Ernesto Acher, born on October 9, 1939, in Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...

, Argentina

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

, is a composer, multi-instrumentalist and orchestral conductor. He was a member of Les Luthiers

Les Luthiers

Les Luthiers is an Argentine comedy-musical group, very popular also in several other Spanish-speaking countries such as Paraguay, Peru, Chile, Ecuador, Spain, Colombia, Mexico, Uruguay, Bolivia, Cuba and Venezuela. They were formed in 1967 by Gerardo Masana, during the height of a period of very...

 between 1971 and 1986, where he worked as songwriter, actor, instrument designer, choir master, singer and played over thirty different instruments. Before leaving the group he was involved in some individual projects as composer, including a soundtrack, two movements for clarinet and strigs, a string sextet and a symphonic poem for viola and orchestra. From 1987 to 1992 he co-founded what would become 'La Banda Elastica', where he composed, arranged, played piano, synthesiser, saxophone, vibraphone and trombone. Then he had a stint as stand-up comedian for about eighteen months (starting on May 1993), and then became a full-time orchestral conductor, a labour he still executes currently.

Upbringing & Les Luthiers

As a kid, he studied piano and then moved on to clarinet when he became interested in jazz during his adolescence. Later on, he'd return to piano and learn notions of classical music as well. After secondary school, he graduated from college as an architect and in January 1971 he quit his job in order to become a full-time musician. A friend of his, pianist Alba Rozen, was part of the famous choir 'Nueve de Camara', conducted by Carlos López Puccio

Carlos López Puccio

Carlos Alberto Daniel López Puccio is a multi-instrumentalist musician, orchestral and choral conductor, composer, arranger and one of the current members of Les Luthiers....

; Acher had also seen a recital by Les Luthiers and had visited another of its members, Daniel Rabinovich, to congratulate him. In Mar del Plata (where he was on holiday and they were on tour) they formally met and he became close friend with Marcos Mundstock

Marcos Mundstock

Marcos Mundstock, born May 25, 1942, in Santa Fe, Argentina, is a musician, writer, comedian and former broadcaster and copywriter, most famous for being a founding member of Les Luthiers, their emcee, and writing many of their libretti and lyrics...

, who was to take a year off, and proposed him as replacement.

Initially, Acher's contract was that of a wild card, so to speak: he stepped in for Les Luthiers' pianist Carlos Núñez Cortés

Carlos Núñez Cortés

Carlos Núñez Cortés was born October 15, 1942, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He has been a member of Les Luthiers since 1969.In the group, his functions include:* Creating new instruments ....

 during the songs he was required to sing or do a more theatrical or comical performance; he also replaced Mundstock as emcee, and took over Gerardo Masana

Gerardo Masana

Gerardo Masana, born February 1, 1937, in Banfield, Argentina, founded the comedy-musical group Les Luthiers in 1965. Masana died of leukemia eight years later, on November 11, 1973. The other members of Les Luthiers remained together, and as of 2011 they still perform live in tours through Latin...

's role composing for informal instruments and playing the contrachitarrone (a hybrid of guitar and cello). At the time, several group members liked jazz but none of them had enough experience in the area, so his first job as composer was to score a brand new jazz piece for Les Luthiers to perform on stage using mostly self-made instruments. Acher penned, thus, 'Manuela's Blues', where every instrument used was informal except for hi-hats and acoustic guitars.

When Mundstock returned in 1972, Acher was still invited to remain in the group as composer, arranger and multi-instrumentalist. For the 'Recital '72', Acher co-wrote two numbers, 'La Bossa Nostra' (with Núñez and Jorge Maronna

Jorge Maronna

Jorge Maronna is an Argentine multi-instrumentalist, composer, singer, author and a founding member of the comedy-musical group Les Luthiers. Born August 1, 1948, in Bahía Blanca, he joined I Musicisti while still a teenager, and helped Gerardo Masana and Carlos Iraldi build the first informal...

) and 'Si No Fuera Santiagueño' (with Mundstock, Maronna and López Puccio), also taking care of choral arrangements for the latter. Acher showed his ability to compose in folkloric styles (bossa nova and chacarera, respectively), which was useful for Les Luthiers' oeuvre in the long run.

From 1973 onwards Acher wouldn't play piano as often as before, usually only sitting at the instrument for the encores, or brief passages in one or two songs. His speciality would be, then, the brass section: during this recital, he played horn, clarinet and gom-horn (a home-made trumpet). He also modified the latter instrument and added it piston valves, being his first job as instrument designer. Years later, his groupmates would recall being impressed by Acher's multi-instrumentalist skills (besides keyboards and brass, he could play cello, drums, recorder, harmonica and even guitar). When asked how he'd learnt so many things about music and theatre, Acher would answer 'I majored in architecture'.

As well as the rest of his groupmates, he was devastated by the death of founder Gerardo Masana, whom he admired and respected, and had developed a professional and personal link. Together, they planned a new version of the gom-horn, which was built after Masana's passing. The idea was that it could be played with one hand, and Marcos Mundstock suggested the bell to be put on a helmet, and that's how one of the most famous informal instruments, the gom-horn da testa, was born.

