Gracias A La Vida - Muziek

Violeta Del Carmen Parra Sandoval 4 October 1917 – 5 February 1967 Was A Chilean Composer Folklorist Ethnomusicologist And Visual Artist. She Pioneered The Nueva Canción Chilena Chilean' New Song A Renewal And A Reinvention Of Chilean Folk Music Which Would Extend Its Sphere Of Influence Outside Chile. In 2011 Andrés Wood Directed A Biopic About Her Titled Violeta Went To Heaven. Parra Was Born In San Fabián De Alico Near San Carlos Ñuble Province A Small Town In Southern Chile On 4 October 1917 As Violeta Del Carmen Parra Sandoval. Violeta Parra Was A Member Of The Prolific Parra Family. Among Her Brothers Were The Notable Modern Poet Better Known As The "anti-Poet" Nicanor Parra And Fellow Folklorist Roberto Parra. Her Son Ángel Parra And Her Daughter Isabel Parra Are Also Important Figures In The Development Of The Nueva Canción Chilena. Their Children Have Also Mostly Maintained The Family's Artistic Traditions. Her Father Was A Music Teacher And Her Mother Worked On A Farm But Sang And Played The Guitar In Her Spare Time. Two Years After Violeta's Birth The Family Moved To Santiago Then Two Years Later To Lautaro And Finally In 1927 To Chillán. It Was In Chillan That Violetta Started Singing And Playing The Guitar Together With Her Siblings Hilda Eduardo And Roberto And Soon Began Composing Traditional Chilean Music.
After Parra's Father Died In 1929 The Life Circumstances Of Her Family Greatly Deteriorated. Violeta And Her Siblings Had To Work To Help Feed The Family. In 1932 At The Insistence Of Her Brother Nicanor Parra Moved To Santiago To Attend The Normal School Staying With Relatives. Later She Moved Back With Her Mother And Siblings To Edison Street In The Quinta Normal District. The Parras Performed In Nightclubs Such As El Tordo Azul And El Popular In The Mapocho District Interpreting Boleros Rancheras Mexican Corridos And Other Styles. In 1934 She Met Luis Cereceda A Railway Driver Whom She Married Four Years Later And With Whom She Had Two Children. Her Husband Was A Militant Communist And At His Side Parra Became Involved In The Progressive Movement And The Communist Party Of Chile Taking Part In The Presidential Campaign Of Gabriel González Videla In 1944. Parra Began Singing Songs Of Spanish Origin From The Repertoire Of The Famous Argentinian Singers Lolita Torres And Imperio Argentina. She Sang In Restaurants And Also In Theatres Calling Herself Violeta De Mayo. In 1945 She Appeared With Her Children Isabel And Angel In A Spanish Show In The Casanova Confectionery. In 1948 After Ten Years Of Marriage Parra And Luis Cereceda Separated. Parra And Her Sister Hilda Began Singing Together As "The Parra Sisters" And They Recorded Some Of Their Work On RCA VICTOR. Also In 1946 Violeta Met And Married Luis Arce. Their Daughter Carmen Luisa Was Born In 1949. Parra Continued Performing She Appeared In Circuses And Toured With Hilda And With Her Children Throughout Argentina. In 1952 Parra's Second Daughter Rosita Clara Was Born. In That Same Year Driven By Her Brother Nicanor Violeta Began To Collect And Collate Authentic Chilean Folk Music From All Over The Chile. She Abandoned Her Old Repertoire For Folk Songs And Began Composing Her Own Songs Based On Traditional Folk Forms. She Gave Recitals At Universities Presented By Enrique Bello Cruz A Founder Of Cultural Magazines. Soon Parra Was Invited To The "Summer School" At The University Of Concepción. She Was Also Invited To Teach Courses In Folklore At The University Of Iquique. In Valparaiso She Was Presented At The Chilean-French Institute. Parra's Two Singles For EMI-Odeon Label "Que Pena Siente El Alma" And "Verso Por El Fin Del Mundo" And "Casamiento De Negros" And"Verso Por Padecimiento" Brought Her A Good Measure Of Popularity.
