HEA ATI GUITARClassical Guitar News - compiled by Thérése Wassily Sergio and Odair Assad ~ Colin Cooper Cannington 1993 - Jenny Campbell ‘The Guitar in TberoAmerica (Part 7) ~ Rico Stover Concert Diary ‘Segovia -A Centenary Celebration Part XI - Graham Wade Obituary — Anthony Burgess Andrei Sychra (Part 2) ~ Matarya Ophee ‘Music Reviews Record Reviews 47 Concert Reviews 49 Fundamental Perspectives (Part 5) ~ Jim Ferguson 50 Rincon Flamenco - Marcos 54 Letters from the Editor 56 Classical Guitar Teachers 58 Classical Guitar Societies Features Editor: Colin Cooper Reviews Editor: Chris Kilvington ‘Music Editor: Neil Smith Managing Editor: Maurice J, Summerfield News Editor: Thérése Wassily Saba History Editor: Harvey Hope Contributors: Roy Brower, Gordon Crosskey, Chris Dell, Zbigniew Dubiella, Paul Fowles, Paul Gregory, John Huber, [vor Matrants, Marcos, vJorge Morel, Matanya Ophee, David Russell, Rico Stover, Maurice J. Summerfield, Graham Wade. Reviewers: John Arran, Peter Batchelar, Jane Bentley, Donald Bousted, Raymond Burley, Sarah Clarke, Colin Cooper. Rebecca Crosby, Luke Dunlea, Lorraine Eastwood, Paul Fowles, Stephen Goss, Nicola Hall, Sandra Hambleton, Harvey Hope, Irina Kircher, Oyvind Lysio, Steve Marsh, Emma Martinez, Michael MeGeary. Joe McGowan, Alfonso Montes, Joe Nickerson, David Norton, Therese Wassily Saba, Shuko Shibata, Chris Susans, Nell Smith, Paul ‘Thomas, Grahamn Wade. Andy Warn, Advertisements: Chris Lackenby We wetcome coninibutions, but cannot accept responsiblity for them, Please ‘enclose a prepald label or erelope fou want your work vetumed. "ye Nes ah ypestngwcncby Perrine etd by COLDEN OFFSET UMITED insta apse at Ss Se \ss\ 50-008” ASHLEY MARK PUBLISHING COMPANY ‘Assad Brothers page 1 Andres Segouia~ page 26 Tce lian 2 ae ‘Andrei Spohr page SDA DUO FOR OUR TIME COLIN COOPER ENCOUNTERS SERGIO AND ODAIR ASSAD IN KRAKOW ‘Sergio and Odatr Assad remember,’ said Odair Assad, ‘we are nearly in the 21st century. Segovia was a great artist, but the techniques are better now. It is a dangerous thing to say in a small world where the name of Segovia still has the power of an icon, but I believe that he is right. 1993 marked the centenary of Andrés Segovia's birth. and due homage was paid in the form of humerous articles and festivals. Now that the celebrations are aver, we can perhaps get back to some awareness that we are living in a world vastly different from that of Segovia, where people have different needs and expectations. and where artists have a different way of delivering what is possibly the same message though in a changed form. ‘This too is dangerous talk, and lable to provoke a flood of hurt and angry letters accusing me of failing to appreciate the virtues of the great Andalusian. I deny it utterly, but 1 know that my critics will not be silenced. The Scgovidolators are a vociferous lot. But we live in a strange age: we not only talk about The Good Old Days but we actually bulld houses that look: like Georgian houses. Our concert programmes are filled with the music of long-dead composers. Even Julian Bream, I read in these pages, drives a Morris Minor: something that I am inclined to look upon as ancient beyond consideration but which the majority of my fellow-countrymen. prefer to dignify with the term ‘vintage’. On the face of it, there must be something terribly wrong with modern houses. modern cars, and modern music if our nostalgia has grown to such proportions: some vital clement missing, perhaps, some spark of individuality that produced something more human than an artefact designed pragmatically by a consortium to do the best job in the most efficient way. Could our nostalgia be in some way a reaction against stressed concrete, the robotised production line and the arbitrary division of the chromatic scale into twelve notes of equal value? ‘This has a certain relevance. When | mention the Assad Duo in guitar company, someone is almost sure to say ‘Ah, but you should have heard Presti and Lagoya’. Sometimes they say. ‘Yes, but [remember the Abreu Brothers’. Guitar people love putting guitarists in their own particular order of merit, which reminds me of those old-fashioned examinations where you were asked to put ten different composers in order of importance. What is ‘as good as’ or “better than’ ina musical context? Both are impossible to define, as a moment's thought would show. But the nostalgia factor comes in "here too; the artists we heard in our youth are invariably better than the artists we hear in later life - for the simple reason that they moved us more at a time when we were capable of being moved more. So do not believe those people who tell you that Prest!-Lagoya were the best duo ever, or that Segovia was the best guitarist evei or that Sor was the best guitar composer ever. Music is a constantly changing, always fluid art, and you can't pin it down as easily as that It is an unfortunate fact that Sérgio and Odair Assad do not very often play in this country now, for the simple reason that no one will pay them the fees to which their skill and status entitle them. We pay for the best conductors, the best violinists and pianists, sometimes even the best singers, but we will not pay to have the best guitarists, And the reason is that not enough people will pay to come and hear them in a live concert. That is a tragedy for the guitar, and an indication of how far the instrument has sunk in Britain, We cannot even say that our misfortune echoes a general, global misfortune, because the Assad Duo get plenty of engagements elsewhere tn the world. “The guitar is still developing” I wish something could be done about this. Sérgio and Odair Assad are legends in the making. Their phenomenal techniques and Incredibly accurate ensemble, their free and fluent sense of rhythm, combined with a capacity for infinite colouring [all done with refinement and taste), give them the ability to sweep an ‘audience off Its musical feet more convincingly than guitar ensemble I have ever heard in my life Sérgio and Odair Assad were born in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in 1952 and 1956 respectively. Their father’s encouragement was a vital part of their musical development. Within only two years of the commencement of their studies, they had won Sao Paulo's most important guitar competition. Seven years of study in Rio de Janeiro with Monina’Tavora followed; she had been a stuclent of Andrés Segovia, so there is an obvious link between the old master and the new masters, More prizes inevitably followed, but more important was the quality of the composition they attracted. Francisco Mignone Radamés Gnattali, Astor Piazzolla and Marlos| Nobre have all written pleces for them, and they have been good pieces: spirited, rhythmical, bursting with energy, and compulsive listening. ‘Those who shake their heads doubtfully at the very mention of South American music had betier not read any further, assuming that they have got this far already. The sub-continent has made and is making a substantial contribution to the classical guitar in terms of, particularly. 