Eduardo FalĂș
Sound
Eduardo FalĂș (July 7, 1923 â August 9, 2013) was an Argentine folk music guitarist and composer. Eduardo FalĂș was born in El GalpĂłn, a village near San JosĂ© de MetĂĄn in the province of Salta, in 1923. His parents, Fada and Juan FalĂș, were Syrian immigrants. Raised in rural surroundings, he was strongly influenced by the folk traditions of Salta (which remain, in FalĂș's words, "something lively, dynamic and evolutionary"). FalĂș was given his first guitar as a gift during childhood, and he began to perform traditional folk tunes of the Argentine Northwest as a troubadour. He formed a duo with CĂ©sar Perdiguero, and became well known in the region during the 1940s. Largely self-taught, FalĂș deepened his knowledge of the guitar through study of the 19th century masters and was trained in harmony and theory by the prominent Argentine composer Carlos Guastavino. His increasing renown brought him to Buenos Aires in 1945, and he recorded his first album there in 1950. Among the volume of collaborations with many of the leading Argentine poets, perhaps the best-known are his compositions for lyrics written by Jaime DĂĄvalos, among which some of the most popular are Zamba de la Candelaria, Trago de sombra, and CanciĂłn del jangadero. FalĂș wrote music for a number of Argentine historical epics, as well, including Romance de la Muerte de Juan Lavalle (written by Ernesto SĂĄbato) and JosĂ© HernĂĄndez (by Jorge Luis Borges). He performed overseas for the first time in Paris, in 1959. This was followed by performances in Rome, Los Angeles, Madrid, and numerous other cultural capitals. He was particularly popular in Japan, where from 1963 to 1973, he gave over 200 performances; in subsequent years, he also performed regularly in duos with his nephew, Juan FalĂș. Arguably the creator of Argentina's modern folk song movement, FalĂș has set over 150 poems to music. These have included Borges' and DĂĄvalos', as well as those by LeĂłn BenarĂłs, Manuel J. Castilla, and Alberico Mansilla. Known for his ChamamĂ©, Chacarera and Zamba compositions, FalĂș more recently composed two suites, Primera Suite Argentina (1996) and Segunda Suite Argentina (1999). The Government of PerĂș bestowed on him a Distinguished Service Award, and FalĂș's work earned him an important recognition by his Argentine colleagues in 1985, when he received the highest honor in the Argentine cultural realm, the Konex Award, as well as a Grand Prize by the Argentine Society of Music Composers (SADAIC). FalĂș's last album as a performer, published in 2009, was a tribute to classical Spanish guitarist AndrĂ©s Segovia. He died on August 9, 2013, at his home in the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina; he was 90. Source: Article "Eduardo FalĂș" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.