Don Isaiah Angulo A Tenant Farmer Taught Her To Play The Guitarrón A Traditional Chilean Guitar-Like Instrument With 25 Strings. Along The Way Parra Met Pablo Neruda Who Introduced Her To His Friends. In 1970 He Would Dedicate The Poem "Elegia Para Cantar" To Her.
Between January And September 1954 Parra Hosted The Immensely Successful Radio Program "Sing Violeta Parra" For Radio Chilena. The Program Was Most Often Recorded In Places Where Folk Music Was Performed Such As Her Mother's Restaurant In Barrancas. In The End Of 1954 Parra Participated In Another Folkloric Programme For Radio Agriculture. Violeta Was Invited To The "World Festival Of Youth And Students" In Warsaw Poland In July 1955. She Then Moved To Paris France Where She Performed At The Nightclub "L'Escale" In The Quartier Latin. Meanwhile Back In Santiago Her Daughter Rosita Clara Died. Violeta Made Contacts With European Artists And Intellectuals. Through The Intervention Of The Anthropologist Paul Rivet She Recorded At The National Sound Archive Of The "Musée De L'Homme" La Sorbonne In Paris Where She Left A Guitarrón And Tapes Of Her Collections Of Chilean Folklore. She Travelled To London To Make Recordings For EMI-Odeon And Radio Broadcasts From The BBC. Back In Paris In March 1956 She Recorded 16 Songs For The French Label "Chant Du Monde" Which Launches Its First Two Records With 8 Songs Each. In November 1956 Violeta Returned To Chile And Recorded The First LP Of The Series "The Folklore Of Chile" For The EMI Odeon Label "Violeta Parra And Her Guitar" Which Included Three Of Her Own Compositions. In 1957 She Followed With "La Cueca" And "La Tonada" EMI Odeón And "Composiciones De Violeta Parra".
In The Following Years She Built Her House “Casa De Palos” On Segovia Street In The Municipality Of La Reina. She Continued Giving Recitals In Major Cultural Centers In Santiago Travelling All Over The Country To Research Organize Concerts And Give Lectures And Workshops About Folklore. She Travelled North To Investigate And Record The Pagan Religious Festival "La Tirana". Violeta Perra Exerted A Significant Influence On Héctor Pavez And Gabriela Pizarro Who Would Become Great Performers And Researchers In Their Own Right. The Product Of This Collaboration Is Evident In The Play "La Celebración De La Minga" Staged At The Teatro Municipal De Santiago. She Composed The Music For The Documentary "Wicker" And "Trilla" Contributed To The Film "Casamiento De Negros" Performed By Sergio Bravo. She Wrote The Book "Cantos Foklóricos Chilean" Which Gathered All The Research Conducted So Far With Photographs By Sergio Larraín And Musical Scores Performed By Soublette Gaston Santiago Nascimento 1979 . She Also Wrote The "Décimas Autobiográficas" Work In Verse Recounting Her From Her Childhood To Her Trip To Europe. She Started A Serious Interest In Ceramics Painting And Arpillera Embroidery As A Result Of A Severe Hepatitis In 1959 That Forced Her To Stay In Bed Her Work As A Painter And Arpillerista Was Developed Greatly So Much So That The Same Year She Exhibited Her Oil Paintings And Arpilleras At The First And Also The Second Outdoor Exhibition Of Fine Arts Of The Forest Park. On 4 October 1960 The Day Of Her Birthday She Met Swiss Flautist Gilbert Favre With Whom She Became Romantically Involved. In 1961 She Traveled To Buenos Aires Argentina Where She Exhibited Her Paintings Appearing In TV Giving Recitals At The Teatro IFT And Recording An Album Of Original Songs For EMI Odeon - Which Was Banned. In June 1962 She Returned To Santiago. With Her Children Isabel And Angel And Her Granddaughter Tita She Embarked With The Chilean Delegation For Finland To Participate In The 8th "World Festival Of Youth And Students" Held In Helsinki. After Touring The Soviet Union Germany Italy And France Violeta Parra Moved To Paris Where She Performed At La Candelaria And L'Escale In The Latin Quarter Gave Recitals At The "Théâtre Des Nations" Of UNESCO And Performed On Radio And Television With Her Children. Then She Started Living With Gilbert Favre In Geneva Dividing Her Time Between France And Switzerland Where She Also Gave Concerts