Carlos Núñez - Discover

Discover (2-CD), showcases the range and depth of this groundbreaking instrumentalist, who has taken Galician music to all corners of the world. Proof is in the stunning list of guests that appear on Discover, including The Chieftains (who launched Núñez’s career), Jackson Browne, Ry Cooder, Linda Ronstadt, Los Lobos, Sinéad O’Connor, Waterboys frontman Mike Scott, Laurie Anderson, Hector Zazou, Ryuichi Sakamoto, flamenco singer Carmen Linares, Irish accordionist Sharon Shannon, Scottish accordionist Phil Cunningham, flamenco guitarist Vicente Amigo, Brazilian star Carlinhos Brown, Early Music master Jordi Savall, Spanish soprano Montserrat Caballé, and Buena Vista Social Club members Omara Portuondo, Compay Segundo and Cachaíto.

Carlos Núñez: a voyage of discovery

Since he first picked up the bagpipes at the age of eight in his hometown of Vigo, the port on the edge of Galicia facing out to the Atlantic sea, Carlos Núñez has been on an adventure, following the many journeys of the Galician diaspora, taking him zig-zagging across the world, tracing their footsteps, reviving their beautiful musics with passion.

Carlos was born on 16th July 1971, only a few years before the end of the Franco dictatorship, whose stranglehold on Spain and its culture had lead to a dogmatic centrism that stifled expression at the periphery. Carlos grew up imbibing the energy of the fertile ambience of the years when Spain finally opened up to the world following Franco’s long-awaited death in 1975. His musicianship developed with the help of various ‘master’ musicians and by participating in various cutting-edge groups in his teenage years that focused on the recovery of Galician culture. His generation rode the wave of energy unleashed by the re-emergence of the suppressed cultures of Spain, of the regions - Galicia, Catalonia, Basque Country, Andalucia - which re-appeared from behind the doors of private homes, in hamlets, farms, villages and towns where it had been safeguarded by people as they held on to and nurtured in secret their publicly banned languages and traditions. Late 1970s Spain saw the growth of cultures hitherto marginalised to the periphery: in the case of Galicia, this coincided with the first wave of Celtic cultural renaissance which characterised the period, spearheaded by musicians like Irish group The Chieftains and Breton singer Alan Stivell, who in turn inspired Galician groups like Milladoiro.

Serendipitously at the end of the 1980s at a Galician festival Carlos was invited to share the stage for the first time with Irish group The Chieftains. That meeting was to change his life (to such an extent that latterly he has become known affectionately as, ‘the 7th Chieftain’).

The Chieftains picked up immediately on his uninhibited talent, while he immediately recognised their knowledge of the larger Celtic world of which he was just becoming aware. Only a short time afterwards, impressed by his ability and energy, The Chieftains invited Carlos to contribute to the soundtrack for ‘Treasure Island’, a film starring Charlton Heston and Oliver Reed. It marked his first excursion into the unique world of film soundtracks, and served as entrée into a different performing world.

As an instrument the bagpipe is synonymous with Galicia, linking the region since pre-history times to the legend and poetry of Celtic mythology, from the Romantic 19th century period onwards facilitated by maritime contact between the peoples of Finisterre and the European Atlantic. Now Carlos matched the Galician pipes, an instrument he describes as half way between Irish and Scottish pipes, their differences like those between water, fire and earth (viz the piece ‘The Three Pipers’). In homage to the immediate social and political world he had emerged from, he recorded his version of ‘Viva la Quinta Brigada’, an iconic piece commemorating the heroism of those who came from outside Spain to fight for democracy against Franco in the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War of 1936-1939.

The Chieftains

Invited to tour with The Chieftains Carlos a began to understand how the bagpipe connected the small and slightly remote region of Galicia with countries speaking different languages and the wider world. Sharing stages from an early age with such artists as Bob Dylan in Japan, The Who in New York, Marianne Faithfull in London opened his musical horizons further. From this early period a version of popular tune ‘The Foggy Dew’, recorded in New York with Carlos joining the Chieftains and guests Irish singer Sinéad O’Connor and US guitarist Ry Cooder, has been selected here.

