This one is much fun.

Nazareth - Apanhei-te cavaquinho (3:07)

The left hand imitates a cavaquinho, which is an instrument like this:



It is a must have in the accompaniment of a samba.

And here is the video version of this audio:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3PaGee ... e=youtu.be

Hi Luis,

I had a listen to your recording of this Cavaquinho music by Nazareth. I enjoyed it a lot. You play this a quite a fast pace but I think it gives the piece the joyous speed it desires, IMO. It is somewhat repetitive, but I like the high register "tinkling sound" and I think your phrasing here is that of a dance which suits the style of music. Curiously, I noticed this piece follows the same rhythm as the piece "Neopolitan dance tune" by Tchaikovsky in his Album for the Young.

Interesting about the Cavaquinho. It's fun to imagine a guitarists fingers flying down (or is it up?) the fretboard trying to play this. Of course it would just be the melody, given the limitations of the instrument..

Again, nice playing.

In my last recording, Odeon, I had to explain why I was playing slowly. Nazareth didn't like his pieces to be played fast, in a dance-like way. But... I like "Apanhei-te cavaquinho" this way.



You don't need to imagine any more. I found a video on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdR9OFvfqjE

But... you know... this piece depicts a cavaquinho in the ACCOMPANIMENT, in the left hand, not in the melody. Those mordents in the melody are impossible to play on a cavaco.
I used to play the cavaquinho when I was 12. Those strings are really hard. My fingers would bleed.

That's really a lot of fun, Luis! And thanks for the link to the cavaquinho video.
Multiple camera angles on your video, too. Did you have multiple cameras? Do you do your own editing?
I did not listen to the mp3; I assume it's from the video ?!?

Multiple camera angles mean... multiple takes!

I played this piece four times, from the begining to the end, then for each passage I chose the best of them. that's why you can see four different camera angles.

I myself do the editing, and the out of sync passages are OpenShot's fault, and also YouTube's. it was not that bad when I watched it before publishing...

Yes, the audio is the same of the video.

That must be one tiring little piece. On the upside, probably not hard to memorize... it is really terribly repetitive, a better composer would have left it at around 1 minute. Well played despite some weak spots in the LH. Remarkable consistency for a 4-take recording. I did not hear a break anywhere.

I've put this on the site, in the page 'Tangos and Waltzes'. This can be argued, but I guess there is no way to categorize all of Nazareth's pieces into different pages.

I think the camera position behind your elbow is not very successful. Maybe there was not more room over there? And you should do something about that stepladder. I understand why you do it, but it does not look right

with the exception of the waltzes, all Nazareth's pieces are "choro". but he categorized them into tangos, marches and polca. this one is a polca.
you know... it's really strange for us to hear a tango in Odeon. it's quite clear that it's a choro, but when I played it slowly, a friend of mine couldn't recognize it was Odeon, and he told me: "there is a bit of tango in this piece, isn't there?"

so... is it possible to add "polca" in the name of this section? Then it would be just like the name of the Nazareth disc on Naxos:
http://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp ... e=8.557687


you're right, there's not more room, that's why the camera was so close. it was the camera angle of my last take. I didn't have any more creativity for other camera angles, and I didn't expect I would choose so much elements of that take.

and I really have no other way to deal with the stepladder... it's where I put my Zoom H4!

btw...

I was reading the reviews of that disc (it's really a very good disc, I recommend)...
http://www.naxos.com/reviews/reviewslis ... guageid=EN

and I found: "The Whirlwind of Kisses is another gem and Cavaquinho wasn’t the only person “grabbed” by the last work (because I certainly was)"

oh my God, I think I made it clear for you that cavaquinho is really not a person!


btw2: my father was listening to my recording of this piece, and he said: "you're not playing it, are you?"
I said: "in fact, this is my recording of the piece"
he: "but who is playing the cavaquinho?"
"No one, dad. It's for piano solo".


that left hand really sounds as a cavaquinho.

Hi Luis,
I'm glad you changed the camera angle because it added some interest to the piece. And you played very nicely - clear and perky on all the notes. The piece in general is not my cup of tea, though, because it's too long on high, tinkling notes. I think the piece would in fact sound better played in lower ranges of the piano.

Regarding the step ladder.... (that cracks me up), don't you have something shorter you can use? I've dealt with similar issues, but instead of using my ugly tripod on which I balance my recorder, I use something shorter that can't be seen in the videos. The sound is not much different either.

but then it wouldn't sound as a cavaquinho! hehe
pianists don't play all the repeats they play this piece. I have chosen to play all the repeats of Odeon and Apanhei-te cavaquinho because... well, because it's written!


no, I don't have any other shorter thing to support the recorder...
I have a chair, but it's much shorter (that's where I put the video camera). I don't know where to find a stepladder in the exact stature of the piano...

You remember I told you I was also working on a Nazareth piece -- well, I've grown bored with it and it's because of all the repeats. It's back on the bottom of my pile now. Which is fine, because I just found today two new pieces to work on. Can't wait to go home tonight so I can play them!


You have a good job now, so go buy a tripod. It's very practical...you can set your recorder on top of it, or screw in your video camera. Actually, go buy two tripods! No, make that three - give one to me!!

hm... I hadn't thought of it. I was thinking the only things to support a recorder were chairs, tables and stepladders!

I used to use a couple of books on top of a speaker box. Until it dawned on me that I might as well put it a little further away on the cabinet next to the speaker box

Tripods are great because you can change the height to whatever you like and they are easy to move around.

Only if you have the space for it. In small dwelling like mine they can be a nuisance.