The Castanets Choir of the Escola de Flamenco of Oeiras visited the Taguspark campus on October 12, remembering the importance of living the culture and teaching the history of Spanish castanets.
The Project “Viver a Cultura@ Técnico Tagus” is an initiative of CG-Taguspark, whose events have been organized by Professor Ana Moura who, monthly, brings to Instituto Superior Técnico, on the Taguspark campus, a performance that aims to remind the community that it’s never too late to celebrate culture and art.
It’s in this context that the performance of the Escola de Flamenco of Oeiras is inserted. The Castanets Choir played castanets to the sound of several songs from Spanish classics, such as Luís Cobos, and other well-known composers such as Mozart (Serenade) and Tchaikovsky (Waltz of the Flowers of Quebra Nozes).
Among musical moments, the story of Spanish castanets was told, which, unlike other countries, remained in constant evolution, until reaching their ideal shape to accompany the dancers who play them. One of the peculiar phenomena that Alejandra Gutkin, the narrator during the performance, shared was the adjustment that was made to the castanets in relation to the thumb. This adaptation allowed, later, to develop a different and characteristic touch, called “carretilha”.
Finally, after teaching the audience to distinguish the highs and lows of the castanets and naming some notes, the concert performers distributed several castanets to the participants present. These, after having learned to correctly place the castanets on their thumbs, were able, after a few minutes, to follow a song and play different notes.