Carlos Paredes (1925–2004) was a virtuoso of the Portuguese Guitar — a twel… Read Full Bio ↴Carlos Paredes (1925–2004) was a virtuoso of the Portuguese Guitar — a twelve-string member of the lute family not unlike a mandolin, traditionally used as accompaniment in Fado music.
He was also a composer whose formal invention effortlessly grafted classical influences with, and extended the range of, traditional Fado styles.
Paredes was born on 16th February 1925 in Coimbra. His father was the equally famous guitarist Artur Paredes. He is credited with popularising his chosen instrument internationally and was known as the "Man with a Thousand Fingers", in a reference to his natural virtuosity.
He began playing at the age of four and started his musical career at the age of eleven. He performed with many other artists, including Charlie Haden, and also wrote compositions for the celebrated Fado singer Amalia Rodrigues. He wrote a number of film scores, and received particular recognition for the 1971 film Verdes Anos ("Tender Years"). In 2000, the Kronos Quartet recorded two versions of "Verdes Anos" and "Romance no 1", from the first Carlos Paredes album, Guitarra Portuguesa, recorded in 1969 -1970.
During the 1950s and 1960s, being a member of the Portuguese Communist Party, he was imprisoned for opposing the Portuguese dictatorship; some of this time was spent in solitary confinement. He would walk around his cell pretending to play music, which led some prison inmates to believe he was insane. In fact he was writing compositions in his head.
When the dictatorship was overthrown, and all political prisoners were released in the aftermath of the 1974 revolution, they were widely thought of as heroes by the Portuguese — but the ever-humble Paredes always refused any such heroic status. He never said much about his time in prison except: "Many people suffered more than me".
He suffered from myelopathy, a nerve disorder which prevented him from playing for the last eleven years of his life. He died from kidney failure on 23rd July 2004, in a nursing home.
He was also a composer whose formal invention effortlessly grafted classical influences with, and extended the range of, traditional Fado styles.
Paredes was born on 16th February 1925 in Coimbra. His father was the equally famous guitarist Artur Paredes. He is credited with popularising his chosen instrument internationally and was known as the "Man with a Thousand Fingers", in a reference to his natural virtuosity.
He began playing at the age of four and started his musical career at the age of eleven. He performed with many other artists, including Charlie Haden, and also wrote compositions for the celebrated Fado singer Amalia Rodrigues. He wrote a number of film scores, and received particular recognition for the 1971 film Verdes Anos ("Tender Years"). In 2000, the Kronos Quartet recorded two versions of "Verdes Anos" and "Romance no 1", from the first Carlos Paredes album, Guitarra Portuguesa, recorded in 1969 -1970.
During the 1950s and 1960s, being a member of the Portuguese Communist Party, he was imprisoned for opposing the Portuguese dictatorship; some of this time was spent in solitary confinement. He would walk around his cell pretending to play music, which led some prison inmates to believe he was insane. In fact he was writing compositions in his head.
When the dictatorship was overthrown, and all political prisoners were released in the aftermath of the 1974 revolution, they were widely thought of as heroes by the Portuguese — but the ever-humble Paredes always refused any such heroic status. He never said much about his time in prison except: "Many people suffered more than me".
He suffered from myelopathy, a nerve disorder which prevented him from playing for the last eleven years of his life. He died from kidney failure on 23rd July 2004, in a nursing home.
Canção Verdes Anos
Carlos Paredes Lyrics
Instrumental
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@micheloliveira5326
Como foi possível resumir assim, com um só instrumento, sem voz, sem palavras, a alma de um povo? Mais que genial, divino.
@JosePires59
Sem dúvida. Transcendente. Já a toquei em vários instrumentos ( tentei),exceto a guitarra portuguesa. Mas …é esse instrumento que dá a mensagem.
@manuelcosta4007
A viola portuguesa só tem quatro cordas...
@antonioribeiro6827
Como dizia Jimmy Page sobre a guitarra Portuguesa. Tenho uma mas nunca a saberei tocar. Só obedece à alma Portuguesa.
@n.afonso7171
😄E tinha razão.
@CarlosHenriqueXavierEndo
Steve Howe era português, então? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJM7TdshUbw
@CarlosHenriqueXavierEndo
@Filipe Correia, você está correto que a guitarra portuguesa foi tocada com uma técnica diferente e num estilo diverso daquele da música portuguesa. Mas é licença artística, né? O Steve Howe toca do jeito que ele quiser o instrumento que lhe aprouver. E, na minha opinião, a música com a guitarra portuguesa ficou maravilhosa!
@manuelf.almeida
@Carlos Henrique Xavier Endo a primeira resposta que deste é do tipico chico experto. Mais um dos que deve votar no BE.
@STICKlaPISSSE
@Manuel F. Almeida o que é que a merda de um partido político tem a ver com isto?! fdx que patego que és caralho!
@martamiglietti4218
"Não o pensava antes, quando escutava a guitarra de Carlos Paredes, mas hoje, recordando-a, compreendo que aquela música era feita de alvoradas, canto de pássaros anunciando o sol. Ainda tivemos de esperar uma década antes que outra madrugada viesse abrir-se para a liberdade, mas o inesquecível tema de Verdes Anos, esse cantar de extática alegria que ao mesmo tempo se entretece em harpejos de uma surda e irreprimível melancolia, tornou-se para nós numa espécie de oração laica, um toque a reunir de esperanças e vontades. Já seria muito, mas ainda não era tudo. O resto que ainda faltava conhecer era o homem de dedos geniais, o homem que nos mostrava como podia ser belo e robusto o som de uma guitarra, e que era, a par de músico e intérprete excepcional, um exemplo extraordinário de simplicidade e grandeza de carácter. A Carlos Paredes não era preciso pedir que nos franqueasse as portas do seu coração. Estavam sempre abertas" (José Saramago, Cadernos).