Jiri Jirmal was born in 24th April 1925 in Prague. He is a guitarist/composer/teacher. He was the professor of the State Music Conservatory in Prague. He had been member of juries of many international guitar contests, among them the most prestigious guitar competition Radio France of Paris. All Jiri Jirmal’s compositions and recordings are typical for his creative and innovative character, continuation of his lifetime concept that combines various elements of the classical and jazz music.
Antonio Lauro was a fervent cultural nationalist and celebrated Venezuela’s musical heritage accordingly. In 1935-1943 he sang bass and played guitar and cuatro (a small guitar-like instrument popular in the region) in the group Trio Cantores del Trópico, which toured nearby countries to introduce them to Venezuelan music. A genre from Venezuela’s musical past that Lauro was attracted to was the valses venezolanos (Venezuelan waltzes) from the 19th century, created by composers such as Ramón Delgado Palacios (1867–1902). Unfailingly melodic, alternately wistful and brilliant, and characterized by a distinctive syncopation (created by a hemiola in which two measures of 3/4 become a single measure of 3/2), these waltzes are reminiscent of the folkloric material European composers such as Smetana, Bartók and Granados elevated to the category of national art.
Jacques Romain Georges Brel (8 April 1929 – 9 October 1978) was a Belgian singer, songwriter, actor and director who composed and performed literate, thoughtful, and theatrical songs that generated a large, devoted following—initially in Belgium and France, later throughout the world. He was widely considered a master of the modern chanson. Although he recorded most of his songs in French and occasionally in Dutch, he became an influence on English-speaking songwriters and performers, such as David Bowie, Alex Harvey, Marc Almond and Rod McKuen. English translations of his songs were recorded by many top performers in the United States, including Ray Charles, Judy Collins, John Denver, the Kingston Trio, Nina Simone, Frank Sinatra, Scott Walker, and Andy Williams.
In French-speaking countries, Brel was also a successful actor, appearing in ten films. He also directed two films, one of which, Le Far West, was nominated for the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1973. Having sold over 25 million records worldwide, Brel is the third best-selling Belgian recording artist of all time. Brel married Thérèse “Miche” Michielsen in 1950 and the couple had three children. He also had a romantic relationship with actress and dancer Maddly Bamy from 1972 until his death in 1978.
This song was loved for its melancholy and for the profound evocativeness of the tragic tale of a daughter fatally poisoned by her stepmother, who is in love with the girl’s husband. It is still today regarded as one of the most beautiful of all Catalan songs.
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