This is the first of five wonderful preludes by the Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos. With his gift for sorrowful lyrical melodies to the rhythmic and joyful interlude with its changing meters and Spanish flair, Villa Lobos creates a true guitar masterpiece which fully exploits the richness, emotional depth, and colors of the guitar. Hope you enjoy it.
Month: September 2022
Carlotta Dalia plays Schubert’s Ständchen
One of Italy’s rising guitar virtuosas, Carlotta Dalia, plays Mertz’s arrangement of Schubert’s Ständchen. Producer Open Strings Berlin manages to align all the the stars: Carlotta’s sublime artistry, a forest in Berlin, the magnificent guitar, and beautiful camera work.
Leo Garcia plays Sonata in E Major, K.380 by Domenico Scarlatti
Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757) wrote over 500 sonatas for harpsichord. Fortunately, many have been arranged and transcribed for guitar and many await transcription. During 2020 and 2021 I found myself in the Scarlatti rabbit hole. I listened to hundreds of them, read through ones that I thought might work that to my knowledge had not been transcribed, transcribed many for solo and duo guitar, learned too many to keep track of, and am still learning. They captivate my imagination and they teach me a lot about myself and my playing.
Sonata in E Major, K.380 is, perhaps, one of Scarlatti’s most famous sonatas. With its march-like rhythm to the emerging beautiful lyrical lines, Scarlatti’s boundless imagination sparkles. I used a combination of editions (but primarily Manuel Barrueco’s) and the original score to find a version that works for my hands. Hope you enjoy it.
And as a bonus, while researching some of the sonatas, I came across this hilarious article ranking the Sonatas. : )
Six String Journal 