Argentine comedy-musical group
Les Luthiers
is an Argentine comedy-musical group, very popular also in several other
Spanish
-speaking countries including
Paraguay
,
Guatemala
,
Peru
,
Chile
,
Ecuador
,
Spain
,
Colombia
,
Mexico
,
Uruguay
,
Bolivia
,
Cuba
,
Costa Rica
and
Venezuela
. They were formed in 1967 by
Gerardo Masana
, during the height of a period of very intense
choral music
activity in Argentina's state universities. Their outstanding characteristic is the
home-made musical instruments
(hence the name
luthiers
,
French
for "musical instrument maker"), some of them extremely sophisticated, which they skillfully employ in their recitals to produce music and texts full of high class and refined humor. From 1977 until his death in 2007, they worked with
Roberto Fontanarrosa
, a renowned Argentine
cartoonist
and writer.
Musical stylings
[
edit
]
Les Luthiers began writing humorous pieces primarily in a
Baroque
style, especially imitating vocal genres such as
cantatas
,
madrigals
and
serenatas
. Later, they diversified into humorous renditions of music in other genres, from
romantic
lieder
and
opera
to
pop
,
mariachi
,
rock
and even
rap
. Their stage show is often intermingled with humorous skits, frequently involving absurd situations, the music and biography of fictional composer
Johann Sebastian Mastropiero
and a heavy reliance on fairly sophisticated puns and
word play
. Much of the humor derives from the basic contradictions between the formality and highly developed vocal and instrumental technique of classical musicians and the sheer silliness of their show. All members of the group provided their voices for the pigeons in the Latin American and Spanish dubbings of the 2008 Disney film,
Bolt
.
Les Luthiers have acknowledged the influence of
Gerard Hoffnung
and
Peter Schickele
in their work.
[1]
"Professor" Schickele invented in 1965 the fictional character of
P.D.Q. Bach
, son of Johann Sebastian Bach. He also invented many unusual instruments based on real ones, in the same style of the group. He also used the fictional biography of his imaginary composer as a running gag in his musical act.
Mr. Hoffnung predated both acts, starting in 1956 the
Hoffnung Music Festival
and publishing many cartoons with imaginary instruments for a classical orchestra.
Malcolm Arnold
probably was the first person to write a parody of classical music using odd instruments when he wrote for a Hoffnung Concert the score of
A Grand, Grand Overture
, a piece for orchestra and vacuum cleaners dedicated to US President
Herbert Hoover
.
[2]
Informal instruments
[
edit
]
Les Luthiers are known in particular for employing a diverse ensemble of invented instruments created from common, everyday materials. The group's first home-made musical instrument, the
bass-pipe a vara
(a sort of
trombone
), was created by
Gerardo Masana
, the founder of the group, by joining
paperboard
tubes found in the garbage and miscellaneous items. Forty years later, this instrument is still being used on stage.
The first informal instruments were relatively simple, like the
Gum-Horn
, made with a hose, a
funnel
and a
trumpet
's
mouthpiece
, and some of them were born as a
parody
of
musical instruments
, which is the case of the
latin
(referred to in English as fiddlecan) and the
violata
, bowed instruments whose
resonating chambers
are made out of a large tin for processed
ham
and a paint can respectively, the
marimba de cocos
, a
marimba
made out of
coconuts
, and others.
Inventor and instrument-maker
Carlos Iraldi
(1920?1995), as "Les Luthiers' luthier", was responsible for inventing several more sophisticated instruments, including the
mandocleta
, a wheel moves the
strings
of a
mandolin
, the
bajo barriltono
, a
double bass
whose body is a giant
barrel
, and others.
After Iraldi's death in 1995
Hugo Dominguez
took his place, and made instruments such as the
desafinaducha
, the
nomeolbidet
etc.
Current members
[
edit
]
- Carlos Lopez Puccio
: Bowed Strings (violin, viola, cello), synthesizers, piano, vocals, percussion (in some jazz songs), dactilophone, etc.
- Jorge Maronna
: Vocals, fretted strings (guitar, bass, banjo, charango, lute, cuatro...), cello, synthesizers, etc.
- Roberto Antier: Vocals
- Tomas Mayer-Wolf: Piano, vocals
- Martin O'Connor: Vocals
- Horacio Turano: Vocals, drums, bass pipe, bass guitar, piano, saxophone
Former members
[
edit
]
- Gerardo Masana
, founder (died in 1973): Guitar, bass-pipe, vocals, percussion, etc.
- Ernesto Acher
(left the group in 1986): Piano, horn, trumpet, clarinet, drums, synthesizers, cello, vocals, etc.
- Daniel Rabinovich
(died in 2015):
[3]
Vocals, guitar, violin, bass-pipe, sousaphone, recorder, drums, etc.
- Carlos Nunez Cortes
(left the group in 2017): Piano, vocals, recorder, accordion, piccolo, Bunsen flute, synthesizer, dactilophone, tambourine, washboard, etc.
- Marcos Mundstock
: (died in 2020):
[4]
Vocals, percussion, trumpet, synthesizer, etc.
Shows
[
edit
]
Discography
[
edit
]
Awards
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
|
---|
Prince of Asturias Award for Communication and Humanities
|
---|
|
|
Princess of Asturias Award for Communication and Humanities
|
---|
|
|