'Recital 74' would see Acher playing the gom-horn da testa on 'Miss Lilly Higgins Sings Shimmys in Mississippi Spring (Shimmy)'. This piece started the series of five jazz numbers that he'd compose for Les Luthiers, each of them using only one vowel:

- 1974: Miss Lilly Higgins Sings Shimmy in Mississippi Spring (Shimmy)

- 1975: Doctor Bob Gordon Shops for Hot Dogs from Boston (Foxtrot ... or not)

- 1981: Papa Garland Had a Hat and a Jazz Band and a Mat and a Black Fat Cat (Rag)

- 1983: Pepper Clemens Sent the Messenger: Nevertheless the Reverend Left the Herd (Ten-Step)

- 1985: Truthful Lulu Pulls Thru Zulu (Blus)

In 1975 Ernesto Acher, for the first time, composed symphonic music for the group: a 'Peter and the Wolf' parody titled 'Teresa y el Oso' (Therese and the Bear), which included some new instruments invented by Les Luthiers. That led him to his first professional incursions outside the group: a soundtrack for a Carlos Jerusalinsky film (which earned him the first prize in UNCIPAR Film Festival), and two movements for clarinet and strings, both in 1976. That same year, he re-arranged his 'Teresa y el Oso' (originally for five instrumentalists), and scored a version for full orchestra (recorded at Ion Studios in Buenos Aires, conducted by group-mate Carlos López Puccio).

1977 was another productive year for Acher: he wrote and composed (with input from Carlos Nuñez) one of the group's most famous numbers, 'Lazy Daisy', as well as the popular 'Cantata de Don Rodrigo' (with Maronna and Lopez Puccio). One year later he'd compose a string sextet outside Les Luthiers, and in 1980 he'd have another project: a symphonic poem for viola and orchestra, performed by the Buenos Aires Philharmonic.

'Don Rodrigo' was Acher's first big theatrical part, and several would follow for the upcoming show, 'Muchas gracias de nada', where he sang lead vocals on the opening number ('La campana suonerá'), starred (as an actor) on further two ('El rey enamorado' and 'La gallina dijo "eureka"') and composed and arranged several pieces. 'Luthierías', the following recital, was reportedly Acher's favourite, and included his tribute to Mozart called 'Cuarteto Op. 44', where he and groupmate Carlos Núñez Cortés 'rowed' over a spot in the ensemble, playing various instruments in the process.

For 1983, he composed an opera for Les Luthiers, titled 'Cardoso en Gulevandia' (libretto by Mundstock), as well as a chamber piece for quartet called 'Entreteniciencia familiar', where he, paradoxically, didn't perform. Their upcoming show (1985–1986) featured his last compositions for the group, 'Vea esta noche', 'Truthful Lulu...' and 'Epopeya de los quince jinetes'.

After working extensively as part of Les Luthiers for many years, he'd finally leave the group in 1986 for reasons not fully disclosed yet. Acher usually answers to that question with a polite 'Les Luthiers are a multiple marriage, and a gentleman shouldn't ask a married couple what happened'.

Instruments played for Les Luthiers (in chronological order)

• Les Luthiers Opus Pi:
  • Piano
  • Backing Vocals
  • Klaxon
  • Gom-Horn
  • Acoustic Guitar
  • Bongoes
  • Cello

• Recital '72:
  • Piano
  • Backing Vocals
  • Gom-Horn
  • Klaxon
  • Clarinet
  • Ilex paraguariensis
  • Drums
  • Bongoes
  • Acoustic Guitar

• Recital '73:
  • Gom-Horn
  • Manguelodica
  • Flugelhorn
  • Maracas
  • Clarinet
  • Backing Vocals
  • Drums
  • Piano
  • Klaxon
  • Bongoes

• Recital '74:
  • Piano
  • Backing Vocals
  • Gom-Horn
  • Lead Vocals
  • Drums

• Recital '75:
  • Gom-Horn
  • Ilex paraguariensis
  • Dactilophone
  • Clarinet
  • Backing Vocals
  • Klaxon

• Viejos Fracasos:
  • Gom-Horn
  • Lead Vocals
  • French Horn
  • Clarinet
  • Maracas
  • Alto Recorder
  • Backing Vocals
  • Piano
  • Drums
  • Bongoes

• Mastropiero que Nunca:
  • Tambourine
  • Zill
  • Gom-Horn
  • Drums
  • Backing Vocals
  • Calephone
  • Kazoo
  • Clarinet
  • French Horn
  • Cymbals
  • Lead Vocals
  • Conga Percussion
  • Piano
  • Maracas

• Muchas Gracias de Nada:
  • Lead Vocals
  • Harmonium
  • Clarinet
  • Drums
  • Backing Vocals
  • Flugelhorn
  • Harmonica
  • Bongoes
  • Gom-Horn
  • Piano
  • Tambourine
  • Zills