2 rhythmic content, but it is taking a long time to establish itself in our harmony-dominated musical culture One extraordinary criticism I have heard of the Assad Duo is that they play (oo fast. Some people, mainly north Europeans, simply cannot cope with the up-tempo element in the Brazilians! art, An eminent guitarist once voiced this objection to me, Perhaps what he really meant was that the Assad Duo played faster than he did. But what is too fast? What is too slow? ‘Tempo is a matter of perception. | have read correspondence in these pages about ‘correct tempo’ with a certain bemusement, wondering if I really am the contemporary of these dear old souls who love to potter alonig at crotchet equals 70, which they call allegro con brio. Music is not a motorway; there 1s no speed limit. Tempo is what the body and the mind accept as suitable. I have a theory that it is generally related mathematically to the pulse rate. One day I will set out to prove it Of course there is a certain danger of escalation here. Speed becomes a kind of drug: the more we have, the more we need, and it would be a pity if music were to attract only those people who require their musicians (o play faster and faster until all definition, everything that we value in music, is lost. ‘That never happens with the Assad Duo. There fs a difference between that kind of craving and the stirring of the blood that occurs when these two masters get to work. In Krakow thelr playing of Scarlattl was sensational. Should it be sensational? Someone is sure to ask the question. My answer is, why not, if you can make it sensational and still keep all the musical values? If you revere Scarlatti, as I do, you cannot fail to enjoy what Sérgio and Odair do with his music. They give it clarity, brilliance. marvellous tone colouring (such as a harpsichord is incapable off, sheer high spirits —surely Domenico himself would have been delighted? if not, he wasn't the man I take him to be. Then there was Rameau, another composer of the Baroque era; his work too gains from the two- guitar treatment, its wit and grace given new definition through subtle colouring. Sérgio Assad came to like Scarlatti through listening to Vladimir Horowitz's recordings, ‘over a period of many years," he says. Horowitz is reputed to have studied all 550 sonatas before making his choice, and his taste coincides with that of the brothers to a remarkable degree. But "the guitar is not the harpsichord. It 1s not the piano either, but something in the middle.” Two guitars give something of the tonal range of the plano and the plucked sound of the harpsichord, but there are the additional benefits of a more sharply defined interplay of voices and much, much more colour ‘Sérgio's transcriptions of Francois Couperin, too, are particuarly apt. Couperin wrote in hismanual that the subtle intimacy of contact between finger and string was something to be desired in harpsichord performance. That gave a clear hint to Sérgio Assad, who included Couperin's music in his transcriptions as long ago as 15 years. Nevertheless, even the redoubtable Assad Duo do not always find it easy. Their capacity for hard work has given the end product a perfection that makes everything seem easy. but it was not achieved without very much painstaking attention to detail in order to get the style right — or, in Séxglo's modest words, ‘with some stylistic correctness’. Meticulous string damping is a factor in this, and I have never heard anyone do it better, Listen to this the next time you hear them, rather than marvelling over the speed, Nothing extraneous or unneccesary is allowed to resonate for a moment. How on earth they do this at the speed they play Is one of the marvels of the modern musical world. But anyone, even if they ‘can't hope to play up to this speed and accuracy. may strive to clean up their act by cutting out the unwanted vibration, Normally the make of guitar played by a guitarist is not of particular importance to me: so many excellent models are available now, cedar as well as spruce. But Thomas Humphrey's ‘Millentum’ scems to me a special case; by raising the fingerboard ~ or rather. dropping the level of the upper bout - Humphrey has enabled more frecdom of movement, and hence more clarity, in the higher positions. This led Sérgio Assad to transcribe music that otherwise he would have considered unsuitable ~ some Bach, such as the Prelude and Fugue in C sharp minor played in its original key, and many of the Scarlatti sonatas requiring the brilliance of a high tessitura. The guitar Is still developing he remarks, and this innovation is clearly one of its more significant developments in recent years. This is not a gimmick, but a worthwhile improvement that makes arguments about the value of the apoyo/cushion versus the footstool somewhat irrelevant except in the purely physical An Assads concert is not the place for pedantry, It is a place for music lovers who have the confidence to live in their own age. to adapt music for their own needs, and not the needs of the musicologists and the ‘experts’ who always know just how it should be played (but who can so seldom do it themselves) If people do not want to believe that these two are great musicians, then nothing I say will convince them. My criteria for recognising greatness when I hear it are empirical, to say the least; | don't know any other way. It’s not something you can measure, only something that you respond to, One can discern that quality in old recordings by Segovia, Schnabel, Casals and others, but the experience is not the same as that THE UNIVERSITY of EDINBURGH. paoupty eaesenzs tar 1994 SCOTTISH INTERNATIONAL guitar Teacatye State CCrnis KuviNcros, LonnAaIst EAST "000, MuciAEL McGeary, PHILLIP THORNE wire Guest ARTIsT-IN-RESIDENGEE Davip RUSSELL Coxcres: Davo Russie ‘Noi Sw Exsmwnon-Kiwierox Duo Scorisit Gurren: Duo ‘Ancosniye. Dus ‘cums Susi Srupext concent Bienes, a 6-007 6097 estival | ee er neof a live performance. But, says the logical mind, you cannot measure greatness by your own personal reaction, Unfortunately true; but it is no less difficult trying to measure it by anything else. If Segovia had played his guitar to an audience of Zulu tribesmen, it Is probable that most of them. unless they were very polite, would have walked out, Similarly, it is doubtful if | would be able to recognise the greatness of an African drummer able to beat 13 against 14 with perfect accuracy. Our cultural language is simply not the same. “The guitar is not the harpsichord. It is not the piano either, but something in the middle” Odair Assad lives in Brussels, where his wife, the guitarist and producer of the famous GHA records, Frangoise-Emanuelle Denis runs her business. I know that she was not pleased with my review of the record issued by her company. GHA, of the Duo playing concertos by Casteinuovo-Tedesco and Rodrigo, feeling that, although properly complimentary, it was too perfunctory and did not mention what a considerabie achievement it was for a small company such as hers to issue such an ambitious recording, | am sure she is right; many ‘things get left out when there is a need for short reviews, and I could have mentioned that a large orchestra and conductor were hired, at great expense, because Francoise-Emanuelle Denis had faith and moreover believed that this was a record that needed to be made. I salute her determination and only hope that the record is selling as well as it deserves to sell, Sérgio lives just outside Paris with his three children, one of whom, a 15-year-old girl, is a clever composer able to handle complex harmony which she has heard in her mind and worked out for herself. Now, says Sérgio, she is studying harmony formally ~ ‘in order to learn what she already knows!’ For Sérgio, his family always comes first. Children mature all too quickly, and a parent should be there as much as possible until they do. Despite the many demands on his time, Sérgio is writing a lot of guitar muste, including a work for two guitars. There are no prizes for guessing who will perform it. Odair confirmed his brother's industry. When | asked him who was currently writing music for the Duo to play, he replied ‘simply: ‘Sérgio’. A good answer, too. But he added that Roland Dyens had written a nice piece for two guitars, which he was looking forward to hearing, and would probably write another piece specifically for the Duo. “ Volume of sound is still the main problem for classical guitarists, and the Assad Duo are no exception. Modern techniques are excellent, the level of teaching is rising, and all that is needed is the volume to fill a large hall in order to give a worthwhile number of people the experience ~ and incidentally to make the occasion rather more profitable than is the general lot of guitarists. The colour, the dynamic range, the facility, all are wonderful: but what is the use if no one can hear it? Memories of trying to hear Segovia clearly from the back of the Royal Festival Hall remind me painfully that there is still no fireproof way of overcoming this difficulty. We pretended, out of loyalty and the awareness that we needed to get value for our money, that, though far, the guitar was clear, Unfortunately. it was not; much, if not most, of the colouring was lost. One bought a low-priced ticket for a Segovia concert not to listen to the music but (o be in the presence of a living legend. And because one was poor. One envied those who could afford ten pounds for a seat near the front. For me, that was nearly a week's pay. If It had not been for the radio and for gramophone records, I would not have known that Segovia was a great guitarist. ‘Odair believes that some sort of amplification is, desirable. He knows that it ean be very, very good nowadays, allowing you to hear nuances of the guitar that hitherto have been reserved for the first ten rows of an audience. He makes the strong proviso that fidelity must be total; it must reproduce all that the guitar is capable of. I do not see that there is any answer to that argument. If fidelity is absolute, than any objection can only be an aesthetic one. But aesthetics are-important to music lovers, and many cars will profess to find differences where there are, logically, none, An instinctual rejection of electronics really will not do for an argument in 1993. ‘That sald, it is clear that amplification has not yet reached the point of development where perfection can be taken for granted. Until it is, the problem for any self-respecting musician remains an insuperable one. But when it is ‘overcome, then there is no physical reason why the guitar should not have large audiences again. Unless, that is, we become so deeply in love with, our hi-fi and CD players and are so besotted with ‘our power to select and to control the volume and the treble and the bass, to say nothing of the balance obtained with our graphie equaliser, that we stop going to concerts altogether. There are signs that this is beginning to happen. Other and more optimistic people tell me that the audience for classical music concerts has grown by leaps and bounds in this century and, stimulated rather than depressed by the improvement in recording techniques, is still increasing. T would like to believe them. Writers, and J may have been one of them, are fond of saying that the Assad brothers playnaturally. There may be an unusual facility evident in their playing, but it should be remembered that they are musical athletes. Running is a natural activity, but anyone who wants to do it well must keep his or her muscles in training, Personally, I love the athleticism of the Assads, Few guitarists can match it, let alone surpsass it. Yet Sergio and Odair feel - and this comes as a bit of a surprise at first ~ that in a way they are only just beginning, Imagine how other duos must feel! To most of them, the Assads represent an ideal almost impossible to attain, Yet they still see themselves as having a long way to go. Repertoire is a factor in this thinking, and transcriptions and arrangements take up a considerable amount of space in the Duo's programmes. Purists may object, but when an arrangement works as well as does Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, then 1 am not going to offer any criticism, To their credit, the Duo do perform a lot of new works, and in such a way that th composers must be delighted. And somehow it doesn't sound like ‘modern’ music when Sérgio and Odair play it, perhaps because they are so good at bringing out the musical qualities Inherent in the work, rather than thinking all the time ‘Is this what the composer wants?’ It is what the audience wants, and you have only to be a part of that audience (o share something of the excitement, the quickening of the collective pulse the sense that here are two extraordinary musical talents. One of the things that make them extraordinary is what might be termed their ‘togetherness’, They have been playing together since early childhood, and that obviously helps. ‘The rest is just sheer hard work. In Krakow, the sound engineer of the Polish Broadcasting Company was amazed to find that when the brothers tuned up, their frequency waves on the oscillograph were virtually identical, within the finest of limits. This suggests not only the keenest of ears, but a rapport rather beyond that atiained by most other duos. Such an ability should not be underestimated: get your tuning exactly right, and you are half way towards seducing your audience, I have heard it argued that fine tuning is a waste of tme because the audience will not appreciate it anyway, but that’s a bit like saying that an egg needn't be completely fresh, because the people who are {going to eat it don't know how to lay one. Even an untrained ear responds to the perfect mathematical relationship between one pitch and another. It is an even more important factor in the guitar, where the smallness of