The fruit of these early experiences came in 1996 with the release of Carlos’ début solo album ‘A Irmandade das Estrelas’(from which seven tracks have been selected here). The disc caught the zeitgeist, its impact contributing to a nascent ‘boom’ in Celtic music that was without precedent in Spain. Literally millions of copies of Celtic discs by various artists sold in what had hitherto been a country defined by a stereotyped images of faux-flamenco music. Carlos found himself at the cusp of what became known internationally as a Celtic renaissance, the impact of his work comparable to that of the Irish ‘Riverdance’ show around the world, notably in the USA; and the’Héritage des Celtes’ phenomenon in France. Soon Carlos to be invited to take part in the ‘Héritage des Celtes’ alongside leading artists like Dan Ar Braz, Dónal Lunny and Capercaillie. He re-met artists associated with Riverdance, including star dancers Jean Butler and Michael Flatley, who for many years became companions while touring with The Chieftains. Almost two decades later, Celtic music and dance – Irish, Scottish, Breton, Galician –has become fully established, its artists filling auditoriums and stadiums all over the world.

Celts and Flamencos

Due to the dominant Franco legacy, many in Galicia rejected any idea that Galician music, with its ingredients shared with Scottish, Irish and Breton culture, might also have other ‘Spanish’ folk elements. This particularly affected anything from Franco’s championing of faux-flamenco which was in popular terms regarded as ‘the enemy’. Nudged by Paddy Moloney, Carlos began to explore ways in which Galician music had modes and rhythms that although played on the bagpipes had a very ‘Spanish’ sound and could be easily accompanied by guitars or even with hand-clapping and the zapateado feet of real flamenco. Galicians had not only travelled all over the world, but also all over Spain, and the country has many shared folk forms which vary region to region.

Carlos travelled to Andalucía and North Africa to research these connections. Later he collaborated using this material with US musician Jackson Browne and other friends. Here Carlos joins Jackson and David Lindlay as guest for a live performance they made together.

Aware of the long-standing multiple roles of marginalised ‘traveller’ and gypsy communities in both safeguarding and performing many cultures outside their standard publics, Carlos worked with UK artist Mike Scott of The Waterboys: “With Mike Scott I shared the stage as his guest in Scotland, and he shared the stage as my guest in Galicia. Together with Paddy Keenan, the latest in a line of mythical Irish travelling pipers, we recorded ‘The Raggle Taggle Gypsy’, the Waterboys version of one of the most emblematic traditional songs. For Carlos Keenan shares a particular attitude toward life common among Irish travellers, with the mythical gypsy pipers that came before him. They imbue whatever music they touch, with a particular quality to “They make it their own, they free it up.”

Latin America

In 1993 Carlos travelled to Cuba to give a concert to commemorate the centenary of Havana’s Galician Centre. This historic building, long-time home to the active Galician community in Cuba was where the Galician national anthem was first performed, and where books in the Galician language had been edited. Since the 19th century Galicians, often but not always forced by poverty, have emigrated to the Americas, with Cuba, the pivotal port for first landing of ships since the time of the conquest, enjoying a long-standing, healthy immigrant Galician community.

A short time after this initial visit, having fallen in love with the island, Carlos was to return, this time with The Chieftains and US guitarist Ry Cooder. They were to record ‘Galleguita’, a Cuban version of a well-known 19th century Galician tune. They recorded in the now famous Old Havana’s Egrem Studios with veteran Cuban singer Omara Portuondo and bassist Orlando ’Cachaíto’ López. The disc was to win a Grammy. A year or so afterwards Cooder was to return to the island to collaborate again with Portuondo, López and more of their colleagues including guitarist Compay Segundo, as part of the collective that became The Buena Vista Social Club. In the meantime Carlos, having met Compay Segundo in the interim, recorded Ernesto Lecuona’s ‘Para Vigo Me Voy’, with Segundo live in Vigo, bringing the song home again.

