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Les Luthiers

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Les Luthiers in 2008.

Les Luthiersis an Argentine comedy-musical group, very popular also in several otherSpanish-speaking countries includingParaguay,Guatemala,Peru,Chile,Ecuador,Spain,Colombia,Mexico,Uruguay,Bolivia,Cuba,Costa RicaandVenezuela.They were formed in 1967 byGerardo Masana,during the height of a period of very intensechoral musicactivity in Argentina's state universities. Their outstanding characteristic is thehome-made musical instruments(hence the nameluthiers,Frenchfor "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 withRoberto Fontanarrosa,a renowned Argentinecartoonistand writer.

Musical stylings

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Les Luthiers began writing humorous pieces primarily in aBaroquestyle, especially imitating vocal genres such ascantatas,madrigalsandserenatas.Later, they diversified into humorous renditions of music in other genres, fromromanticliederandoperatopop,mariachi,rockand evenrap.Their stage show is often intermingled with humorous skits, frequently involving absurd situations, the music and biography of fictional composerJohann Sebastian Mastropieroand a heavy reliance on fairly sophisticated puns andword 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 ofGerard HoffnungandPeter Schickelein their work.[1]"Professor" Schickele invented in 1965 the fictional character ofP.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 theHoffnung Music Festivaland publishing many cartoons with imaginary instruments for a classical orchestra.Malcolm Arnoldprobably was the first person to write a parody of classical music using odd instruments when he wrote for a Hoffnung Concert the score ofA Grand, Grand Overture,a piece for orchestra and vacuum cleaners dedicated to US PresidentHerbert Hoover.[2]

Informal instruments

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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, thebass-pipe a vara(a sort oftrombone), was created byGerardo Masana,the founder of the group, by joiningpaperboardtubes 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 theGum-Horn,made with a hose, afunneland atrumpet'smouthpiece,and some of them were born as aparodyofmusical instruments,which is the case of thelatín(referred to in English as fiddlecan) and theviolata,bowed instruments whoseresonating chambersare made out of a large tin for processedhamand a paint can respectively, themarimba de cocos,amarimbamade out ofcoconuts,and others.

Inventor and instrument-makerCarlos Iraldi(1920–1995), as "Les Luthiers' luthier", was responsible for inventing several more sophisticated instruments, including themandocleta,a wheel moves thestringsof amandolin,thebajo barríltono,adouble basswhose body is a giantbarrel,and others.

After Iraldi's death in 1995Hugo Domíngueztook his place, and made instruments such as thedesafinaducha,thenomeolbídetetc.

Current members

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  • Carlos López 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
  • Tomás Mayer-Wolf: Piano, vocals
  • Martin O'Connor: Vocals
  • Horacio Turano: Vocals, drums, bass pipe, bass guitar, piano, saxophone

Former members

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  • 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 Núñez Cortés(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

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Discography

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Awards

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  1. ^Masana, Sebastián (2005).Gerardo Masana y la fundación de Les Luthiers.Grupo Editorial Norma. p. 240.ISBN9788495894960.
  2. ^"Another Evening of Hoffnung".The Times.11 February 1963. p. 5.
  3. ^"Daniel Rabinovich, Member of Argentine Comedy-Musical Group Les Luthiers, Dies at 71".Billboard.Retrieved2017-05-17.
  4. ^Grijelmo, Àlex (22 April 2020)."Muere Marcos Mundstock, narrador de Les Luthiers, el mayor ingenio de las palabras".El País.
  5. ^Cué, Carlos E. (2017-05-11)."Les Luthiers, Premio Princesa de Asturias de Comunicación y Humanidades 2017".EL PAÍS(in Spanish).Retrieved2017-05-17.
  6. ^"Argentine comedy group Les Luthiers wins top Spanish prize".NY Daily News.Retrieved2017-05-17.
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