Sixto Corbalán | Arpa Paraguaya

Arpa Paraguaza Contemporánea
Sixto Corbalán
Sixto Corbalán
“Paraguayan music was always sounding at home and my parent´s dream was that I
learned to play the harp. It was my mother who got me closer to this instrument and
since then it exerts a magical attraction for me”, relates Sixto Corbalán when he is asked
to tell about how he choosed the harp. Nowadays he does magic with his instrument
and is indicating a new path for the music for paraguayan harp.
The beginning with his instrument was marked by recognized interpreters of the
paraguayan harp. With Prof. Carlos Shvartyman he deepened his knowledge about
modern harmony and orchester arrangements, however, without any doubts the
admiration towards Master Nicolás Caballero contributed most to develop is owne style.
With Caballero he incorporated the modern techniques like the use of the two keys in
the left hand to generate half tones. With this technique the paraguayan harp, which is
normaly tuned to an diatonic scale, rised up to an chromatic level and here is where
Sixto starts to use the whole range of cromatic sequences in his own compositions.
Sixto Corbalan honors the musical legacy for this 36 strings, but music allways reflects
the time their creators live in and so, Sixto fits his compositions to the young feeling of
today´s music for the Paraguayan Harp. Keeping in mind his traditions he presents a
contemporary paraguayan music which reflects the global world we are living in. Looking
always beyond the borders of his country he integrates in his compositions elements of
other genres giving new vitality to the traditional tunes and a sensitive expression to his
own creations. Eloquent proof of this are his themes “Susurros de la Noche” (Whisper of
the night), “Fantasías de Pérez” (Phantasy of Perez), “Brisas del Este” (Eastern Winds)
and others which awake listener´s phantasy because one don´t only hears, but also
sees and feels what Sixto describes and tries to transmit in every composition. "The
harp is like another language more for me, my way to comunicate my perceptions, my
experiences and my feelings."
As interpreter as well as composer he won traditional Festivals in his country and
deserved a number of awards and recognitions (Festival del Takuare’ẽ - 1996;
Honorable Mention at Festival Rochas del Arpa – 1997; Young Voices (Voces Jóvenes)
– 1999; Olimpiadas Culturales – 2002, Reward of "Outstandig Youth" by the Asunción
Junior Chamber – 2003; Festival of the Barboza Foundation – 2005 and Winner of the
Arpa Paraguaza Contemporánea
Sixto Corbalán
First Composing Competition for Paraguayan Harp organized by the Office of Festival
Mundial del Arpa en Paraguay- 2008).
He also spreads with great enthusiasm new creations of actual composers. This is a
quiet interesting aspect of his work because by this he creates more space for new
tunes y new composers.
The number of performances on international venues extends to Argentina, Brazil, Chile,
Uruguay, Bolivia, Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Corea,
Taiwan, Japan, with highlights as concerts at Sughinami Kokaido in Tokio, Museum of
Arts in Kyoto, Merpark Hall in Nagano, Canning House London, Memorial América
Latina in Sao Paulo, TFF Rudolstadt, Germany, Teatro Municipal in Viña del Mar, Chile,
Encontros Niterói América do Sul, Brasil and a tour in Germany in North Rhine
Westphalia.
HARP DUO “HERMANOS CORBALAN”
Since 2007 Sixto and his brother Juanjo Corbalán conforme the harp duo "Hermanos
Corbalán". This conformation is just unusual even in Paraguay, but is gaining interest
also on international scenes having a special focus on new compositions for the
Paraguayan Harp and the mixing up of different musical genres. Both brothers are
excelent harpists and inovating composers enhacing the musical versatility of today with
an actual and renewed repertoire which without any doubt gains special atention as harp
duo. Their investigations and excursions to other genres turn this harp duo into a perfect
harmony with an amazing sound.
More information:
Website:
www.sixtocorbalan.com.py
Contact:
[email protected]
Social network: