Guitar Performance

Includes recorded audio files in WAV and MP3 formats, 43:26 in lengthMinuet 5 from Op. 11, and Minuet 7 from Op. 3 were composed by Fernando Sor (1778-1839). Though these two minuets have the binary form and triple meter of the original dance form, they have moved beyond the simple phrasing and harmonic movement of the minuet accompaniment into purely Haydnesque instrumental works. The Triste, by Julian Aguirre (1868-1924), was transcribed for guitar by Andres Segovia. Aguirre, an Argentine composer and pianist, wrote numerous tristes from the folk melodies of the gauchos, the horsemen in the region of Argentina known as the Pampa. Nortena, by Jorge Gomez Crespo is an Argentine Indian. The theme is a five-note melody ending with a descending step-wise resolution. The Prelude, BWV 999 by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) was originally written for lute in the key of c minor. Andres Segovia transcribed the work for guitar in d minor. Though it is not known if the Prelude was meant to accompany any specific work, the modulation to A major in end is generally thought to lead to the Fugue, BWV 1000, which begins in a minor (originally g minor). This Fugue is transcribed from the lute version of the Fugue from Violin Sonata I. The Siciliana, also from the First Violin Sonata, is in typical 12/8 meter with a sixteenth-note upbeat that introduces the recurring theme. Carlos Pedrell (1878-1941) wrote Pagina Romantica in dedication to Andres Segovia. Although the Pagina Romantica is a short work, the constant alternation of irregular and regular rhythmic patterns leaves a strong impression. John Dowland (1563-1626) was a highly regarded English composer and lutenist. Though the Melancholy Galliard and the Fantasia are performed on the guitar, the third string is tuned down a half-step to an F# to keep the same relative tuning of the lute, which sounds a minor third higher than the guitar. As an instrumental work, the galliard contains variations on the first stanza, rather than the conventional repetition of refrain. The Fantasia, although somewhat fugal in nature, is more a musical invention rather than a work from a particular genre. Emilio Pujol (1886-1980) wrote the Becqueriana in honor of the Spanish poet Gustavo Adolfo Becquer. Becquer wrote in a bright, vivid manner to allow the reader to see all that he envisioned. The half-page Becqueriana, replete with musical notation and expressions, captures this style. (See more in text.