The lilting tunes of Tiples and fractional yet concrete sounds of the Contrabass made for an interesting Columbian affair organised by the Columbian embassy at St. Xaviers College in Mumbai recently. The El Barbero de Socorro trio, who are one of the best from Columbia took the audience on a traditional Columbian music trail through the folklore which represented the ethnicity of the region much beyond the other movers and shakers like pop star Shakira. The string instruments which comprise the core Andean music instruments seemed to be magical delights with intricacies that make you wonder about the numerous possibilities.
The El Barbero de Socorro have been together for a more than a decade. They came together during different music “ateliers” at the Faculty of Music at Universidad Autonama de Bucaramanga. The name of the trio is rather intriguing as they originally come from Bucaramanga, Columbia. It literally means Barber of Socorro and comes from the Barber of Sevilla, an archetypal town of Columbian barbers. Carlos Manuel Acosta D’Lima, director of the trio says that they are a traditional group and came together to promote and preserve the legacy of ethnic folklore. Andean music has a 200-year old history. A major part of the genre developed when the country got its independence.
The repertoire has influences from the style of music from Europe and Africa. “We are bringing the songs of the mountains. The songs are about the ones that people in that region sing which reflects their culture and ethnicity,” says Carlos.
One cannot particularly define the Andean style of music but the interspersing of melodies that varies through the three instruments brings sheer delight. It is easy to relate to the simple musicality of the instruments, though some of the variations leave you spellbound and perplexed. Especially, when the trio weaves intricate tunes on the tiples and contrabass, the moment lingers even after they have finished their performance. The stringed instruments balance each other by wonderfully striking the right chords and expressions and retaining their individuality. Carlos says that the two tiples and contrabass make for an excellent combination. “Each of them is distinctive and the tiples represent the characteristic of the region which is originally from Columbia. The other traditional repertoire consists of Bandola, Guitar and Tiples,”says Carlos.
He says that the music they play is not commercial and will be never seen on MTV or any chartbusters countdown. “The music is classical and traditional. By traditional I mean that it is constantly evolving and changing. It is a dynamic process and we are working on constant improvisation,” says Carlos who is a professor of musicology at the university as well. Carlos has been a part of the Venezuelan Symphony Orchestra for twenty years and faculty of music for more than two decades. “Music needs holistic approach. Apart from practical training, strong knowledge about theory and history is important in understanding different cultures and places,” says Carlos who is aware and fond of Indian styles.