volume tends to make one listen more intently. ‘This takes us into territory where there is a lot of argument. In a scale tuned to equal temperament, many of the intervals are not based on any natural vibration of a string, such as Pythagoras experimented with, and it must be RODRIGUEZ From one of Spain’s finest luthi Manuel Rodriguez guitars. A specifically selected range to cover the needs from the student to the most demanding professional guitarist. G Giemsa m0 € Gmc 8D Ri Pes ee For replacement strings for Manuel Rodriguez guitars 'WE RECOMMEND HANNABACHadmitted that it is our musical training which recognises what is ‘right’ and what, conversely must therefore be ‘wrong’. I will not go too far into this kind of discussion, but I do know that I get a sense of absolute ‘rightness’ when I hear the Assads play. It is Interesting to observe the way their music has developed. Their first record was of music by the contemporary Brazilian composer Marlos Nobre. His music was to appear in a later record for Nonesuch, re-released in 1993. In an interview, Marlos Nobre said to me: ‘I always remember what Sérgio Assad told me. He asked me to write for them, without thinking of any kind of limitation or restriction, technically or stylistically. He asked me to liberate my fmagination and to leave the solutions to the performers. I followed his advice exactly, because I think as he does. So I wrote the 3 Ciclos Nordestinos for two guitars, When we met at the 1 studio in Rio de Janeiro to record them, there were only two changes: an octave higher in one passage, and an open string was added (© a chord. That was all ‘L understood exactly what Sergio was talking about: the non-guitarist composer is normally afraid to write freely for the guitar, because he {5 hot a specialist. Thus it is possible that this negative feeling will have a negative influence in his mind and so put an end to his inspiration and imagination. At the same time. however, the The Sound of Spain Moreno Guitars offer the discerning player the very best in quality and workmanship, combined with a sound that can only come from Spain. Mace from fist natural tonewoods, each stage of construction is meticulously checked by hand to ensure an instrument that epeesents ‘outstanding value. Morea Guta ae pret Stentor MG Co Ltd Ser eet Rit fuer composer must liberate his ideas while respecting the limitations and possibilities of the guitar. But is this not always true for any other instrument? Gnattali and Piazzolla were other prominent names, to be joined by Brouwer, Pascoal and Ginastera. The music of Rodrigo, of course, as a. noted contributor to the guitar duo repertoire. was also recorded. Then Villa-Lobos, and Sérgio Assad himself in the role of a composer and a very good one). A record with two concertos followed (GHA, already referred to) and, more recently, a recording of baroque music by Rameau, Scarlatti, Couperin and Bach. Their Rameau when I heard it in Krakow was delicious. One realised that virtually the whole of the harpsichord repertoire can be opened up to this kind of treatment. Once more, I will stick my neck out and say that, good as it sounds on a harpsichord, to me st sounds even better on two guitars. In many ways the baroque repertoire has been done to death, but there is so much that is new here in terms of colour, fire and imagination that fone can only look forward to more from this source, But the Assad Duo's interest in contemporary music is also well developed, and they have a glowing reputation in that respect: look at the list of living and only recently dead ‘composers in their discography: they outnumber the long-dead by two to one. In every sense Sérgio and Odair Assad are a duo of our time, Discography: Marlos Nobre/Yanomani’, EMI 31 C 0634422921 (believed to be no longer available) ‘Sergio and Odair Assad’. GHA 5256001 LP, 1984: Gnattali, Piazzolla, Rodrigo. Re-issued as Cb, 1993, GHA 126.021 Latin American Music for Two Guitars. Nonesuch 7559-79116-2, 1985. Re-released 1993: Astor Piazzolla, Leo Brouwer. Hermeto Pascoal, Radamés Gnattali, Sérgio Assad, Alberto Ginastera. ‘Alma Brasileira’. Nonesuch 7559-79179-2. 1988. Re-released 1993: Villa-Lobos, Marlos Nobre, Egberto Gismonti, Radamés Gnattali, Sérgio Assad, Hermeto Pascoal, Wagner Tiso. Two Concertos for Two Guitars’. St Gallen symphony Orchestra, conductor John Neschling, HA 126.018. 1992. ‘Sérgio and Odair Assad play Rameau, Scarlatti, Couperin, Bach’, Nonesuch 7559-79292-2. 1993. vgablarkburn Gulter Stadio. ems ou our mania ses ou out Sb se Le ars ey ol te Sel lcoe CAE eee Se cro te an parr 6THE GUITAR IN IBEROAMERICA 7: ON THE TRAIL OF BARRIOS By RICO STOVER YM in Turrialba, Costa Rica. The name for this town reputedly comes from the term ‘torre alba’ (the tower of dawn) which the Spanish conquistadors named this valley upon witnessing the sun rising through the majestic towering mountains that dominate the landscape. Barrios played in Turrialba in 1938 in the old movie theatre that is now a restaurant. He was the guest of a Costa Rican ‘coffee baron’, Don Florentino Castro {who owned nearly all the land in and around Turrialba). Castro was a lover of music and of the guitar in particular. He Invited Mangoré and Gloria to spend a little time at his, cafetal (coffee plantation) just outside Turrialba, Well, they got there, and the days went by, and after a while Barrios begins to ask when they are going to go back to San José (via the train) sensing that it was time to leave. But Castro just kept putting him off, and soon it became apparent to Mangoré that he was in effect ‘kidnapped! by this powerful man; the imprisoned troubador of an egotistical king, He soon realised that he would have to act on his own to resolve the predicament. Attached to the coffee plantation was a small dairy. This I confirmed visiting the original site (which today is part of Turriatba’s ‘suburbs’) there was a dairy, and the only way in those days to get to the train station was a journey of over 10 kilometres. So Mangoré pay the milkman, who has an ox-drawn eart in which he delivers his product, to take him and Gloria to downtown, Turrialba ~ luggage, guitar and all. They arrive without incident and board the train to San José. ‘The following day an enraged Florentino Castro arrives in San José, brandishing a pistol. He angrily searches for Barrios. Fortunately he was unsuccessful in his search and in the interim his friends persuaded him to cool off and forget it. Otherwise Mangoré’s career might have ended prematurely (and the repertoire would be missing, among others, Una Limosna por el Amor de Dios. his last major piece, created in 1944). So much for tales of powerful men, minstrels and ‘music lovers The curious thing is that a certain family in ‘Turtialba is and has been known for many years by the name “Mangoré’. The patron of this family is a guitarist and stated that when he began playing guitar at an early age, an uncle of his, upon hearing him, said that from then on they would call him “Mangoré’ (because he was so ‘bad’; this was a little joke, since the term “Mangoré’ had acquired a meaning something like “the very best of guitar’ as demonstrated by 2 Barrios in full dress as Cacique Nusuga Mangoré He presented himselj n-th manner from 1020 tal 1934. This photo taker in Venezuela crea 1952, shows how he had acquired feathers, beads, te. over the years to "perfect the character Barrios in his Turialba concerts), Yes, one does see the effects of Barrios in Central America, and throughout the Americas. A profound influence. low-profile, incubating, waiting for its time which is now. Today Latin Americans are realising what a valuable legacy Barrios represents to their cultures. The Ill International Guitar Festival held in San José, Costa Rica, last October underscores this recognition: dedicated to Barrios, it consisted of guitarists from the Americas playing exclusively American music. Most of the artists featured in this festival see Barrios as the most important figure for Latin American guitar in the first half of the present century. But their agenda now gives emphasis to their own creations, arrangements and transcriptions - fascinating, varied, virtuosic and entertaining, Barrios would be proud. He was, after all, the first truly panamerican concert artist. Barrios’s compositions based on folkloric musical forms - the Chilean cueca, the Argentine zamba and pericén, the Uruguayan estilo, thechoro and maxixe from Brazil, the polca as well as aires populares from Paraguay and the Punto Guanacasteco from Costa Rica ~ are not folklore at all but rather ‘fusions’ of traditional, classic harmony using a particular dance or popular melody as a point of departure for creativity, Claiming that Barrios is ‘not truly folkloric’ is missing the point. Barrios worked his transformations on lo popular and it is Just this unique eclectic quality that gives his creations their great untversal value, In the Cuenca, Barrios takes the I-V chord progression associated with this dance, and passes it to 12th position, creating three simultaneous ideas in the harmonic/rhythmic pastiche: Buample 1: Cuca ms, 12 Here the rhythmic games of the cueca are played upon by Barrios, uniting all into one texture, singing in three different registers. But this is not a ‘literal’ cueca ~ it is Mangoré's improvisation, a transformation that retains a certain air of the Andean dance but also includes diverse harmonic ideas more typical of classical music, There are no rasgueos. There are glissandi so very typical of South American playing. There is modulation (from C to a minor to F major to C). There is an extended passage of, tambora as well as a scale passage marked accelerando, So the piece contains a mixture of elements from both South American music, the guitar and classical music. And for anyone but the fanatical purist, upon listening to the beautiful Cueca, the reaction will almost certainly be one of pleasure experiencing the unity of melody, rhythm and technique so unique to the music of Barrios Mangoré. ‘The maxixe (pronounced mah-shee-shay) is a Brazilian urban dance that developed in the last half of the 19th century. The maxixe was considered a vulgar dance by the likes of Ernesto Nazareth (1863-1934), no doubt because it included the umbiagada (where the dancers thrust their navels forward making physical contact before beginning the dance). He preferred to call it the ‘tango brasilero’. It features an ostinato bass rhythm of a dotted quaver with a semiquaver in 2/4 metre. Barrios uses this rhythmic motif in his Maxixe throughout, arriving at this remarkable passage: 24 Example 2: Maxtee, ms. 44-47 Cer lrr “The movement of the maxixe rhythm as seen in the bass voice enacts a jaunty modulation to various key centres: A'to E to C# to B to A. The last semiquaver accents the changing harmonic movement (which falls on the beat). So very appealing, and so ingenious! im 1933 Barrios lived in Costa Rica for nearly one year. In spite of being a difficult time for him both professionally and personally, he managed to create what I consider to be two major pleces: Julia Florida = barcarola and the Theme and Variations on the Punto Guanacasteco. The dance 1 Punto Guanacasteco is perhaps one of the most widely appreciated couple dances from Costa Rican folklore. Its origin dates back to the mid 19th century, and it is made up of two fand at times threc) principal sections: ample 3: Melodie agents of Puno Pie ey ae Bit LOAD. in Ds 099g Pperere 27 SDT hh Barrios develops these themes in a variety of ways, all strictly ‘classical’ in form and shape. ‘Today without exception this dance is played in a 3/4-6/8 metre; Barrios, however, chose the duple metre of 2/4 for his variations. Its 208 measures. explore four different key centres: from the tonic D major to the dominant (A major), passing to Eb major, returning to the tonic, followed by a contrasting variation in the parallel minor (d) finishing in D major. In Mangoré’s hands the Punto becomes much more than a simple ‘folkloric dance’. After announcing the two principal themes. Variation 1 proceeds: Bxample 4: Punto ms, 19-27In the last half of Variation 3, he modulates to A major and stays there halfway through Variation 4, at which point he jumps to Eb major: Bxample 5: Punto ms. 75-91 Variation 7 sees some fine writing in a style reminiscent of Sor: Example 7: Punto ms. 147-154 ee genes ‘The ending involves a pedal point on the first string in semiquavers with the theme being rearticulated by the thumb in the bass: Bxample 8: Punto ms. 183-194 ago TLD In Variation 6 the theme is cleverly articulated in natural harmonies: Beample 6: Purto ms. 121-130 wee 1 he i F. ro CONCERT DIARY 29 Saturday. JANUARY London’ SHIRL 2 Sunday Workers’ Gulld, 6 Queen Sq, WC1, 7.30 Baling: DOMINIQUE SOLLY and pm. info: 061 6244909) RICHARD SMERIN. Ealing Guitar Society, St Mathews Church Hall [North Common Rd, WS, 8 pm. 8 Sunday 162), Brentwood: CONCORDIA GUITAR The Westmoreland Hall, Ullswater ‘Comnity College, 7.20 pm, Y RUMSEY. Art Adios y hasta la proxima, (fo be continued) . 12 Saturday USA: MANUEL BARRUECO, Pensacola, Flori, Recital with harp 13 Sunday Brentwood: TOM KERSTENS, At the United Reformed Chueh, New Rd, 8 Bognor Regis: JOHN MILLS. West pin Essex Guitar Club, The Old School Bersted St, 7-30 pro. (Info: 0248 868 16 Tuesday Lanes: CRAIG OGDEN. Accrington Library, 12.45 pm, 16 Wednesday DUO. At the United Reformed Church, FEBRUARY Southend.on Sea: COOPER/KELLE. New Ra, 8 pm, A Tuesday HER DUO. Southend Civie Centre 11 Tuesday Worcs: CRAIG OGDEN and CLAIRE Vjetoria Ave, 1215-1 pm and 115-2 Manchester: CRAIG OGDEN and BRADSHAW. Ross Library. pm. info: 0702 385 436). CLAIRE BRADSHAW. Se James 2 Wednesday 17 Thursday’ Chur, Gatley, 7.30 pen (Oxfords RAY. BURLEY and BOCHMANN London: JOHN WILLIAMS, Wigmore 15 Saturday STRING QUARTET, Burfood School,” fatl'7-30 pm. tinfo: 071 985 21) Asheroft’ ELEFTHERIA KOTZIA and Leominster: “CRAIG” OGDEN. 