Echoes of Asturia: Hector Braga’s “La Fonda de Lola”

News

November 17, 2015

It’s a good time for new harp CDs in the Camac e-boutique right now – we’ve been shopping! From Ben’s dog going for a walk to the MIDI harp imagining the microcosmic sound of the human body, our selection is eclectic and constantly-updated. It’s a source of great pleasure and interest for us, and (we hope) also for you.

One of these new albums is Hector Braga‘s latest, La Fonda de Lola. It contains thirteen songs that mark an important moment in his career, and brings together over fifty musicians including the A Siero Chamber Orchestra, and the Picos de Europa Pipe Band. Hector is an Asturian traditional musician – and, like much traditional music, Asturian music is not exclusively Asturian. “Asturian music has a lot in common with Breton, Irish and Scottish music”, Hector explains. “It’s linked to the Celtic lands, Asturia and Galicia have Celtic origins. There are many dances, a lot of use of drones (and bagpipes), and instruments dating back to the Middle Ages. I’m also an ethnomusicologist, very interested in the Celtic question in Asturian music. 

In this album, I am blending traditional Asturian music and songs, with other cultural references from this part of Spain, like echoes of South American and flamenco. The single “La fonda de Lola” is a Havana that I wrote some years ago. It’s about an immigrant who doesn’t make his fortune – instead, he lives surrounded by pleasures and women, before returning to his home village.

I’m a singer, and as well as the harp I play the hurdy gurdy, fiddle, bagpipes and rebec. I’m a self-taught harpist; my Asturian friend, the harpist Fernando Largo, suggested I learn the harp to accompany myself while singing. My first harp was a Korrigan, which I later exchanged for an Aziliz. Recently, after I finished recording my new album, I acquired a DHC Blue Light. It is the perfect partner on tour around the world!”