2 Fantasías by Luis de Narváez (fl. 1526 - 1549) - Kevin Gallagher, guit...

I started getting back into recording to improve my playing. Lately I've been fascinated with the Spanish Renaissance and have been reading the vihuelist's music voraciously. The part writing and imitation in this music is like the European religious vocal music of the time, but it also has some unique and subtle dissonances - an influence from the Moors conquest and subsequent 700 year occupation of Spain starting in the year 711.

Online Music Theory Course for Classical Guitarists

I couldn't agree with Segovia more when he said "study music more than the guitar". In that vein, I've been notified that there will be an online music theory course for guitarists at the www.classicalguitarblog.net

As I've said, to play classical guitar well you must also understand classical music. This course is specifically designed for classical guitarists and is interactive - you can ask questions and get answers about the material much like a "real" class. If you don't know theory and are interested, this can be an excellent course to get you started.

Recordings from the past

I've been taking a bit of a sabbatical from my internet postings which will be over soon. In the meantime, I've decided to put up some live recordings from the past not known to the general public (nor to most who know me personally). These recordings are from 1997 with the fantastic guitarist, Antigoni Goni. For those that don't know Antigoni, I highly recommend getting her recordings. I became friends with Antigoni at Juilliard and we formed a brief duo during the years of 1996-1998. The duo began by concentrating on the Spanish Nationalists - Albeniz, Granados, and De Falla, and using the arrangements of the old guitar masters - primarily Miguel Llobet and Emilio Pujol. Evocation by Albeniz as arranged by Llobet is one of the most colorful guitar arrangements I've had the pleasure to perform. Just studying the score is a complete lesson in guitar orchestration. More can be found at my youtube site

Mendelssohn's Octet in E-flat major, Op. 20

I've been listening to a lot of romantic era music lately, something I've shunned for most of my musical study. I guess I wasn't that interested because the great composers of that time rarely wrote any music which could be played on our instrument - unlike in the Baroque, Renaissance, and 20th century composers.

It always bothered me that I didn't know most of the great masterpieces from Beethoven, Schubert, Mendelssohn, etc. If we are classical musicians, then we should be interested in all great art music - not just art music played on the guitar.

Lately my obsession has been Felix Mendelssohn's Octet in E-flat major, Op. 20 which I've been listening to and studying daily. It was composed in the autumn of 1825, when he was just 16. There's something remarkable about the feelings conveyed in this music - it's full of hope, optimism, and drama - typical of a 16 year old. At the same time, the craftsmanship is stunningly mature. If I had heard this when I was 13, I may have taken up the violin.

There's a digital copy of the manuscript online here.

Here is a playlist to the full piece -

Introduction and Passacaglia on "The Golden Flower" for electric guitar - Dusan Bogdanovic

This is from a home recording from 2004-5. It's originally for classical guitar, but this version is for electric guitar with added effects to enhance the "indian" quality of the work. The music is based on the Golden Means ratio - a mathematical ratio found in nature.

I know this blog is mainly for classical guitar, but for those who might also be interested in electric guitar and contemporary music, I'll be putting all my old home recording tracks up at www.youtube.com/avantpopmusic over the next few weeks.

Julian Bream masterclass on "Sevilla"

There's a number of masterclasses by Bream on youtube. I love them. Of course, it's no surprise that Bream always talks about musical ideas and listening, but even more important is the kind of energy he emits. That seems to be the greater, unspoken lesson.

ANDRES SEGOVIA MASTERCLASS - SOR "ESTUDIO"

Segovia showing us all how easy it can be.