1g Fiaay SEREMY WILLIAMS. Asherofe Arts Leominster Library. Sheek NEIL SMETH, Crucible Centre. into: 0528 238 16 2 Tereday 39 Saturday 16 Sunday Broadway: CRAIG OGDEN. Broadway Bromley: RAYMOND. BURLEY and Windsor! THE LYRIC TRIO. Windsor — Libray SACQUELINE FOX. St Mars Church, Classical Guttar Soeiey. 8 pm. Unto: 8 Saturday Spin nfo, 0680 858 665) 0753 869 122) 10 Wednesday Leeds: PAUL GALBRAITH. Institute Gallery. Civie Theatre, 7.30 pm. 21 Friday London? JOSE MIGUEL MORENO. Wigmore Hall. 730 pm. Ufo: 071 935 City. Concerto 6 Sunday. USA: MANUEL BARRUECO. Oldahoma Baling: STEPHEN YATES, SCARLET and LACE, ROGER NICOLSON and ‘TOM ELLIOTT, Ealing Guitar Society, ‘St Mathews Church, North Common Rd, 8pm. (nfo: 081 887 S061) London: JOHN WILLIAMS, Wigmore all, 7-30 pm. (info: 071 935 2141), 22 Tuesday Portugal: MANUEL BARRUECO. Oporto. Rectal 23 Wednesday London: JOHN WILLIAMS, Wigmore 214i) Hall, 7:30 pm. (info: 071 935 2141), 22 Saturday Portugal: MANUEL BARRUBCO. Petersfield: CARLOS BONELL. [Diary entries ae free. but we do ask] Oporto. Class. Petersfield Festival Tal, 90 Tigh St, | fat hate them ireerebiy 7.30 pm. (nfo: 264 244), Cara: NEIL SMITH, St Davids Hall 24'Monday London: BRIDGET UPSON. Penrith Music Chub, Golden Jubilee Season st February. Barcelona, Recital and Class, Manchester: CRAIG OGDEN, St Anne's Chureh, St Anne's Sq. 1.10 pm (ree admission} 25SEGOVIA - A CENTENARY CELEBRATION By GRAHAM WADE Part XII - The Golden Jubilee and Onwards AS we have seen, 1959 witnessed the celebration of Segovia’s Golden Jubilee Anniversary of 50 years of recitals since his debut at the Centro Artistico, Granada, in 1909, Segovia was 66 years old in 1959 and at the time it must have scemed that his career was now entering its autumnal and Anal phase. a rich Indian summer but with limited horizons for the future. But, as we now know, there were over 30 years of concerts left to come, and for Segovia himself there would be a new lease of life, a great increase in his international fame, and various summits to be conquered. In retrospect 1959 can be seen as a significant watershed both in any study of Segovia's artistic career and also in the development of 20th century guitar history. Julian Bream signed for RCA, in 1959, a recording contract destined to change every aspect of our perception of the guitar's role in contemporary music, Also John Williams was now launching out into his recitalist’s career following his Wigmore Hall triumph in November 1958, and his debut recordings were of course issued in Segovia’s Golden Jubilee year, Thus several potentially great players seemed at last poised to be able to take over the suecession from the generation of 1893 in due course, In the meantime Segovia continued to present a formidable challenge with a monumental recording in three volumes, SEGOVIA GOLDEN JUBILEE on Brunswick, one of the finest guitar recordings ever issued and a landmark in guitar history in various ways. The contents of the three volumes were as follows: SEGOVIA GOLDEN JUBILEE Volume 1 Brunswick AXTL 1088, Side I Concierto det Sur: Manuel Ponce with The Symphony of the Air, Conductor: Enrique Jorda, [Allegretto 11 Andante Il Allegro moderato ¢ festivo. Side 2 Fantasia Para un Gentithombre: Joaquin Rodrigo with, ‘The Symphony of the At, Conductor: Enrique Jorda, Villano ~ Ricercare ~ La Espafoleta ~ Toques de ta Cabalteria de Napoles ~ Panzas de las Hachas ~ Canario, Volume 2 Brunswick AXTL 1089. Side 1 Prelude: S. L. Welss ~ M. Ponce with Rafael Puyana, harpsichord. Pieces caracteristiques: F, Moreno Torroba. (Preambulo, Oliveras, Cancion, Albada, Los Mayos, Panorama), Aniafo: O. Espla. Allegro in A: M, Ponce, Side 2 The Old Castle: M. Mussorgsky (from Pictures at an Exhibition). 26 Segovia: A, Roussel. ‘Studly: A. Segovia. ‘Three Pieces: A. Tansman, (Canzonetta, Alta Polacca. Berceuse d’Orient) Tonadilla: E. Granados, arr. M. Llobet. Volume 3 Brunswick AXTL 1090, Side 1 Prelude and Allegro: S. de Murcia. ‘Study No. 1 in C: F, Sor, Studly No. 9 in. minor: F. Sor, Sonata ‘Homage to Boccherini’: M. Castelnuovo- Tedesco, Fandango: J. Rodrigo. Side 2 Passacagtia: L. Roncalli. Gigua: L. Roneall Gavotta: L. Roncaili. ‘Study No. 20 in C major: F. Sor. ‘Two Minucts: F. Sor. Spanish Dance No. 10 in G: B. Granados. As this was in every way an American production, there was the inevitable time-lag before Segovia’s new recordings were either received or assimilated in Europe. The Gramophone first responded as late as July 1960, with a review of Volume 1 In 1909 Segovia gave, in Granada, his first concert: in 1960 comes now Vol. 1 of the gramophonic celebration of his Golden Jubilee. It {s an outstanding production alike for the pleasure of the occasion, for the interest of the music, and for the superb quality of both playing and recording Seeking something special with which to commemorate this Golden Jubilee, Brunswick could surely have chosen nothing better than this pairing of two works both new to the catalogue, and both abundantly worthwhile. By way of bonus @ final band acknowledges further the historical nature of the occasion: in a few words of English Segovia ensures for posterity the preservation of his voice along with his superlative playing. (The Gramophone, July 1960, page 72). In the somewhat less frenetic world of 1960 (compared with 1993), a critic could still talk {and be taken more or less seriously) along the lines of ‘ensuring for posterity’, portentously aware of history at his elbow. Paradoxically enough ‘posterity’ since 1960 has not been particularly solicitous of The Golden Jubilee albums as a momentous statement of Segovia's achievement. Individual items were gathered from the album in various compilations here and there over the years and the two concertos recently found a suitable home on The Segovia Collection Vol. 2, MCAD 42067 (coupled withTorroba’s Castles of Spain recorded in Spain in December 1969). The recordings in their entirety were never however re-issued, and the Golden Jubilee albums remain collectors’ items. In October 1960 the second volume was reviewed by the same critic, MM, in The Gramophone with a pleasing final paragraph: What does show all the music at its best, throughout the disc, is a standard of performance in which artistry declares itself uncompromisingly in every bar. It 's combined too, with a similarly impeccable standard of recording; in these two important respects the extremely high standard of this Jubilee celebration is well maintained. (op. cit, October, 1960, page 219) ‘The Gramophone completed the last of the trilogy in November, 1960, accepting on board two ‘new composers to the current catalogues’ Santiago de Murcia and Ludovico Roncalli. The somewhat revolutionary Fandango by Rodrigo attracts the epithets ‘short’ and ‘modern’, and there is a small moment of ritual enthusiasm over Castelnuovo-Tedesco's Sonata, ‘which deploys in its four movements different aspects of a general affection for this style rather than the {diom of Boccherini's music A more elevated level of celebration and enthusiasm was given to