Sep
19
Ordinarily, a long-distance interview on a phone connection so bad the interviewee can’t be understood is no way to get inside the thoughts and spirit of an extraordinary artist such as Carlos Núñez.
But to know what the Grammy-winning Núñez is about, just listen to his often thrilling, joyful music. A master of the gaita (a medieval bagpipe), recorder and a variety of other vintage pipes and whistles, Núñez is a one-man version of Ireland’s famed group The Chieftains.
Núñez’s music is rooted in ancient Galicia (an autonomous region in northwest Spain) by way of a revival movement there incorporating native Celtic and Spanish elements — with occasional seasoning from rock, jazz or contemporary folk.
Núñez is bringing his blended sounds to Town Hall on Saturday, Sept. 20, for a concert presented by the Early Music Guild and Honorary Spanish Consul. The program, “A Celtic Musical Pilgrimage to Santiago,” is inspired by the Camino de Santiago (aka The Way of St. James), a westward trek across Europe to what is now Galicia’s capital, Santiago de Compostela.
Along with Rome and Jerusalem, the Camino de Santiago was a popular pilgrimage destination during the Middle Ages, with many routes leading to the reputed remains of the apostle St. James. The journey still appeals to the religious and secularists alike as a means of extensive soul-searching. (A recent movie, “The Way,” stars Martin Sheen as a bereaved father taking the Camino de Santiago on behalf of his late son.)
But centuries of pilgrims enduring the long walk from all over Western Europe also meant Galicia became a hotbed of musical influences and a repository for instruments from points afar. Deeper than that history is Galicia’s ancient identity — like Brittany, northern Portugal, the Isle of Man, Wales, Cornwall, Ireland and Scotland — as Celtic country.
Despite being overrun by Romans, Germanic tribes, Visigoths, Vikings and Moors, Galicia’s subdued but still-present Celtic-culture traditions have been championed by Núñez and other contemporary musicians.
But while Núñez — born and raised in Galicia’s port city of Vigo — is busy reviving early music, he (like the Chieftains, with whom he has toured and recorded multiple times) he keeps it fresh by interweaving other styles.
“In the world of early music we get very interested in putting musicians in categories,” says August Denhard, director of Early Music Guild. “But Carlos breaks all those rules, and it is a very good thing. He finds meaning in so much music, always finds the best musicians in every field and collaborates in a really genuine way so none of those categories makes any difference. He also unifies this idea of the different Celtic nations. You hear the same approach to rhythm in his music that is in Irish music.”
A remarkable virtuoso on gaita and recorder (he has been compared to John Coltrane and Itzhak Perlman), Núñez is touring as part of a quartet that includes fiddle, Brazilian viola and percussion (among the latter are scallop shells, symbols of the Camino de Santiago).
Step-dancing — reportedly very different from what we usually associate with Irish step-dancing — will be involved.
“For Carlos,” says Denhard, “the journey at the heart of this concert has, I am sure, a personal and a musical meaning.”
Tom Keogh: tomwkeogh@gmail.com
Want unlimited access to seattletimes.com? Subscribe now!
Comments
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.