Cayo Sila Godoy (4 December 1919 – 2 September 2014) was a

classical guitar The classical guitar, also known as Spanish guitar, is a member of the guitar family used in classical music and other styles. An acoustic wooden string (music), string instrument with strings made of catgut, gut or nylon, it is a precursor of the ...

ist from Paraguay.

Youth

Cayo Sila Godoy was born in Villarrica

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

on December 4, 1919. His mother and his uncles were talented musicians who exposed him at an early age to the

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

mandolin A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...

harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orchestras or ...

and tropical

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

. He studied music first with his uncle Marciano Echauri, and from the age of 16, harmony with Juan Carlos Moreno Gonzalez. Sila left his home of Villarrica at the age of 16 to accept a scholarship at the National Music Conservatory in

Asunción Asunción (, ) is the capital and the largest city of Paraguay. The city stands on the eastern bank of the Paraguay River, almost at the confluence of this river with the Pilcomayo River. The Paraguay River and the Bay of Asunción in the north ...

. By age 24 he graduated from the conservatory as a professor of

music theory Music theory is the study of theoretical frameworks for understanding the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory": The first is the "Elements of music, ...

and

musicology Musicology is the academic, research-based study of music, as opposed to musical composition or performance. Musicology research combines and intersects with many fields, including psychology, sociology, acoustics, neurology, natural sciences, ...

. Following graduation he was awarded a grant to continue his musical education in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

, where he remained for nine years under the tutelage of Consuelo Mallo López. During these years Sila concentrated on refining his technique into the virtuosity admired today.

First steps

In 1948, The Chamber Music Association from

gave him a diploma for the best concert of the season of that year. In 1953, as a request from the National Government, he went on a cultural and artistic tour, following the road of Mangore. He offered concerts, gave lectures and gathered a lot of information and documents on the great Paraguayan composer. Between 1959 and 1962 he participated on specialization courses with

Andrés Segovia Andrés Segovia Torres, 1st Marquis of Salobreña (21 February 1893 – 2 June 1987), was a Spanish virtuoso classical guitarist. Many professional classical guitarists were either students of Segovia or students of Segovia's students. Segovia ...

. In 1959 Segovia invited Sila to study in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, with all expenses paid, at his renowned classical guitar course at '' Música en Compostela''. For three years he studied and traveled with Segovia. In 1963 Godoy, at the personal invitation of President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

, first visited the United States to do a concert tour. During this trip he was featured as a broadcast soloist on the

Voice of America Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is an international broadcasting network funded by the federal government of the United States that by law has editorial independence from the government. It is the largest and oldest of the American internation ...

and played with such notable American guitarists as

Charlie Byrd Charlie Lee Byrd (September 16, 1925 – December 2, 1999) was an American jazz guitarist. Byrd was best known for his association with Brazilian music, especially bossa nova. In 1962, he collaborated with Stan Getz on the album '' Jazz Samba' ...

Sophocles Papas Sophocles Papas (1893 or 1894 – 26 February 1986) was a Greek classical guitar pedagogue and music publisher. Early life Papas was born in Sopik, Ottoman Empire. He was exposed to classical music at an early age by his father, who was a church ...

and Richard Pick. In subsequent US tours he has played in most major cities and in 1977 volunteered to tour

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

, Paraguay's "sister state" where he also taught master classes at

Wichita State University Wichita State University (WSU) is a public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 areas of study in ...

. More recently he has toured

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

(1980),

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

(1983), and has made numerous appearances in the

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

n nations. In 1977, sponsored by the program “ Friends of the Americas “, chapter Paraguay –

, he Developer activities in the state of Kansas, offering courses of specialization, speeches, and performances in the main cities such as Wichita, Topeka, and Lawrence. In 1980, he traveled to

on a concert tour, and in 1983 to

, as well as other cities in

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

Mentions

In 1994, he was appointed as musical advisor of the Vice Minister of Culture in Paraguay and member of the National Advisor Board of Culture. Godoy's creative style is characterized by the presence of elements derived from popular music with an harmonic contemporary treatment, including his last compositions, with an obvious tendency to

atonality Atonality in its broadest sense is music that lacks a tonal center, or key. ''Atonality'', in this sense, usually describes compositions written from about the early 20th-century to the present day, where a hierarchy of harmonies focusing on ...

. His work as a music teacher has produced the appearance of young talents that honor the Paraguayan art today and who have been a public and critical success. In that sense, he stands out with the brilliant and exquisite composer and virtuosic guitarist, Luz Maria Bobadilla, who was admitted to study for four years with the great master, due to her outstanding quality of performance.

Works

Among his records the following ought to be mentioned : Sila Godoy in concert, recorded in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, USA, in 1982; Sila Godoy, recorded in Australia, in 1983; Aranjuez and Madrigal, two volumes on cassettes, which are gatherings from his two previous recordings, in 1994; The Music of Agustin Barrios Mangore and Jose Asuncion Flores, a compact disc with a gathering of his best recordings in 1994. As a researcher, he has published, together with

Luis Szarán Luis Szarán (born 24 September 1953) is a Paraguayan musician, orchestra director, composer and musical researcher; since 2002, founder and director of the social and community integration program "'Sounds of the Earth''", which created the sc ...

, the book “Mangore, Life and Plays of Agustin Barrios“, and he has been preparing “The Documents of Barrios“ and “Barrios seen by his contemporaries”. Among his creations for guitar, “Habanera”, “Moto perpetuo”, “Extasis”, “ Cuatro obras para guitarra clasica”,”Fiesta Campesina”,”Cancion Intima”,”Oracion a Tania”, “Capricho" are highly recommended. His arrangements of the plays of Jose Asuncion Flores, a great composer of the musical genre known as Guaranias are notable, as well as his transcriptions for guitar, featuring the modern and very personal versions of “Nde renda pe aju” and “Gallito Cantor”. He died in

, where he devoted his life to lectures, speeches and didactic concerts, as well as offering radio and television shows.

References

Música paraguaya.
* Diccionario Biográfico "FORJADORES DEL PARAGUAY", Primera Edición Enero de 2000. Distribuidora Quevedo de Ediciones. Buenos Aires, Argentina.

External links

India (José Asunción Flores/Manuel Ortiz Guerrero)Danza Paraguaya (Agustín Pío Barrios)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sila Godoy, Cayo Sila 1919 births 2014 deaths People from Villarrica, Paraguay Paraguayan classical guitarists Male guitarists 20th-century classical musicians