Appeared In TV And Exhibited Her Art. In 1963 She Recorded In Paris Revolutionary And Peasant Songs Which Would Be Published In 1971 Under The Title "Songs Rediscovered In Paris" She Wrote The Book "Popular Poetry Of The Andes". The Parras Took Part In The Concert Of "L'Humanité" Official Newspaper Of The French Communist Party . An Argentine Musician Friend Recorded At Her Home A Version Of "El Gavilán" "The Hawk" Interpreted By Violeta Parra Accompanied By Her Granddaughter On Percussion. Violeta Accompanied Her Children In The LP "Los Parra De Chillán" For The Barclay Label. She Began Playing The Cuatro An Instrument Of Venezuelan Origin And The Charango An Instrument Of The High Plateaus. In April 1964 She Did An Exhibition Of Her Arpilleras Oil Paintings And Wire Sculptures In The Museum Of Decorative Arts Of The Louvre - The First Solo Exhibition Of A Latin American Artist At The Museum. In 1965 The Publisher François Maspero Paris Published Her Book "Poésie Populaire Des Andes". In Geneva Swiss Television Made A Documentary About The Artist And Her Work "Violeta Parra Chilean Embroiderer". Favre And Parra Returned To South America In June 1965. Violeta Recorded Two 45s One With Her Daughter Isabel And Another To Instrumental Music For Cuatro And Quena With Gilbert Favre Whom She Christened "El Tocador Afuerino" The Outsider Musician Her Music Now Incorporated The Venezuelan Cuatro And The Charango From The Plateaus Of The Northern. The EMI Odeon Circulated The LP "Remembering Chile A Chilean In Paris " Whose Cover Was Illustrated With Her Own Arpilleras. However Favre And Parra Broke Up Provoked By His Desire To Live In Bolivia Where He Was Part Of A Successful Bolivian Music Act Los Jairas. Parra’s Energy Was Invested In Reviving A Unique Version Of The Peña Now Known As La Peña De Los Parra A Community Center For The Arts And For Political Activism. Some Have Stated She Established The First 'peña' But As Said By The RAE Places Such As These Had Been Called That At Least Since 1936. Parra’s Peña Was A Tent Somewhat Similar Looking To A Circus Tent That She Set Up On A 30 X 30 Meter Piece Of Land In The Parque La Quintrala At Number 340 Carmen Street In Today’s La Reina Municipality Of Santiago In The Area Once Known As La Cañada. Her Tent Hosted Musical Spectacles Where She Often Sang With Her Children And She And Her Children Also Lived On The Same Land. In La Reina At La Cañada 7200 She Also Established A Cultural Center Called "La Carpa De La Reina" Inaugurated On 17 December 1965. She Also Installed A Folk Peña In The International Fair Of Santiago FISA Where She Was Invited. On The Same Year She Participated In Numerous National Television Programs And Signed A Contract With Radio Minería Which Would Be The Last Radio Station To Be Used As A Platform For Her Work. Under The EMi Odeón Label In 1966 Was Released The LP "La Carpa De La Reina" Featuring Three Songs Performed By Violeta Parra And Nine By Guest Artists Announced At The Carpa By Violeta Herself. She Travelled To La Paz Bolivia To Meet With Gilbert Favre Where She Regularly Appeared In The Peña. She Came Back To Chile With Altiplano Groups Presenting Them In Her Carpa On Television And In Her Children's Peña. She Also Performed In Concert At The Chilean Southern Cities Of Osorno And Punta Arenas Invited By René Largo Farias Under The "Chile Ríe Y Canta" "Chile Laughs And Sings" Program. Accompanied By Her Children And Uruguayan Alberto Zapicán She Recorded For RCA Victor The LP "The Last Compositions Of Violeta Parra". In That Year Favre Returned Briefly To Chile With His Group But Declined To Stay Because In The Meantime He Had Established A Life And Married In Bolivia. Her Most Renowned Song Gracias A La Vida Thanks To Life Was Popularized Throughout Latin America By Mercedes Sosa In Brazil By Elis Regina And Later In The US By Joan Baez. It Remains One Of The Most Covered Latin American Songs In History. Other Notable Covers Of This Tragic But Widely Beloved Folk Anthem Include The Italian Guitar-Vocal Solo Of Adriana Mezzadri And La Oreja De Van Gogh At The 2005 Viña Del Mar International Song Festival.
