TAL 06 / Oswaldo Lares

All recordings by Oswaldo Lares.
Compiled by Stefan Schneider and Guillermo Lares (@archivolares).
Mastering and Restauration by Detlef Funder, Paraschall, Düsseldorf 2017.
Artwork by Christa Marek. Images by Oswaldo Lares.
Text: Oswaldo Lares, Guillermo Lares and Cristina Vargas. Translations: Anna Miorin.
Supported by the International Coproduction Fund of the Goethe-Institut, Goethe-Institut Caracas and Fundalares.
Record comes with a free download code.

300 copies

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„After a concert of Kenyan singer Ogoya Nengo in Berlin in 2015 in a pleasant conversation Guillermo Lares told me about his father, Oswaldo Lares, a studied architect who, parallel with his professional activity, began to make field recordings of the traditional and indigenous Venezuelan music from the early 1960s onwards up until today.

His search and fascination for finding the musical roots of his country led Oswaldo Lares to visit the rural villages outside Caracas, investigating the many and varied musical cultures of the region and the complex relationship between Venezuelan folk music and its various origins, including the African (mu´sica afrodescendiente).

The vast amount of music documents in the form of sound recordings, photographs and videos accompanied by notes and studies reflect the scope of this entirely self- taught sound engineer’s work and represent a passionate documentary, making his work today one of the most comprehensive and systematic that has ever been assembled by a single person in Venezuela. Oswaldo Lares as an ethnomusicologist remained an amateur in the most direct meaning of the word: amare. Whereas most studied ethnomusicologists travel around the world to explore far away continents and foreign cultures, Oswaldo began to devote much of his spare time to the generally overlooked folk traditions that existed right in his very neighbourhood.

Currently Guillermo Lares has started to promote his father‘s work through the Achivolares Foundation, turning it into a living archive that preserves an essential part of Venezuelan musical memory. It is a pleasure and honor of our label TAL to support the invaluable work of Oswaldo and Guillermo Lares with this album.“

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A
1. Canto de amor Jayeechi. 1974
Singer: Marielena Fernández at the Wayúu Community of the Laguna de Pájaros, Zulia.

2. Quitiplás. 1976
From the Communiy of Panaquire, Miranda.

3. Punto oriental. 1972
Singer: Jesús Romero from  Porlamar, Nueva Esparta.

4. Rumba callejera. 1977
Singer: Fortunato Piña Sanz from  Curiepe, Miranda.

5. Percusion con platos. 1980
From Naiguatá, Vargas.

6. Tamboritas de fulía. 1980
From Naiguatá, Vargas.

7. Jujuta. 1977
Guahibo Community of the Island of Ratón, Amazonas.

8. Tambor de palma. 1972
From Altagracia de Orituco, Guárico.

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B

9. Saludo a San Juan Bautista. 1973
Singers: Paula León and Epifanía Mayora from Tarma, Vargas.

10. Campana de los diablos de Chuao. 1974
Celebration of the Corpus Christi in Chuao, Aragua.

11. Canto de pilón. 1972
Singers: Marciana y Juana Gómez from Manzanillo, Nueva Esparta.

12. Joropo estribillo. 1972
Singer: Juana Gómez, Cuatro: Luis Mariano Rivera from Canchunchú Florido, Sucre.

13. Marimba indígena. 1974
Indigenous Communiy of Cumanacoa, Sucre.

14. Carrizos con baile. 1977
Guahibo Community of the Island of Ratón, Amazonas.

15. Tambor de los diablos de Yare. 1976
Devils of Corpus Christi in San Francisco de Yare, Miranda.

16. Canto Yekuana. 1977
Singer: Alfredo Shamanare of the Yekuana Community, Puerto Ayacucho, Amazonas.

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