument and I’m really happy to be able to play such a great guitar. Also, at the time I just received my new guitar, which is a Michael O’Leary, who is a very talented luthier that is new to the field. I had to use it on certain pieces because it has the twentieth fret, which was called for on a few pieces. I also used this guitar for my upcoming CD which I will be recording this past summer and was just released in September.
Matt: Is the new CD going to be a themed recording as well, along the lines of the Barrios DVD?
Berta Rojas: For my new project I am recording the works of young composers who are still alive today. It is music that is really interesting to me because it either hasn’t been recorded before, or that hasn’t been recorded on guitar before. I’m really excited to record this great, new music, and the recording is something I really enjoyed and am really proud of.
Matt: How different is recording a CD for you compared to a live concert? Is the preparation different or are they pretty similar in nature?
Berta Rojas: It’s the same preparation process, the only difference is that in recording I don’t need to play projecting for the last row of the hall. That’s the only difference. The microphones are so sensitive when recording so I need to be very careful with my dynamics so that they really come out properly in the recording. I like to have a sound that’s close to the listener’s ear. I work with my engineer to get a sound that isn’t full of reverb and far from the listener’s ear, it’s really close and clean, which is a sound I strive for when doing recordings, as compared to the projected sound of the concert hall.
Matt: Now that you have your new CD recorded and the DVD has been a success, what do you have planned for the coming year as far as new projects?
Berta Rojas: I am always trying to bring people’s interest to this great instrument and to the different sounds it can produce. There is always a risk when switching from a historical composer like Barrios to recording works of modern composers that hasn’t been done before, so I;m excited to be bringing these works to the greater public and hopefully drawing some attention to these wonderful composers.
I hope that people will listen with open ears to my music and that they’ll see that it’s only music. Even though it’s new and a bit challenging I hope they’ll come to it with an open mind and enjoy listening to this music as much as I enjoyed recording it.
Links
www.bertarojas.com
Paraguay According to Agustin Barrios DVD at Strings by Mail
Terruno on Amazon
Intimate Barrios on Amazon