It Has Been Treated By Classically Trained Musicians Such As In The Fully Orchestrated Rendition By Conservatory-Trained Alberto Cortez.
The Song Has Been Re-Recorded By Several Latin Artists And Canadian Michael Bublé To Gather Funds For The Chilean People Affected By The Earthquake In Chile February 2010.
It Opens With A Very Common Shift Between A Minor And E Major Chords Then It Goes To G7-C/C7 Before Returning To The Am/E Motif.
"Gracias A La Vida" Was Written And Recorded In 1964-65 Following Parra's Separation With Her Long-Time Partner. It Was Released In Las Últimas Composiciones 1966 The Last Album Parra Published Before Committing Suicide In 1967.
Parra's Lyrics Are Ambiguous At First The Song May Be Read As A Romantic Celebration Of Life And Individual Experience However The Circumstances Surrounding The Song Suggest That Parra Also Intended The Song As A Sort Of Suicide Note Thanking Life For All It Has Given Her. It May Even Be Read As Ironic Pointing Out That A Life Full Of Good Health Opportunity And Worldly Experience May Not Offer Any Consolation To Grief And The Contradictory Nature Of The Human Condition. Gracias A La Vida Que Me Ha Dado Tanto
Me Dio Dos Luceros Que Cuando Los Abro
Perfecto Distingo Lo Negro Del Blanco
Y En El Alto Cielo Su Fondo Estrellado
Y En Las Multitudes El Hombre Que Yo Amo Translated Into English Thanks To Life Which Has Given Me So Much
It Gave Me Two Bright Stars That When I Open Them I Perfectly Distinguish The Black From White
And In The Sky Above Her Starry Backdrop
And Within The Multitudes The Man I Love Another Highly Regarded Original The Last Song She Wrote "Volver A Los Diecisiete" "Being Seventeen-Old Again" Similarly Celebrates The Themes Of Youthful Life In Tragic Contrast To Her Biography. Unlike Much Popular Music It Moves Through Minor Key Progression Creating An Introspective If Not Melancholy Mood And Thus Has Lent Itself To Classical Treatment As Well As Popular Music. Despite Its Originality Parra's Music Was Deeply Rooted In Folk Song Traditions As Is The Case With Nueva Canción In General. Parra Committed Suicide In 1967 By A Gunshot To The Head. Several Memorials Were Held After Her Death Both In Chile And Abroad. She Was An Inspiration For Several Latin-American Artists Such Victor Jara And The Musical Movement Of The "Nueva Cancion Chilena" Which Renewed Interest In Chilean Folklore. In 1992 The Violeta Parra Foundation Was Founded At The Initiative Of Her Children With The Aim To Group Organize And Disseminate Her Still-Unpublished Work. In 1997 With The Participation Of Violeta Parra Foundation And The Department Of Cultural Affairs Ministry Of Foreign Affairs Of Chile Her Visual Work Was Exhibited In The Museum Of Decorative Arts Of The Louvre Museum Paris. In 2007 The 90th Anniversary Of Her Birth Was Commemorated With An Exhibition Of Her Visual Work At The Centro Cultural Palacio La Moneda And The Release Of A Collection Of Her Art Work Titled "Visual Work Of Violeta Parra". Violeta Went To Heaven Spanish Violeta Se Fue A Los Cielos Is A 2011 Chilean Biopic About Singer And Folklorist Violeta Parra Directed By Andrés Wood. The Film Is Based On An Eponymous Book A Biography Written By Ángel Parra Violeta's Son With Luis Cereceda Arenas. Parra Collaborated On The Film The Film Was Selected As The Chilean Entry For