Francisco is thrilled to be performing Pajaro Campana at the Royal Albert Hall, in celebration of his “100 Years on Planet Earth”. This will be broadcast live on BBC1 in the UK at 8:30pm BST. To mark the occasion, we have released a special EP, “The Bell Bird”, which features Pajaro Campana and Milk Train from Francisco’s 2010 Album “Este Es…”, plus two previously unreleased tracks from those recording sessions, Sleepyhead Jam and Cachita. This EP is available on Spotify, Apple Music and all the usual streaming services now.
We are pleased to announce that Francisco’s Album “This is Francisco Yglesia, Master of the Paraguayan Harp” is back on Spotify, Apple Music, and all the usual streaming services. We still have CDs available of “This is Francisco Yglesia” and “Shimmering Harp”, and we are looking for ways to make these available for sale. At present they are not available in the shops or online.
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Francisco has just mailed me a scan of this photograph. As you can see, it is a publicity photograph to promote the release of “Theme from M*A*S*H”, which he released as a single in 1980. We presume the photograph dates from the same year.
Theme from M*A*S*H, and its B-side Shimmering Harp, can both be found on the album Shimmering Harp.
“Este es Francisco Yglesia” is mostly an album of traditional Paraguayan and Latin music, including some of Francisco’s own compositions. “Sleepyhead“, however, is an arrangement of an anthemic 2008 single by the Massachusetts indie rock band Passion Pit: So, what on earth is it doing on a Francisco Yglesia album? I should know better, but I am still amazed when I watch Francisco hear a tune just once, any tune at all, then almost immediately reproduce it on the harp. He makes this look very easy, but of course, he has been practising for the best part of six decades. … Continue reading
One of the world’s longest running radio programmes, BBC Radio Four’s Desert Island Discs, celebrated its seventieth anniversary yesterday. The featured “castaway” for this special episode was the broadcaster and naturalist Sir David Attenborough, who chose “Pajáro Campana (The Bell Bird)” as one of his eight pieces of music to accompany him on his theoretical exile. Francisco Yglesia’s 2009 recording of this piece was played in the show! Of course, Pajáro Campana is one one of the most popular Paraguayan folklore songs, and perhaps the signature tune of the Paraguayan Harp. It is inspired by the distinctive call of the Bell Bird, which … Continue reading
Today is the release date for the new album, and it has already started to appear in many online digital stores, including iTunes. It is also available on Play, 7Digital and Amazon.co.uk. You can read all about the album and hear tracks from it here.
We can confirm that Francisco’s new album will be released, worldwide as a digital download, on Monday 12th April 2010. It will be available in all the usual digital stores, including Amazon and iTunes. Full details here.
Recording and mastering on Francisco’s next album is finally complete! Recorded in the summer at St. Thomas’s Church Stockport, England, “This is Francisco Yglesia” is a dramatic and joyous testament to the awe and wonder of the Paraguayan harp. The track selection is a mixture of traditional Paraguayan and other Latin pieces (including his signature ‘Pajaro Campana’), plus several of his own striking compositions (not least the often-covered ‘Vamos Amigos’). Also included is a mesmerising acoustic re-recording of ‘Shimmering Harp’ from his debut 1980 album of the same name, and an all-new cover of Passion Pit’s contemporary and evocative “Sleepyhead”. … Continue reading
There’s a new video posted on this site! During the first recording session for the album, Francisco improvised a jam around the Passion Pit song ‘Sleepyhead’, although it was actually inspired by a cover of the song by the band ‘Run Toto Run’. You can view the video here, or also on YouTube or Facebook.
