Juan Manuel Cortés Aires

Críticas recientes

CORTÉS, Juan Manuel, MICROPIÈCES

Here are five student pieces of around the grade 4-5 standard. Without exception they are all wellwritten and enjoyable compositions.

The opening Tho~me Vari6 has three variations and a finale and manages to make a quite decent composition out of a small amount of working material.

Pluie, even without the give-away title, would make the player think of rain falling. Echo could easily be used as a study in dynamics (as all the pieces in this book could). Danse is the most dramatic of the five pieces with an ostinato bass rumbling away under some macabre sounds above it. The set closes with a gentle Berceuse.

Within the confines of writing at this level, Cortes has produced a lovely set of teaching/student concert pieces of imagination.

(Steve Marsh, Classical Guitar, 12/2000)

CORTÉS, Juan Manuel, IBER

L'élément le plus frappant à première lecture réside dans la qualité de la partie de guitare. Les positions d'accords, d'arpèges, la dynamique des gammes, en particulier dans leur relation avec l'orchestre - utilisation de cordes à vide permettant un plus grand volume sonore - dévoilent une vraie connaissance de l'instrument, connaissance confirmée par le parcours du compositeur, guitariste, enseignant, chef d'orchestre, qui a su développer son écriture au travers d'un répertoire de musique de chambre original...

... l'uvre entière est une réussite.

(Tristan Manoukian ) Les cahiers de la guirare

Classical Guitar

CORTÉS, Juan Manuel, TRIPTICO for flute and guitar

Triptico was written in 1995 and is an attractive and atmospheric

composition. This is the third publication by this composer for flute and

guitar that I have reviewed and each time I have found his works to be

well-written, interesting and worthy of public exposure. One of his

trademarks seems to be the inclusion somewhere in the piece of a melodic

line over an arpeggio, which is either a moveable chord or just has the odd

note changed here and there. He uses this technique with skill and never

does it sound out of place or stereotyped.

Triptico has a 'free', unbarred mid-section titled Larnento flanked by a

Prologue and Danza, all three parts having attractive harmonies mingling

with the inventive melody lines. One of the really nice things about this

composition is that the composer has kept the whole work within the realms

of Grade 6.

(Steve Marsh, The Classical Guitar)

CORTÉS, Juan Manuel, L'Arbre tombé

Composed in 1991, this is an attractive and unusual work in four

closely-linked movements. The chordal figure introduced in the opening

Andante cantabile is quoted more or less verbatim in every movement except

the third, and the final movement proves to be little more than edited

highlights of everything that has gone before.

Stylistically, the language remains tonally-based, and the general mood is one

of quiet introspection. Only in the toccata-like third movement, in which both

parts are centred around quickfire triplet arpeggios, does the momentum start

to build. Cortés invariably makes intelligent use of the guitar's resources, and

the ensemble difficulties are limited to a brief but surprisingly accident-prone

three against two rhythm five bars from home.

A publication of considerable potential which remains comfortably within the

range of Grade 7/8 players.

(Paul Fowles)

CORTÉS, Juan Manuel, Nuages

This very atmospheric and delightful composition was written in 1993 and

lasts just over two minutes. It is basically an improvisatory-like melody

played by the flute over a repetitive, haunting arpeggio from the guitar. This

arpeggio is interrupted up by the occasional harmonic and tambour, plus a

very brief guitar solo.The music looks more difficult than it actually is, the

standard being around Grade 6. The suggested tempo is crotchet = 60, but if

that is slightly too fast for some non-professional duos, Nuages works very

well at a slower tempo. I really enjoyed playing through this piece and hope it

makes it to the concert platform. (Steve Marsh)

CORTÉS, Juan Manuel, La danza de Selene, for flute and guitar

La Danza de Selene is in two parts and starts with a 20 bar improvisatory

movement titled nvocacion. which features a plaintive flute melody played

over a 'tambour' guitar part. (The flute score includes several notes needing to

be played a quarter or three-quarters of a tone higher).

Although the second part. titled El Carro de Plata, is not marked to be

played much quicker, the stricter tempo and gradually accelerating guitar part

- beginning with quaver movement and then moving onto arpeggios flrst in

semiquavers and then in demisemiquavers - gives this movement a feeling of

forward motion and thrill. The whole composition has an Eastern flavour to it

and Cortes has cleverly evoked the excitement and mood of Selene

performing this sensuous dance in a short, but worthy composition.

Presentation is very good with a separate pull-out score for the flute and the

guitar part.

(Steve Marsh - Classical Guitar)

Soundboard Guitar Fundation of America

Castet, François "Ma guitare part en voyage"

Aimed at youthful beginners of all ages, this is a collection of short arrangements and compositions designed to stimulate the imagination as well as exercise the fingers. Included are folk and traditional songs from Mexico, Spain, France, El Salvador, Brazil, Peru, Cuba, Argentina, Venezuela and Turkey, all in straight-forward and simple arrangements. Interspersed with these are original compositions by Castet, Juan Manuel Cortés, Sylvain Lemay, Spencer Doidge and Fabienne Goy, also evocative of different parts of the globe.

The pieces are not strictly in progressive order, although those pieces that move up the fingerboard are grouped at the end of the book. The introduction invites the voyage to design his or her own tour.

With simple techniques, open textures and attractive melodies, this volume offers a fine assortment of didactic and recreational pieces for guitarists in the early stages.

(David Grimes, Soundboard)

LES CAHIERS DE LA GUITARE

Juan Manuel Cortés,L'arbre tombé pour deux guitares; Tríptico, pour flûte et guitare; Fantaisie, pour clavecin et guitare, chez d'Oz, (conducteur et parties)

Voilà des pièces qui sonnent. Le language est bien défini dans son originalité. Les harmonies complexes et sombres organisent une variété dosée d'atmosphères. Dans la pièce pour deux guitares, on commence par une sorte de choral qui s'épure dans un mouvement lent, pour laisser place à une toccata puis à un mouvement synthétique des éléments qui précèdent. Polarisé autour du sol, la dynamique s'opère par tension avec le sol dièse, ce qui n'est pas sans rappeler la manière du canadien Jacques Hétu. Dans les pièces avec flûte et clavecin, un certain minimalisme apparaît respectivement à la guitare et au clavier, ce qui permet dans la première de développer les mélismes de la flûte, dans la seconde de doser les prépondérances thématiques et de faire dialoguer les deux instruments en distribuant aussi bien à l'un qu'à l'autre les rôles de développement mélodique, d'ornementation et d'harmonisation. La formation guitare-clavecin a beaucoup d'avenir...

Danielle Ribouillaud

(Les cahiers de la guitare, France)

Páginas de música :

Micropièces DZ 129 d'Oz

Mulhacén DZ 129 d'Oz

Tríptico DZ130 d'Oz

L'Arbre Tombée DZ133 d'Oz

Fantaisie DZ135 d'Oz

Fragmento de la Obra "El Bosque de Cristal"

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