7 + 7 Cordas = Magic!

What happens when two aces of the violão sete cordas ( the acoustic seven string guitar) get together to make music? The answer to that question is the word 'magic', at least considering the contained recordings on the new cd featuring Yamandú Costa and Valter Silva, a marvellous example of preservation of the special and rare moments when mutual understanding and creative craftmanship reaches a level of magic leaving the listener with a feeling of endless happiness - and a gratitude beyound words. The cd has a special background according to the liner notes by Marcello Gonçalves, well known seven string guitarist of Trio Madeira Brasil, quote: " At a celebration for my birthday in 2004, besides all of the usual suspects, I invited Valter Silva, who still hadn't met Yamandu. (...) The two of them got to know each other, began playing and the party halted in its tracks as everyone stopped to listen. That magic, which we are always searching for, but never know when it will appear, appeared. After everything went back to normal, Yamandu and I looked at each other and said, "We have to record this." And that's exactly what we did. During the sessions we were always searching for that special magic. When it didn't appear, we would move on to another piece and come back to it on another day. It was a fast process but done without being in a rush.- This CD shows the energy of the 70-year-old Valter and the maturity of Yamandu's 30 years. It is an homage to the music of Rio de Janeiro, to the 7 string acoustic guitar, and to Valter himself, a true artist of this music and this instrument."

The cd is produced by Marcello Gonçalves and contains 13 tracks of delightful interplay between Yamandú and Valter, the music is well chosen from a repertoire of classic choros and features performance of compositions by Dilermando Reis, João Pernambuco, Pixinguinha, Jacob do Bandolim, Canhoto da Paraíba a.o.. The set-up of the duo sessions has Yamandú playing the melody while Valter contributes accompaniment adding marvellous modulation and fill ins. Both musicians are left space for improvisation and embellishment and even though Yamandú is playing lead, Valter also gets the chance to show off his ability as a soloist and a great improvisator on the seven string guitar. The performances are very balanced, the two musicians have the ability to listen to each other while playing and create wonderful variations of the musical themes 'on the spot of the moment', the result is magic and a perfect cd, highly recommended. - The cd is available for purchase here and you also have the opportunity to listen to all tracks in streaming audio at Rádio UOL, click here

I have not been able to find uploaded videos featuring Yamandú and Valter performing together, however, to give you an impression of Valter Silva's capacity as a master of the seven string guitar, to end this I'll insert a couple of examples where he is featured. - Here is a fragment of a rehearsel with guitarist Guilherme Lamas, the music performed is a composition by João dos Santos, "Paulista"



Here is a fragment from a live performance/roda da choro featuring Valter Silva, the music performed is Pixinguinha's "Um a zero"


Finally, here you have a performance of Pixinguinha's "Cochichando", Valter Silva in interplay with Ronaldo Santos (cavaquinho) and João Rafael (pandeiro)



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