Thursday, August 6, 2009

Pirate Movies and Vihuelas | Filmes de Piratas e Vihuelas

One of the things I love most in life is the sea and especially antique ships, where men faced their fears and met with their courage. I am sure that in most of the ships that went to sea from the sixteenth century to the "appearance" of the modern classical guitar in the mid-nineteenth century, there was a stringed instrument of the lute family. Personally, the sound of the lute transports me to the past, where I'm capable of swearing I hear the creak of wood and the sound of the wind in the sails and rigging.
It is interesting to see in some Hollywood movies that this detail was not forgotten. In the Roman Polanski movie "Pirates" (1986), the actress Charlotte Lewis in the role of the Spanish lady "Dolores", sings and plays the vihuela on the window of the "Neptune" galleon cabin. More recently, the Rolling Stones super-star Keith Richards, appeared in the last chapter of "Pirates of the Caribbean" as the father of Captain Jack Sparrow. For brief seconds, Richards plays on an instrument somewhat similar to the vihuela, but more probably a very old guitar, aged for the movie (an instrument that actually would only exist some 130 years after the time where the movie is set, in the 1720/30s).
I wonder if Mr. Gore Verbinksi will add a pirate lutenist in the fourth adventure of the “Black Pearl”.

(português)
Uma das coisas que mais adoro na vida é o mar e em particular os navios antigos, onde os homens enfrentavam os seus medos e se encontravam com a sua coragem. Tenho a certeza que na maioria dos navios que andavam no mar do Século XVI até ao “aparecimento” da moderna viola/violão, em meados do Século XIX, havia um instrumento de cordas da família do alaúde. Pessoalmente, o som do alaúde transporta-me para o passado, onde era capaz de jurar ouvir o ranger das madeiras e o som do velame e cordame ao vento.
É interessante ver que em alguns filmes de Hollywood, esse detalhe não foi esquecido. No filme “Piratas” (1986) de Roman Polanski, a actriz Charlotte Lewis, no papel da dama espanhola “Dolores”, aparece cantando e tocando vihuela à janela da cabine do galeão “Neptuno”. Mais recentemente, a super-estrela Keith Richards, dos Rolling Stones, apareceu no último capitulo dos “Pirates do Caribe/Piratas das Caraíbas” no papel de pai do Capitão Jack Sparrow. Por breves segundos, Richards toca algo num instrumento semelhante à vihuela, mas mais provavelmente um violão antigo e envelhecido para o filme (instrumento que na realidade só existiria uns 130 anos mais tarde do que a acção do filme, passada nos 1720/30s).
Pergunto-me se o senhor Gore Verbinski vai adicionar um alaúdista pirata à quarta aventura do “Pérola Negra”.

4 comments:

  1. Hi Luis,

    I am currently looking for the title and composer of the song Dolores sings with the vihuela, any idea ?
    Possibly, it has been composed by Philippe Sarde, who wrote the movie's soundtrack, but I am not sure...

    Regards,
    Nicolas.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Nicolas. Thank you so much for writing. It's funny that I've asked that question myself. I know that the song is not in the soundtrack's list, so I believe it's a real renaissance song. I'm listening to many vihuela and voice albums lately as preparation for my formation recital, so I believe that I'm about to find out what song this is. I will let you know when I find it, perhaps with a new post.
    By the way, where do you write from?
    regards
    Luís

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hello,
    I am writing from Paris, France.
    At my neighborhood music library, I only found solos of vihuelas, I would be glad if you had any reference of records with vihuela and voice.
    Greetings,
    Nicolas.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Nicholas. I personally own these following records and I recommend them to you, as I'm about to order a vihuela from a french luthier here in my home town. Here they are:
    El Cortesano - El Parnasso (E. Daza)
    El Cortesano - Si me llaman (D. Pisador)
    Juan Carlos Rivera & Carlos Mena - Canciones de Alonso Mudarra y Miguel de Fuenllana
    Cancioneiro Musical de Belém (Portugal).
    Thank you for your interest.

    ReplyDelete