-In Homage to Francisco Tárrega commemorating the 100th anniversary of his passing -

Francisco Tarrega (1852-1909):

• Three Preludes
  • Endecha (Sad Song)
  • Oremus
  • Prelude in A minor (dedicated to Miguel Llobet)
• Gavota (Maria)
• Two Mazurkas
  • Mazurka in G major
  • Adelita
• Capricho Árabe

Hector Villa-lobos (1887-1959):

• Tristorosa *

Isaac Albeniz (1860- 1909):

• Granada *
• Córdoba *
• Cataluña *

--Intermission--

J. S. Bach  (1685-1750):

• Sonata n.1 BWV 1001 *
  • Adagio
  • Fuga
  • Siciliano
  • Presto

Ronaldo Miranda (1948):

• Appassionata

Julian Arcas (1832-1882)/ Francisco Tarrega:

• Fantasía sobre “La Traviata” de Verdi

 

* Transcriptions: Margarita Escarpa

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- Francisco Tárrega (1852-1909):

Francisco Tárrega y Eixea was born in Villarreal (Castellón de la Plana) on the 21^st of November 1852. He was one of the most influential guitarists/ composers of his time. Tarrega´s work helped to establish the guitar as an instrument suitable for the concert stage.  He is widely regarded as the father of modern guitar technique. It is said that Andrés Segovia, perhaps the most influential figure in the development of the modern classical guitar, heard several of Tarrega’s preludes when he was 12, and was so impressed that he decided to learn “that music” immediately which helped to enlarge his early repertoire.

Many of Tárregas´ compositions are lovely miniatures, mostly representing the aesthetics of the “música de salón” of the period. They are very inspired and written with professionalism and are well adapted to the instrument. This is the case with the pieces in tonight’s program. They  are completely original except for the second prelude, Oremus, which is based on “Phantasietanz”, a piano work composed by Schumann in 1836. Tárrega wrote this prelude two weeks before his death, the 15^th of December 1909 in Barcelona (It is interesting to note that Tarrega planned to hear 16 year old Andres Segovia give his first public performance of note in 1909, but unfortunately died before the performance).

It is natural that a few of Tarrega’s works, including his most famous works, such as “Capricho Árabe”, “Recuerdos de La Alhambra”, “Danza Mora” and “Danza Odalisca”, should combine new and surprising sounds representing the Moorist tradition which is so much a part of Spanish culture.  Isaac Albeniz was another composer who, although more famous in the Western Musical world, represented this tradition with works such as; “Granada”, “Zambra Granadina”, “La Alhambra” and “Serenata Arabe”, that he wrote for piano.

 

- Heitor Villa-lobos (1887-1959)

Villa-lobos wrote “Tristorosa” when he was 23 years old under the nickname “Epaminondas Villalba Filho”. Originally for piano, this piece is a rondo with a slow waltz rhythm, a beautiful melody and a guitar-like accompaniment that indicates that it was probably inspired by the guitar.  

Villa-lobos had learned the guitar at seven or eight, and he composed more than fifty works for this instrument. He met Andrés Segovia at a musical soiree in a private home in Paris where Villa-lobos played the guitar to show Segovia that a piece that he called impossible to play, was indeed playable. Segovia admitted “Villa-lobos knows the guitar extremely well”.

 

- Isaac Albéniz (1860- 1909)

If Tárrega was the father of the modern guitar, Felipe Pedrell (1841-1922) -a good friend of Tárrega and teacher of Albéniz has been described as the father of Spanish music.  Pedrell was a teacher, composer, and musicologist who had done a considerable amount of research of old Spanish music.  An ardent nationalist, it was his conviction that Spanish composers should write “Spanish” music, i.e., music rooted in Spanish culture, acquiring its idiom and techniques from native folk songs and dances.  Because the guitar was involved in almost all folk music, composers started to look at it from a different point of view and imitated its strumming technique, open string harmonic possibilities and rhythms. This, indirectly, gave a big impulse to elevate the guitar to the status of a well-established instrument for the playing of “art music”. 

Albéniz, one of the most significant pianists and piano composers of the XIX century, met Pedrell in 1883, who inspired him to write Spanish music such as the “Suite Española, Op. 47”. The fifth movement of that suite, called “Asturias” (also known as Leyenda which means ‘legend’), is probably most famous these days as part of the classical guitar repertoire, even though it was originally composed for piano and only later transcribed to guitar. Many of his other compositions were also adapted to the guitar, notably by Francisco Tárrega. Albéniz once declared that he preferred Tárrega's guitar transcriptions to his original piano works, maybe because all his music is infected with the effects that emulate the guitar’s music and technique. In this concert you´ll hear three of Albeniz´s works that are most enjoyed by the musical public.

 

- Johan Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Bach never wrote for the guitar, (the Baroque guitar was a much different instrument from that which is seen today). However many of his works are perfectly suitable for the contemporary instrument and are now regarded as part of the guitar repertoire.  Many of the guitarists-composers, such as Tárrega, LLobet, Barrios and Andrés Segovia, have transcribed or composed works inspired by Bach´s music.

In fact, Bach's music for violin and cello without accompaniment has been subject to an almost constant series of transcriptions, a process initiated by Bach himself and continued by lute and keyboard players of the period. Later arrangements have appeared for almost any instrument, even for orchestra. These facts are signs of the longevity and adaptability of Bach's music.

The transcription of the Sonata in today´s program is mainly based on the violin version, but I also used Bach’s versions for the lute and organ.  The transcription criteria has been to respect the original, but keeping in mind the marvellous possibilities of the guitar in order to take advantage of the harmonic and contrapuntal capabilities of the instrument.

 

- Ronaldo Miranda (1948)

Ronaldo Miranda is a prolific composer born in 1948 in the city of Rio de Janeiro. “Appassionata”, dedicated to the Brazilian guitarist Turibio Santos, is his only solo guitar work. Composed in 1984, it had to wait until 1996 for its premiere. I think you will find that this is a marvelous and vigorous piece, full of contrasts, and largely indebted to the late-Romantic pianistic tradition.  You will also hear the Brazilian style of delicious harmonies and wonderful rhythms.

 

- Francisco Tárrega (La Traviata)

The work of Tárrega is based on two aspects: development of a broader technical usage of the guitar in the adaptation of works or the creation of new works. He frequently used well-known themes to elaborate his compositions, such as in this Fantasy, based on Verdi´s “La Traviata”.

This piece presents a curious problem: Who actually composed it? It was published and attributed to Francisco Tárrega, but when he was 10 years old the very well-known guitarist Julián Arcas was already playing this piece in concerts. Plagiarism? Editors´ confusion? Polemics apart, Tárrega´s version presents some slight differences but with a more romantic approach than Arcas´s transcription. On the other hand, it is very significant that the piece started to be more appreciated after being attributed to Tárrega, and is part of the guitarists’ repertoire to this day.

Margarita Escarpa

Regis Ferruzza, ed.