the new recordings by John Duarte in an article entitled Golden Jubilee, which appeared in BMG in June 1960, with a photograph of Segovia on the front of the magazine: More than a year ago the American Dece Record Co. paid to Andrés Segovia (this month cover) a tribute extremely rare, if not unique. They marked the 50th anniversary of his first public concert with a commemorative album (DX.J.148) This album. beautifully decorated and embossed. contained a booklet with article and photographs - and three 12in. LP records. Of the latter, two were Of solo items and the third with orchestra. This last the English Decea Co, has now released. Before saying another word about the record itself wil say, emphatically, that the guitar lover who has a gramophone bul who fails to buy this record should never raise his voice in complaint This ts surely a ‘desert island’ record of the highest order. Volume 3 was reviewed in BMG, December 1960, by John Duarte and this included an Interesting account of Rodrigo's Fandango: ‘The remaining work is the Fandango of Rodrigo, played by Segovia during his visits to this country in 1958 andl 1959. It has with tts curious blend of pomposity and aggressive dissonance. a very individual character. The maestro plays tt with autocratic authority and nothing less will do for this work — this is no plaything for the little man. In accepting the magnificent ‘one, power, clarity, and perfection of Segovia’s playing in this work (as tn practically everything else) as his norm, we should never forget to acknowledge the miracle. Segovia had started off 1960 in his customary way, completing a series of 41 recitals in the United States between 4 January and 29 April Guitar News (July/August 1960} received reviews. of the concert at Orchestra Hall, Chicago on 13 March, where ‘the Bach Chaconne was the crowning glory of a wonderful Segovia recital’ ‘The encores included Introduction and Allegro (Sor), Study in A (Alard/Tarrega), Etude No. 1 (Villa-Lobos) and Fandanguillos by both Torroba and Turina. ‘Segovia visited the Royal Festival Hall, London, ‘on 13 October 1960, to perform with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. It was intended at the time to play Tansman's Guitar Concerto but as the work was apparently not completed in time, Segovia performed Rodrigo's Fantasia para un Gentilhombre, with Hugo Rignold conducting. Segovia played the same work the following day at the Swansea Festival in the Brangwyn Hall, with the London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Enrique Jorda. Solos were also performed including Suite in D minor (De Visée), Gavotte (Bach), Allegretto (Sor) and Torre Bermeja (albeniz). Segovia then travelled to Stockholm and Hamburg and from there to Malta, where he gave his first recital on the island since 1927 at the De Porres Hall, Sliema, on 19 October. commemorating the 25th Anniversary of Rediffusion in Malta. According to Guitar News (Jan/Feb 1961). Segovia was accompanied on the trip by “his niece, Sria. Corrat’ ‘The critic Rasgueado of The Times of Malta reviewed the first concert: The programme, judiciously planned, provided an interesting cross-section of guitar music. In the midst of such richness and perfection itis aifficult and invidious to single out any one item. The Allegro in D by Sor, the Sonata in A flat by Scarlatti, the Fugue by Bach, Canzonetta by Mendelssohn, and the glorious Sevilla by Albéniz were perhaps primi inter pares. A further programme on Friday 21 October included works by Galileo, Sor, Torroba (Sonatina), Frescobaldi, Bach, Mendelssohn (Two Romanzas}, Tarrega. Crespo, C. Pedrell and Albéniz (Granada and Leyenda). Sor’s Op. 9 Variations were ineluded in the three encores. A reception was given for Segovia on 21 October at the Rediffusion Anniversary Reception. Chevalier Vasallo, who was Segovia’s host during the trip. is quoted in Guitar News: It was most delightful to be with Segovia again and I must say that he captivated the hearts of all who came into contact with his genial personality. His wide culture, his humour and wealth of opposite illustration were most refreshing. We really missed Sr. Segovia and his niece when they left. . . Music lovers in Malta were enthralled by fils art and they tong to hear him again. Also in 1960 Segovia gave a recital in Vienna, his first trip there since before the war. In The Guitar Review No. 25, alter a long delay, Segovia's reminiscences were resumed, and he gave an account of his youthful days in Madrid, (To be continued) 1ANTHONY BURGESS (1917-1993) ANTHONY Burgess, who died in November at the age of 76, achieved fame as a writer — he was a great novelist, despite never being quite accepted as such in his native England, and Barthly Powers is surely one of the most brilliant post-Joycean novels to be written ~ but felt himself to be a musician above all else. In his early days, while studying classical composition, he was a good Jazz pianist. Had he not achieved success as a novelist, he would without doubt have made a name for himself as a composer. It {s Interesting that his literary hero, James Joye, was also a musician of professional quality - Joyce's fine tenor voice brought him second prize in a competition won by the brilliant John MeCormack. ‘Anthony Burgess composed several works for the guitar or a combination of guitars, particularly for the Aighetta Guitar Quartet, whose leader Philippe Loli taught guitar to Burgess’s son. The Aighetta recorded the second quartet on CD (REM 3111 XCD). The first guitar quartet, written in 1986, was dedicated to the memory of Maurice Ravel, though Burgess admitted that it was closer to Poulenc than to the *half-Basque master’, Ravel. With a writer's fluency, he pointed out the connection with Milhaud’s polytonality, but stressed the work's very British’ character, particularly in the slow movement, which is a passacaglia inspired by Henry Purcell. Nevertheless, the intimate beauty of the guitar ultimately-eluded him,-as he once admitted in a letter, though he did not dismiss the possibility that one day he would write something that was truly worthy of the instrument. His guitar music is determinedly modern, never atonal, full of ideas (he was incapable of being dull in anything he wrote), and worth anyone's attention. In one extraordinary book he managed to marry the two main interests of his life, uniting musie and literature in one daring experiment Napoleon Symphony, in which he attempts to give a literary work the form of an orchestral symphony. Another book, so original and daring that it required the invention of a new (yet comprehensible, language, achieved as much notoriety as fame, many people reading into A 28 ‘Anthony Burgess with the Aighetia Quartet. Clockwork Orange's bleak message the author's own philosophy. Nothing could have been further from the truth, In the early days of Classical Guitar magazine, knowing that he had written for the guitar, 1 wrote to him and asked for information. The answer was a beautifully