The Best Foreign Language Film At The 84th Academy Awards But It Did Not Make The Final Shortlist. It Was Awarded The World Cinema Jury Prize Dramatic At The 2012 Sundance Film Festival And Had Good Reviews.Jeannette Catsoulis In The New York Times Wrote By Turns Charming Selfish Passionate And Dismissive Parra Beautifully Played By Francisca Gavilán Poured Herself Into Her Songs Emotionally Resonant Wails Of Romantic Pain And Social Injustice. ... And Bulldozed All Obstacles. ... "Violeta" Has A Wild Impressionistic Tone That Prizes Emotion Over Fact. Skipping Around In Time The Director Andrés Wood Skates Over Parra’s Involvement With Communism To Focus On A Personality Awash In Contradictions. Husbands And Children Appear As Mere Adjuncts To Her Art Whether Dragged Around The Countryside While She Collects Traditional Songs Or Abandoned For Years While She Frolics In Europe With Her Young Lover The Swiss Flautist Gilbert Favre Thomas Durand . ... Mr. Wood Has Created A Poignant Portrait Of An Artist Unable To Escape The Stamp Of Her Class Or The Burdens Of Aging. The Grand Exhibition Tent She Erects On A Hilltop Becomes In The End An Apt Metaphor For Dashed Dreams Its Canvas Unable To Keep Out The Rain And Its Empty Seats Unable To Turn Back Time. Discography Studio Albums Chants Et Danses Du Chili Vol. 1 1956 Chants Et Danses Du Chili. Vol. 2 1956 Violeta Parra Canto Y Guitarra. El Folklore De Chile Vol. I 1956 Violeta Parra Acompañada De Guitarra. El Folklore De Chile Vol. II 1958 La Cueca Presentada Por Violeta Parra El Folklore De Chile Vol. III. 1958 La Tonada Presentada Por Violeta Parra El Folklore De Chile Vol. IV. 1958 Toda Violeta Parra El Folklore De Chile Vol. VIII 1960 Violeta Parra Guitare Et Chant Chants Et Danses Du Chili. 1963 Recordandeo A Chile Una Chilena En París . 1965 Carpa De La Reina 1966 Las Últimas Composiciones De Violeta Parra 1967 Posthumous Discography Violeta Parra Y Sus Canciones Reencontradas En París 1971 Canciones De Violeta Parra 1971 Le Chili De Violeta Parra 1974 Un Río De Sangre 1975 Presente / Ausente 1975 Décimas 1976 Chants & Rythmes Du Chili 1991 El Hombre Con Su Razón 1992 Décimas Y Centésimas 1993 El Folklore Y La Pasión 1994 Haciendo Historia La Jardinera Y Su Canto 1997 Violeta Parra Antología 1998 Canciones Reencontradas En París 1999 Composiciones Para Guitarra 1999 Violeta Parra - En Ginebra En Vivo 1965 1999 Violeta Parra Cantos Campesinos 1999 Further Reading Alcalde Alfonso Toda Violeta Parra Biography Plus Anthology Of Songs And Poems Ediciones De La Flor. Buenos Aires 1974
Escobar A. 2012. Violeta Parra Una Aproximación A La Creación Interdisciplinaria. Master Thesis. Universitat De Barcelona Spain. URL Accessed 11 August 2014 MANNS Patricio. Violeta Parra. Madrid Júcar 1978 2ª Ed. 1984
PARRA Ángel. Violeta Se Fue A Los Cielos. Santiago De Chile Catalonia 2006
PARRA Eduardo. Mi Hermana Violeta Parra. Su Vida Y Su Obra En Décimas. Santiago De Chile LOM 1998.
PARRA Isabel. El Libro Mayor De Violeta Parra. Madrid Michay 1985.
PARRA Violeta. Violeta Parra Composiciones Para Guitarra. Eds. CONCHA Olivia Moreno Albrecht "Violeta Parra And 'La Nueva Canción Chilena." Studies In Latin American Popular Culture 5 1986 108—26.
SUBERCASEAUX Bernardo Y LONDOÑO Jaime. Gracias A La Vida. Violeta Parra Testimonio. Buenos Aires Galerna 1976 read less