A traditional music concert

Last Friday, January 22,  we walked to the Filarmónica theatre to see a live concert of tradtional Asturian music. We met students from other high schools. At the beginning, a presenter was speaking about traditional music in Asturias. Some teachers of the Traditional Music School were seated in chairs. They showed us  instruments such as castanets, rattles, the bass drum, the drum, the tambourine; different types of flutes, accordion, bagpipes, the guitar or the hurdy-gurdy. They explained things about them, for example how they are made. There was a singer, Anabel Santiago who sung some giraldillas, jotas and asturianada. We had a very good time. We think that it was a great school trip and we are looking forward to going to a live concert again.

María Cascudo Rubio, Raquel Riera Turiel, 1º ESO C, Mateo de la Vega Cao, Pablo Rodríguez Bernardo, 1º ESO D.

Anabel Santiago performed a giraldilla entitled «Alparagatas» 

Live traditional Asturian music

Last Friday, January 22, first year students went to the Filarmónica Theatre to see a concert of traditional Asturian music. When we arrived to the theatre there were children from other high schools. There were eight musicians who are teachers at the Traditional School of Music. They played different types of instruments. They started talking about percussion instruments especially the rattle, an instrument that consists of  a board made of wood which is beaten with one or more hammers. They also played instruments such as castanets, drums and tambourines. They continued playing wind instruments such as flutes, the canaveira, the accordion and the most important in Asturias, the bagpipe. Then, they talked about string instruments and we listened the bandurria, the guitar and the hurdy-gurdy. We think that this instrument is quite funny and we haven´t seen it before. There was a girl, Anabel Santiago, who is a very famous singer in Asturias, and sung very well. They played lot of songs, for example «Dame un besu», «Alparagatas», «Xiringüelu», jotas and asturianadas. At the end of the show, the Oviedo bagpipes band came into the theatre and played the Asturian national anthem. In our opinion the concert was interesting and we liked that they spent a little part of the time telling us about the human voice. We enjoyed the concert very much.

Julio Díaz Méndez, Sergio Estrada Paredes, Sara Vega González (1º ESO A), Miguel Galán Fernández, Martín López Fernández, Lía Rodríguez-Colubi Fernández (1º ESO B).

The Oviedo bagpipes band

Teranga: the legacy of the griots of Senegal

Last Wednesday, the 20 of January, all of the second year students attendded  the show «Teranga: the legacy of the Griots of Senegal» by the hand of six young men from Senegal who want to keep the cultural tradition of their country alive. At the beginning of the performance the original dresses and the peculiar dances caught our attention. During the concert, the group played some interesting pieces using typical instruments from Senegal, such as the balafon, a sort of marimba, the tama, the «talking drum» and djembes. Drums were played with hands and drumsticks. We also saw the kora, a mix of a harp and a lute. Everything was accompanied by a lot of imagery and traditional dances. They showed that music has a specific function in Senegal, for working and praying, also for getting married and as well as rain dances and songs. The concert was very fun and now we know a little bit more about Senegal, and we would like to go there sometime.

Lucía Morán Cimadevilla (2 ESO D), Javier Pañeda Valderrábano (2º ESO D), Laura San Martín Sánchez (2º ESO E).

The musicians playing drums

Music from Senegal: Teranga

Last wednesday, the 20th of January, we went to the Filarmonica theatre to see «Teranga», a traditional music group from Senegal. There were six people, five men and one woman. The woman danced and sang and the five men played instruments and accompanied her singing. They played a lot of strange instruments such as the «tama» (drum) or the kora (string instrument). They taught us many interesting things about their culture and traditions. For example, how to ask for rain. We also remember when the girl said: «If you want to marry me, you have to have cows». For us it was very funny, but she described a real situation which wasn´t so funny. We had a good time because it was something different and we learned a lot  about traditions and music from Senegal.

Thalía Devesa Fernández, Mateo Fernández Alonso (2º ESO B) and Nicolás González Fernández (2º ESO C).

Second year students in the Filarmónica Theatre.

Live music: Teranga, el legado de los griots de Senegal

Last Wednesday, January 20, second year students  went to the Filarmonica theatre to see «Teranga, el legado de los griots de Senegal». The show started with a presentation of the group and then the lights turned off and two people entered to the stage from side doors. On the stage the other three musicians were singing and dancing.

They taught us typical dances and songs from Senegal, for example, a ritual song that they sing when it doesn't rain. Sometimes there was an alternation of singers. This style is called «call and response» and it is a very important characteristic of African music. About instruments, they used a lot of percussion instruments and some unusual instruments, for example the «tama» that means «talking drum». We also saw the «balafón», a percusssion instrument that can play melodys (pitched instrument). The only string instrument we listened was the «kora». In this show the rhythm, the percussion and the dance were very important.

We think that Senegalese music is very different from  Spanish music because they use different instruments and they use their voices differently, for example they use call and response. We didn´t ’t like the music from Senegal so much because it's so strange.

Diego Álvarez García and Cristina Barril Fernández, 2º ESO A

Second year students walking to the Filarmónica theatre.