So many Galicians emigrated to Argentina that Spanish speaking people from Europe often became known simply as ‘Gallegos’: it’s been said that there are more Galicians outside their homeland than inside, with Buenos Aires the biggest Galician city! Early 20th century tango singer Carlos Gardel made famous a tango called ‘Galleguita’ in Buenos Aires. In homage, having met Argentina’s poetic folk-rocker Léon Gieco, when Gieco came to visit Vigo, he and Carlos recorded a version of ‘Galleguita’ live in Vigo with The Chieftains.

While far fewer Galicians emigrated to Mexico, Galicians have had impact there, their influence arriving through exiled intellectuals who sought refuge during the Franco era. The culture of even earlier Galician emigrants is found in remnant form in early Baroque music known as ‘gayta’, which gives its name to songs sung around Christmas time in Venezuela, and to the titles of some old Mexican Mariachi tunes. It is a rhythm with strong traces of the jig and the fandango, the main Galician pipe dances, popular in parts of Latin America, particularly in the West, from the north (California) moving to the south.

Perhaps because of this when Carlos toured the USA with The Chieftains, Mexican and Chicano (Mexican-American) members of audiences would often respond with tears in their eyes after hearing the Galician piece ‘Rianxeira’, which comes form the coast near Vigo. The piece was regarded as quintessentially Mexican by them, so much so that some would even ask Carlos if he was a Mexican musician! The Chieftains and Carlos recorded the song under the name “Guadalupe” with guest singer Linda Ronstadt and the group Los Lobos, all musicians with their own Mexican ancestry.

The Galician-Mexican link was further fostered when Carlos participated in The Chieftains 2011 San Patricio album.It charts the story of Irish Catholic immigrants who in 1848 fought alongside their Mexican Catholic comrades of the San Patricio regiment to resist the annexation of the then Mexican territory Texas by the United States.

The Way to Santiago

Growing up in Galicia has given Carlos keen awareness of the significance of the European medieval traditions brought by pilgrims who walked the Camino to Santiago de Compostela and on to the furthest landpoint at Finisterre. Pilgrim hymns, songs and cantigas, along with Baroque villancico carols interpreted in Spanish Cathedrals (or in America under the name“gaytas”), are a key party of the Galician musical imaginary, echoing the heterogeneity of people continually travelling to the region since medieval times to the present day. One beautiful example is ‘Salve’, based on medieval poetry attributed to San Pedro de Mezonzo (also called Petrus Compostella), second bishop of Santiago de Compostela. Carlos recorded this ‘Salve’ with legendary soprano Montserrat Caballé, accompanied by a Galician Gregorian choir and a band of Breton bagpipers.

Bagpipe with Orchestra: classical, jazz, film soundtracks

What Carlos has found intriguing is finding evidence of old Galician material in parallel musical areas, notably among classical compositions that have been for the most part misleadingly viewed by foreign composers as “exotic Andalusian” pieces, based on Spanish folklore. In fact Carlos has found that their origins can be traced back to traditions from the northern part of the peninsula. Such is the case of “Capricho español” by Rimsky Korsakov, which is based on a dawn song for the Galician pipes. Similarly, while Joaquín Rodrigo’s “Concierto de Aranjuez” and Ravel’s “Bolero” recall the sound of the guitar, they may equally recall the sound of the pipes.

Bach´s “Prelude” from Suite No. 1 for Cello always sounded to Carlos like a prelude for the pipes, and then he discovered one day that Bach´s own father had been a piper. He found Georg Philipp Telemann had a strong interest in the pipes, having observed that any composer who had the patience to transcribe all the variations of the pipers would have inspiration for the rest of his lifetime.

He has been inspired by the ways that legendary jazz man Miles Davis created ‘Pied Piper’, his piece based on the melody ‘Alborada de Vigo’, a traditional knife-grinder´s tune collected in Galicia in 1950 by US collector Alan Lomax. In slightly different vein, Carlos has re-introduced improvisation in Celtic music using small adornments and subtle variations on tunes so as to rarely repeat a recognisable melody in exactly the same way. His approach to improvisation has been one of working, “without a safety net”, thanks to the essential guidance of two mentors, the late producer Hector Zazou, and Swiss harpist Andreas Vollenweider.

