|
|
Roberto Sierra`s "Toccata y Lamento" is dedicated "in memoria de Villa-Lobos", and in a manner quite reminiscent of the imaginative Brazilian composer, Roberto is able to exploit the guitar`s idiosyncrasies with amazing creativity.
|
|
|
The Argentinean, Astor Piazzolla, was a rare breed of musician who was able to singIe-handedly redefine a genre of music - the tango. "Primavera Portena" is an excellent example of Piazzolla`s "Tango Nuevo". The arrangement heard uses a transcription by Baltazar Benitez as its basis. I have made some significant changes and additions drawn from various recordings of Piazzolla performing the piece with his band.
|
|
|
According to Bryan Johanson, "Open Up Your Ears" ponders the question:
What might have resulted if Jimi Hendrix had written a piece for classical guitar?
|
|
|
Mv collaboration with John Fitz Rogers is a perfect example of the old adage "be careful what you wish for...". When John was first forrning ideas about "Push" he asked if I had. any general requests for the piece and I foolishly asked him to make it fast and virtuosic. A request he obviously took as a challenge. When I received the first draft of this wonderfully aggressive assault, I was astonished by the shear number of black dots. John confided that this was the most he ever had to work to compose five and a half minutes of music to which I responded comfortingly that this was the most I ever had to work to play five and
a half minutes of music.
|
|
|
Richard Kranjac s "Tales of Velocity and Abandon" is in its entirety a six
movement work, which is heard here as a "mini suite" consisting of the first, fourth and final movements. Richard’s primary instrument is the electric bass. This may, to a certain extent, explain Richard’s creative approach in writing for the guitar and the resulting unique textures, evident in such passages as the running sixteenth note bass lines against a slower moving top line in the "Prelude" or the combinations of harmonic and natural notes in the "Berceuse". "Tales of Velocity and Abandon" evokes an intense mixture of emotions tempered by a wry sense of humor (e.g. check out the Stravinsky quote in the "Pagan Dance" immediately countered by chuckling seconds alla Paganini).
|
|
|
"Three Brief Episodes" proves just how little resemblance a finished work can bear to it’s original inspiration. At the inception of this piece I was listening to quite a bit of the great Viennese serial composer Anton Webern and was taken by his ability to crystallize music into such miraculously brief gems. This initiated the condensed and compact nature of the piece. After writing the first movement I happened upon a TV performance of country singer George Jones and was reminded of the great impact of a heartfelt simple melancholy melodic statement, inspiring the second movement. Finally the main theme of the last movement, in which three simultaneous melodic lines of differing lengths are repeated, was inspired by a passage from a song by the rock group Soundgarden. While I doubt that any listener would have recognized the influence of Anton Webern, George Jones or Soundgarden, I can only fantasize that this may spur some sort of future collaboration (possibly a Soundgarden reunion which features guest singer George Jones performing a Webern medley).
|
|
|
"Bridges" is an early work of mine. It is one of the first pieces in which I began actively trying to contrast disparate elements with an ear for their innate connectedness, an idea which I still contend with, albeit, for better or worse, in a less naive manner.
|
|
|
When composer Toru Takemitsu passed away in 1996 the classical guitar lost one of it`s most valuable allies. Takemitsu wrote a substantial body of guitar music in solo, chamber and ensemble settings. His ingenious sense of color, and skill as a master of orchestration is evident even in a solo guitar work such as Equinox. Here Takemitsu uses an unorthodox scordatura tuning, in which the second and sixth strings of the guitar are each tuned down a half step.
|
|
|
"Black is the Color" is the first in a suite of folk songs assembled by the great Italian contemporary composer Luciano Berio. The original song is attributed to the American John Jacob Niles. Berio arranged the song for a chamber ensemble consisting of mezzo-soprano, viola and harp. In his arrangement the harp suggests the vocalist, while the viola is required to perform at a different independent tempo, creating a wonderful tension against the beautiful simplicity of the vocal line. In my arrangement, the guitar takes on the role originally assigned to the viola by Berio.
|
|
|
"Sequenza XI" is one of a series of works written for solo instruments, by Luciano Berio. Although the Sequenzas span over thirty years, there are several unifring elemental concerns binding the works, the most apparent being the concepts of virtuosity and the instrument`s historical continuum. In "Sequenza XI" Berio plays with and against the guitar`s own history by utilizing guitaristic gestures presented in a new light. Maybe more than in any of the other Sequenzas, Berio shows his admiration and respect for the instrument and its history; he attempts to delve into the very soul of the guitar. Berio draws upon the guitar`s entire history from contrapuntal textures reminiscent of the early lute and vihuela repertoire to motives
drawn from rock guitar riffs. He identifies especially with the guitar`s strong Iberian roots, in particular making references to the flamenco tradition and the Spanish guitar repertoire, not only through playing techniques such as rasqueado and tremelo, but also through what could be termed the expressive theme of the piece - a juxtaposition of grace and violence. A theme which is best epitomized by the most Spanish of traditions - the bullfight. Throughout "Sequenza XI", Berio guides the emotional intensity with a masterful control of tension levels through varying degrees of harmonic and melodic density.
|
|
|
Jimi Hendrix will prove to be one of history`s most important and influential guitarists. He was one of the first to demonstrate that a rock musician could be both an artist and a virtuoso. In my arrangement of "Little Wing", I used Hendrix`s opening solo guitar intro as a jumping off point for a semi-improvisational rendition utilizing the song`s vocal melody for the first and third verses.
|
CD Information
