ABOUT THE PROGRAM
The recital is divided into two parts: the first, gives the audience a panoramic view of the Spanish music, from the vihuela to the guitar; in the second, the artist presents, like a musical rainbow, some of the most representative composers of the Latin American guitar.
The program begins with Alonso Mudarra's “Fantasia X” originally composed for the Vihuela, in which the composer tries to imitate the playing style of Ludovicus , harpist of the court. From Gaspar Sanz , the true representative of the Baroque Spanish guitar, we will hear a selection of popular Spanish dances by his “Suite de Danzas Cervantinas”. By Ferran Sors his “Variaciones Opus 9”, which draws its inspiration from the aria “O Cara Armonia” from Mozart's Magic Flute. In the next piece, “Sueño” (Dream), Francisco Tárrega uses the difficult trémolo technique; this composition is one of the best examples of Tárrega 's Romantic aesthetics. The recital continues with three dances: the first is the “Muñeira” from the “Suite Compostelana” by the pianist and composer Frederic Mompou; was inspired in Santiago de Compostela (Galicia, Spain) and this Suite, dedicated to Andrés Segovia, is the only composition that Mompou devoted to the guitar; the second is the virtuous “Passepied Nº II” by Salvador Bacarisse and the last is the “Danza” by Antonio Ruiz-Pipó, from his “Canción y Danza nº 1”. Then, the famous Adagio from the “Concierto de Aranjuez” by Joaquín Rodrigo, and the Mozartiana by Maestro Soler , which draws its inspiration from Mozart's, Ave Verum Corpus and the city of Salzburg. This first part ends with another piece by the same composer: Lady Lachatte, from Caterpillar to Bytterfly, where the composer combines the classic stereotypes of the Blues and Rock, with the newest and most surprising effects that can be drawn from the guitar.
The beginning of the second part honors the great composer Heitor Villa-lobos (1887-1959), with his suggestive “Preludio 3” (homage to J.S. Bach) and continues with the inspired “Estudio de Concierto nº 11” one of his most genuine works for the guitar. This group continues with the warm nana (lullaby) “Drume Negrita” by Eliseo Grenet (1893-1950), followed by Maestro Soler's own version of one of most known tangos by Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992): “Adiós Nonino”, originally written for the Quinteto Astor Piazzolla and dedicated to his father Nonino, ending with the festive “Batucada” by Isaías Savio (1900-1977).
This second section starts with “Seis por Derecho” by Antonio Lauro (1917-1986), a joropo where the guitar imitates the sound of the harp, with the typical aesthetics of Lauro 's well-known waltzes continuing “El Colibrí” by Julio Salvador Sagreras (1879-1942), where the composer tries to imitate the flight of this small and nervous bird from Latin America (can you imagine his flight?). The program continues with the rhythmic samba with a peculiar “flavor” of tango, “Brejeiro” by Ernesto Nazareth (1863-1934), followed of the sensitive piece by Manuel María Ponce (1882-1948), “Scherzino Mexicano”. This second part ends with the popular dance of Incan origin from the Bolivian altiplano, “Huayno”, where the guitar tries to imitate the charango and the popular “Chopí”, from the suite “Las Tres Palomas” by Pablo Escobar (1900-19??), a striking combination of music from the harp and Paraguayan dance.
* Transcription & ** Revision: Maestro Soler
+ Published by Casa Beethoven Publicacions , Spain.
Guitars:
Ignacio FLETA "The Golden Polyphemus"
&
ESTRUCH Luthiers "125th anniversary", Spain.
Strings: G.H.S. (Vanguard & 2390)
Riddle of the Guitar
In the round
crossways,
Six maidens
are dancing.
Three of flesh
and three of silver.
Yesterday´s dreams haunt them
but they are held embraced
by a Golden Polyphemus:
¡The Guitar!
Federico García Lorca
García Lorca, attributes to the guitar
occult powers,
and returns again and again
in his poems
to the image of its strings
spread out like the arms
of Polyphemus,
waiting to trap our souls …