Further soundtrack work has included ‘My Monster and I’, recorded in London’s Abbey Road studios (where he reckons his pipes sounded better than in any other studio he has worked in). Carlos was also privileged to contribute to the soundtrack of the Spanish film ‘Mar Adentro’, which won a 2004 Oscar for ‘Best Film’. Recently he has worked with Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto on music for ‘Silk’ starring Keira Knightley and Michael Pitt); and again in Japan with Miyazaki Jr., at the Ghibli animation studios.

Work involving bagpipe with orchestra has included arranging ‘Entrelazado de Allariz’ for pipe band, recorded live with the Symphonic Orchestra of Galicia in the iconic Praza do Obradoiro, the historic plaza in front of the famous Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela (see photographs).

Early work with original instruments as a student has been a consistent interest, leading Carlos into the world of Música Antigua (Early Music). Using playing techniques and aesthetics associated with the Baroque and medieval period, noting parallels with Celtic music in use of instrumentation and ornamentation, Carlos recorded a Breton tune with Jordi Savall, one of today’s key figures of the Spanish Early Music renaissance, based in Catalonia.

Spain, Portugal and the world

As the first European Christian kingdom (embracing Asturias and present day northern Portugal), while the rest of the Iberian peninsula was Muslim, Galicia has been a place where diverse religions, including Jewish communities, have co-existed peacefully. Carlos recorded ‘A lavandeira da noite’, a Galician song that evokes these oriental influences, with Jewish-Yemenite singer Noa (Atchinoam Nini). Mapping historic links with Portugal has underscored Carlos’ work from his first disc, when Portuguese artist Dulce Pontes sang ‘Lela’ (a song belonging to both sides of the River Miño). Similarly with Teresa Salgueiro of the group Madredeus he has recorded ‘María Soliña’ in Lisbon.

Brazil

Carlos’ last foray into following the pathways of the Galician diaspora took him to Brazil to research and create his last major work Alborada do Brasil in 2010. The journey was made doubly poignant by the fact that one of these Galician emigrants was his own grandfather, who he discovered had been modestly involved in the early 20thcentury music scene (a story told in the documentary film ‘Brasil somos nós’- We are Brazil). Carlos found that not only did the Letter of Discovery of 1500 establish that the bagpipe was the first European instrument heard in Brazil - traces of which he recognizes still today in the music of the northeastern region -, but that various major 20th century Brazilian poets have taken direct and indirect inspiration from medieval Galician-Portuguese culture. In this way it fed into the significant 20th century movement known as MPB (Musica Popular Brasileira, Popular Brazilian Music) and possibly subtly into bossa nova.

For a commissioned soundtrack for a new work by leading contemporary Brazilian dance group Grupo Corpo, Carlos was inspired by Martín Codax, one of the original troubadours who composed love songs while facing the sea at Vigo (his original manuscripts conserved in New York’s Morgan Library), performed by Milton Nascimento or Chico Buarque.

The piece ‘Nau Bretoa’ (named ‘The Breton Ship’ in memory of the first ship transporting African people enforced as slaves to Brazil, constructed in Brittany) also bears traces of the medieval musics taken to north-east Brazil. For its arrangement Carlos therefore brought together north-eastern rock- star Lenine (the grand-child of a Breton) with a Scottish bagpipe band and a Brazilian samba school. Carlos found still more Galician traces in Salvador de Bahía where he worked with the multi-faceted star Carlinhos Brown on the song ‘Padaria Elétrica da Barra’, where pandeiro rhythms echo percussion rhythms played on a variety of instruments used in different Brazilian musics.

And so Carlos’ adventures continue... after Brazil, where will his next journey take him?... only time can tell... bon voyage Carlos...

Translated and adapted from an original Spanish text by Dr Jan Fairley www.janfairley.com

"Discover" - Carlos Núñez

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