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Varal (Clothes Line)
Surucuà Art Production, 1997
all tracks composed and performed by Celso Machado
Please see glossary for definition of terms.
Varal was nominated for the Canadian Juno Awards in the best global recording category in 1999
1. Depois de Anos (After Years) 3'45"
Music: Celso Machado, Lyrics: Marcia Abujamra
Instrumentation: acoustic guitar, soprano guitar, voice, surdo, tamborim,
pandeiro, and ganzá
This is a story of unconsummated true love rediscovered, confirmed and
transformed by maturity after a long separation.
2. Varal (Clothes Line) 4'31"
Music: Celso Machado, Lyrics: Luis Carlos Bahia
Instrumentation: acoustic guitar and voice
Varal was inspired by the washing songs slaves would entertain themselves
with by chanting and rhythmically slapping the clothes on the river bank.
3. Itaparica 3'8"
Music: Celso Machado, Lyrics: Luis Carlos Bahia
Instrumentation: acoustic guitar, voice, surdo, tamborim, triangulo, agogô,
afoxê, ganzá, and caxixi
Itaparica means beautiful-stone in Tupi-Guarany; the indigenous language
spoken in the Bahia region. This is also the name given to an island with
beautiful beaches near Salvador, Bahia, which inspired this song.
4. Preguiça na Praia (Laziness on the Beach) 4'27"
Music: Celso Machado, Lyrics: Marcia Accioly
Instrumentation: acoustic guitar and voice
Lying on the beach watching the colours and geometric forms of nature;
the water shimmering with luminosity from the brilliance of the strong
sun; our bodies feel sensuous, languorous and lazy.
5. Taieiras 4.'7"
Music: Celso Machado, Lyrics: Marcia Accioly
Instrumentation: acoustic guitar, 12 string guitar, soprano guitar, surdo,
caxixi, triangulo and voice
Taierias are mulata dancers and singers who dress in elaborate
white costumes with red ribbons to celebrate the festival of São
Benedito and Nossa Senhora do Rosário in north-eastern Brazil.
6. Ponteado Africano 3'52"
Music: Celso Machado
Instrumentation: acoustic guitar and soprano guitar
Inspired by the African harp - Kora
7. Corpo (Body) 2'57"
Music: Celso Machado
Instrumentation: mouth and body percussion, Thai mouth harp, reco-reco
and
wooden bird whistles
There is a saying in Brazil that samba begins with the feet; In Celso's
family that soon spread to bodies, mouths, tables, boxes, frying pans
and pieces of paper with each brother and their mother imitating an instrument:
surdos (bass drums), shakers, agogô bells and tamborins.
8. Que Fait Liê (Put things together) 5'19"
Music: Celso Machado
Instrumentation: soprano guitar, bendir, tammorra, qaraqeb, clapping and
background vocal
This piece for soprano guitar and percussion is inspired by a popular
Moroccan rhythm.
9. Inderê Ogum 3'40"
Music & Lyrics: Celso Machado
Instrumentation: sintir, berimbau, qaraqeb, triangulo, ganzá and
chanting
This piece arose from Celso's fascination with the similarities between
Moroccan Gnawa and Brazilian rhythm. If you listen carefully to the rhythm
of the qaraqeb and sintir in Gnawa music it is reminiscent of Samba, Afoxé
and Capoeira.
Ogum is the warrior saint of the Afro-Brazilian religion, Candomblé.
He is responsible for guarding paths and roads - both literally and figuratively.
10. Katapa 4'00"
Music: Celso Machado
Instrumentation: kanjira, tamburello, and pandeiro
This piece is dedicated to three master tambourine players: Trichy Shankaran,
Professor of Indian Music at York University, Toronto, who plays the South
Indian kanjira; Gennaro Buccino - tamburello player and maker from Naples,
Italy; and Hélio Motta - Brazilian solo pandeiro artist.
11. Parazula 3'47"
Music: Celso Machado
Instrumentation: acoustic guitar solo
This piece is based on classical guitar technique and a Brazilian strumming
rhythm (rasqueado) with simultaneous percussion on the guitar body. The
first string is tuned in D to imitate the sound of a harp. Parazula combines
Paraguayan, Argentinian, and Venezuelan rhythms.
12. Catira (Cateretê) 3'06"
Music: Celso Machado
Instrumentation: soprano guitar
Catira is a dance of Tupi origin (Brazilian native group) with African
choreographic influences from rural southern Brazil. This dance incorporates
a dance step which acts as a percussive accompaniment called sapateado.
The soprano guitar is tuned in open D major to imitate the viola caipira
(ten string (five double string) guitar). The right hand plays rasqueado
rhythm and simultaneously knocks on the guitar body to imitate the sapateado.
13. Virou Até um Baião (Sudden Change to Baião)
2'55"
Music: Celso Machado
Instrumentation: didgeridoo, ganzá, mouth percussion, mouth thunder
storm and
monkey sound
In this piece a Brazilian Baião rhythm is layered on top of the
circular breathing and vocalization technique used in playing the didgeridoo.
14. Canto de Escravo (Slaves Song) 2'09"
Music: Celso Machado
Instrumentation: voice and grass percussion
This chant pays homage to Brazilian slaves who once worked the sugar cane
plantations.