• Los Clásicos de Les Luthiers:
  • French Horn
  • Clarinet
  • Gom-Horn
  • Backing Vocals
  • Lead Vocals
  • Bongoes
  • Tambourine
  • Zills
  • Piano

• Luthierías:
  • Gom-Horn
  • Backing Vocals
  • Bongoes
  • Cello
  • Fluglerhorn
  • Clarinet
  • Accordion
  • Drums
  • Tambourine
  • Zills

• Por humor al arte:
  • Backing Vocals
  • Synthesiser
  • Lead Vocals
  • Bunsen Flute
  • Klaxon
  • Washboards
  • Piano
  • Clarinet
  • Bass Clarinet
  • Bongoes
  • Tambourine
  • Zills

• Humor Dulce Hogar:
  • Gom-Horn
  • Backing Vocals
  • Clarinet
  • Bongoes
  • Piano
  • Trombone
  • Bunsen Flute
  • Congas

• Symphonic Recital 1986:
  • Gom-Horn da Testa
  • Trombone
  • Clarinet
  • Cello
  • Clarinet
  • Fluglerhorn
  • Accordion
  • Backing Vocals
  • Lead Vocals
  • Tambourine
  • Zills
  • Bongoes
  • Drums

Acher Compositions (in chronological order)

• 1971:
  • Manuela's Blues (Les Luthiers - Instrumental)

• 1972:
  • Si No Fuera Santiagueño (Les Luthiers - music, with Maronna, and choral arrangement, with Lopez Puccio)
  • Ya el Sol Asomaba en el Poniente (Les Luthiers - lyrics, with his six groupmates)
  • La Bossa Nostra (Les Luthiers - music, with Maronna and Nuñez Cortes)

• 1973:
  • Les Nuits de Paris (Les Luthiers - music and lyrics, with López Puccio and Maronna)
  • Serenata Mariachi (Les Luthiers - music, with Maronna)
  • Miss Lilly Higgins (Les Luthiers - music, for sixteen instruments)

• 1974:
  • Miss Lilly Higgins (Les Luthiers - music, revised version for sextet)
  • La Yegua Mía (Les Luthiers - music, with Maronna)

• 1975:
  • Teresa y el Oso (Les Luthiers - music)
  • Bob Gordon (Les Luthiers - instrumental)
  • El Explicado (Les Luthiers - music, with Maronna)

• 1976:
  • Caja de sorpresas (Soundtrack for a Carlos Jerusalinsky film)
  • Teresa y el oso (Les Luthiers - music, revised version for orchestra and soloists)
  • Two Movements for Clarinet and Strings

• 1977:
  • Visita a la Universidad de Wildstone (Les Luthiers - music)
  • Lazy Daisy (Les Luthiers - lyrics & music, the latter with Carlos Núñez Cortés)
  • Cantata de Don Rodrigo (Les Luthiers - libretto, with López Puccio and Maronna)
  • Cantata de Don Rodrigo (Les Luthiers - incidental background music)
  • Somos comechingones (Les Luthiers - folcloric episode in Don Rodrigo)
  • Arrullo puneño (Les Luthiers - folcloric episode in Don Rodrigo)
  • Somos los incas (Les Luthiers - folcloric episode in Don Rodrigo)
  • Conozca nuestra cumbia (Les Luthiers - folcloric episode in Don Rodrigo)
  • Quirpa (Les Luthiers - folcloric episode in Don Rodrigo)
  • No hay en la vida nada (Les Luthiers - folcloric episode in Don Rodrigo)
  • Se acaba (Les Luthiers - folcloric episode in Don Rodrigo)

• 1978:
  • String Sextet (Music Festival in Santiago de Chile)

• 1979:
  • Sinfonía Interrumpida (Les Luthiers - music)
  • Cartas de Color (Les Luthiers - background music)
  • Take Me Home (Les Luthiers - coral in Cartas de Color)

• 1980:
  • Symphonic Poem for Viola and Orchestra

• 1981:
  • Marcha de la Conquista (Les Luthiers - with López Puccio and Maronna)
  • Cuarteto Opus 44 (Les Luthiers - instrumental)
  • Papa Garland (Les Luthiers - instrumental)
  • Añoralgias (Les Luthiers - music)

• 1983:
  • Cardoso en Gulevandia (Les Luthiers - music)
  • Entreteniciencia Familiar (Les Luthiers - music)
  • Pepper Clemens (Les Luthiers - music)
  • El Regreso (Les Luthiers - music)

• 1985:
  • Vea Esta Noche (Les Luthiers - music)
  • Truthful Lulu (Les Luthiers - instrumental)
  • Epopeya de los Quince Jinetes (Les Luthiers - music)

• 1988:
  • Diatriba de amor contra un hombre sentado (incidental music)

• 1990:
  • Casi blues (La Banda Elastica)
  • Parapaco (La Banda Elastica - with Ricardo Lew)

• 1992:
  • Un toque de distensión (La Banda Elastica)

• 2001:
  • La Nona (musical)
  • Rincones (suite)

External links

• ErnestoAcher.com (Spanish)