\u00ab Ecos de Sefarad \u00bb was composed in 1987 for the American guitarist Sherry Rottersman. It is the last piece that Rodrigo wrote for a solo guitar. Its title refers to the Sephardic Jews of Iberia, whose music had a deep
\neffect on flamenco\u00b9s cante jondo, a style reserved to reflect sadness, conflict, mourning, and other such unfortunate but inevitable occasions in life. The melodic material Rodrigo uses in this piece comes from a Sephardic love song called \u00ab Los Bilbilicos \u00bb, or \u00ab The Nightingales \u00bb. This melody probably comes from an earlier version to which the \u00ab tsur mishelo \u00bb, a Hebrew prayer, is sung.<\/p>\n
\u00ab Que buen caminito \u00bb was composed for the tribute “130 years of Classical Guitar”, and was the compulsory work in the International Guitar Contest organized at the Conservatory of Music in Sevilla. The rhythm is reminiscent of a flamenco sevillanas , but its slow tempo leaves with us only a reminder of it, and nothing more.<\/p>\n
The dedication, “a la vihuela de Luis Milan”, of \u00ab Zarabanda lejana \u00bb is not only a tribute to Milan the vihuelist, but to Rodrigo\u00b9s life-long love of early music. “Zarabanda lejana” means “distant sarabande”, distant not only because of its quiet nature, but also of its almost haunting reflection of music long past. The
\ncadence one hears again and again throughout this piece is a plagal cadence, which is the cadence most commonly attached to the “amen” at the end of a hymn. It was first composed for the guitar in 1926, then arranged for the piano and followed in 1927 by a string orchestra version.<\/p>\n
Probably best known in its orchestral incarnation as one of the \u00ab Tres viejos aires de danza \u00bb, \u00ab Pastorale \u00bb was originally written in 1926 for the piano. It was first arranged by the famous Spanish guitarist Emilio Pujol,
\nand has become a staple in the solo guitar repertoire.<\/p>\n
The \u00ab Sonata giocosa \u00bb written in 1960 is one of two complete sonatas Rodrigo composed for the guitar (the other is the Sonata a la Espanola which is also performed on this recording). Although it requires a great deal of digital dexterity to perform, it shows a lighter and more humorous side to a composer whose creations can sometimes be dark and cloudy. The outer movements display the humor; the first movement primarily alternates a quirky little melody in the higher register and stated in parallel thirds and sixths with unexpected exclamatory responses in the bass. The result is an effect almost of laughter. Contrasting a solemn but heavenly second movement, the final movement seems to be a takeoff on a “zapateado”, a virtuosic dance with, in this case, some slide whistle effects thrown in for laughs.<\/p>\n
The \u00ab Fandango \u00bb from the \u00ab Tres piezas espa\u00f1olas \u00bb composed in 1954 is not a new spin on the flamenco “fandangos”, but rather is inspired by the stately fandango that was widely enjoyed in the parlors of the Spanish aristocracy a few hundred years ago. However, here the composer chooses to insert a long, expressive melodic section which wonderfully balances the strict and often dissonant sound of the fandango rhythm. This is undoubtedly one of Rodrigo\u00b9s most beloved and widely-played pieces. A \u00ab Passacaglia \u00bb is a piece of music that is built upon a (usually ostinato) bass line. Here he sets up this bass line at the beginning, which also serves as the grave but beautiful theme. He continues developing the theme with a series of progressively difficult variations, until it all culminates in a brilliantly crafted fugue. The piece ends with an exhalation; a sigh of relief as it were. The \u00ab Zapateado \u00bb, like its more cheerful sibling flamenco counterpart, is a highly rhythmic dance whose purpose is to show off the dancer\u00b9s virtuosic foot and heel work. The forward-moving energy this dance creates is almost tangible. It is safe to say that two of the most devilish scales in the whole guitar repertoire are contained in this piece.<\/p>\n
\u00ab Romance de Durandarte \u00bb is not originally for the guitar. It is a song taken from Rodrigo\u00b9s ballet “Pavana Real”, the ballad of Durandarte \u2014 a legendary knight of the Round Table \u2014 arranged for the guitar by Pepe Romero.<\/p>\n
Written in December of 1968, and published in 1969, the \u00ab Sonata a la Espa\u00f1ola \u00bb was premiered at the \u00ab Incontri Musicali Romani \u00bb on 30 May 1969 by Ernesto Bitetti, to whom it is dedicated. It is composed in a light but very articulate Spanish style. The first movement openly displays this, utilizing single staccato lines for the primary theme, answered rhythmically by Rodrigo\u00b9s signature dissonant minor second in the treble. The second movement begins with its theme in the bass, but this time ascending a minor third, in contrast to the first movement\u00b9s major third. The third movement is a spritely Bolero. Graham Wade sums up the work well in his book, The Solo Guitar Works of Joaquin Rodrigo: \u00ab This sonata is a walk through a Spanish village, a light-hearted stroll with the merest glances at the picturesque graveyard illuminated by the bright sun. The adagio may offer a hint of pathos but its lyrical song dispels too intense a melancholy \u00bb.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00ab Ecos de Sefarad \u00bb was composed in 1987 for the American guitarist Sherry Rottersman. It is the last piece that Rodrigo wrote for a solo guitar. Its title refers to the Sephardic Jews of Iberia, whose music had a deep effect on flamenco\u00b9s cante jondo, a style reserved to reflect sadness, conflict, mourning, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":647,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"artiste":[93],"product_brand":[],"product_cat":[48],"product_tag":[],"class_list":["post-648","product","type-product","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artiste-scott-tennant-en","product_cat-cds","first","instock","taxable","shipping-taxable","purchasable","product-type-simple"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gharecords.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product\/648","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gharecords.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gharecords.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/product"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gharecords.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=648"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gharecords.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/647"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gharecords.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=648"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artiste","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gharecords.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artiste?post=648"},{"taxonomy":"product_brand","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gharecords.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_brand?post=648"},{"taxonomy":"product_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gharecords.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_cat?post=648"},{"taxonomy":"product_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gharecords.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_tag?post=648"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}