written, perfectly presented (he was fiercely professional in everything he did) article about the guitar. Nothing about his own work in it, but eminently printable. I felt honoured and very fortunate to have it - work of that quality rarely comes an editor's way in the guitar world - but slightly apprehensive of what he might say when I told him that we could not afford to pay him anything, He took that with good grace and the utmost courtesy. Later | was able to send him some small cigars I had brought back from Havana, and, knowing his fondness for them, 1 can only hope he found them at least an acceptable token. However, he never wrote anything more for us, and I can't blame him for it, ‘Writing’, he once said in a letter, ‘is for making money’. Having, presumably, made enough, he was able to devote more time to musie composition in his later years. It would be supreme irony if, at some time in the future, he were to be remembered less for his celebrated novels than for three symphonies, a flute concerto, a violin concerto (dedicated to Yehudi Menuhin), an opera to celebrate the centenary of James Joyce, Blooms of Dublin, two guitar quartets and various other instrumental, vocal and orchestral works. In a world where lesser writers (sometimes lesser musicians too) are showered with honours and awards, one can only regret that so little of that came the way of Burgess. No doubt it never bothered him, as it never bothers any true artist immersed in the difficult act of creation. Anthony Burgess was a polymath, and it sometimes made people feel uneasy about him and his work. T personally revelled in it; the vital force of his creativity has been a constant inspiration, and I feel his loss more deeply than I would ever have imagined. Colin CooperTHE PATRIARCH OF RUSSIAN GUITARISTS - ANDREI OSIPOVICH SYCHRA By MATANYA OPHEE Part 2 FROM our point of view, any realistic appraisal of Sychra's music would require a detailed analysis of his entire output. With some 1000 com- positions to his name, the thematic catalogue alone would be a substantial tome. We can take a brief look, however, by examining a represen- tative example of his work in the field of Russian folk-song, and also a somewhat more detailed scrutiny of his Magnum Opus, the Four Concert Etudes. The influences of folk music on the develop ment of art music, is, of course, a part of the tradition of many nations, In Russia, however folk music became the subject of a most fantastic infatuation of the people with thelr own music, perhaps one of the most remarkable attributes of the Russian soul. Russian composers, from Ivan Khandoshkin and Evstignei Fomin in the 18th century, up (o and including Russian composers active during the Soviet era and even today, have capitalised on the richness and emotional intensity of Russian folk music, The early 19th century saw the emergence of a national consciousness. Russian artists began to seek their own roots and to look forward for a national identity based on their own heritage. Western influences were still strong, but the movement inward became a focal point of cultural life. The folk song arrangements of Andrei Sychra became thus an integral part of guitar tradition in Russia, and their popularity has not abated to our day. According to ethnomusicologists; . Most characteristic formal structures of (Russian) folk songs are based upon either recurrences of a popevka, [melodic kernel], its shifting, variation and rotation or upon interweaving, combining and juxtaposition of several melodie popevki. In Russia, such procedures could also be detected in 19th century ‘art’ music, particularly in works by Musorgsky and to some extent in works by Borodin and Rimsky-Korsakov. As an alternative to a ‘Western’ type of motivic development, these composers advanced repetitions and recurrences of musical blocks: combined with rotation, juxtaposition and accumulation of the blocks as means of structuring the musical whole . . . 2° I do not mean to suggest that Musorgsky, Borodin and Rimsky-Korsakov were influenced by Sychra. It is known that our guitarist was a close friend of Glinka and Dargomyzhsky and, through his friend and student Vasilit Sarenko, 2 must have known other leading Russian composers of the time”! Like his main-line contemporaries, Sychra capitalised on the ‘ichness and emotional intensity of Russian folle music and its particular structural elements, Variations on the Russian Song: ‘Not A Single Path in the Field” ‘This arrangement is, perhaps, one of the most genuine representations of Russian folk music from the pen of Sychra, The piece is taken from the Gutheil reprint of the original publication, published ca. 1880%, The tune was used by Aleksandr Borodin in his musical picture In Central Asia. In playing it, one must remember that as a rendition of a folk song, a true performance of this piece requires phrasing which corresponds to the specific lyries of the song, Since these lyrics are not provided here, and the conventions of phrasing are not known, to most Western guitarists, I have added a few phrasing marks in the first stanza (the theme) in order to show the asymmetric structure of the song. In gencral, both the time signature and the bar lines are notational conventions which ean be safely ignored in. performance. Phrases are long ‘and cover more than one bar. There is never a strong beat at the beginning of a bar. This, phrasing convention can be followed in the variations. A certain fluidity, however, and even freedom from the metric sense of the piece as, implied by its Western notation, will be very ‘much in style. ‘The Four Concert Etudes ‘The original title of the work was, in translation, Practical Rules Consisting of Four Exercises. 1 do not know what precisely the composer had in mind by using this curious title. It seems to me that the title was a major hindrance in the acceptance of this music as serious concert level material. Hence, when it was recently published? I decided to relabel it according to its true nature as Concert Etudes. ‘This work is listed in the Stellovsky and the subsequent Gutheil catalogues as No. 2 in the works of Sychra, immediately following the guitar method (published c. 1840). It was in fact published by the St Petersburg publisher Paez. in 1817, well before the method and does not seem to have any connection with It, It certainly was not published, or intended to be used as a supplement to the method.® The title page reads as follows:Prakticheskie Pravila/igrat’ na/Gitare,/ Sostaiashchia v chetyriokh eksertsitstiakh/ Sochinenle/A.O. Sikhry/ Regles Pratiques/pour la/Guitare/en quatre Exercices/ par/A.J. Sychra./v St. Peterburge u Petz It was written specifically for Semion Aksionov, who was already well known as a composer and performer. The edition carries this dedication to Aksionov: Beloved Friendl I had the pleasure of being your guide in music. Your gifts have been crowned with the best success and as requitals for my efforts you have loved me. This dedication of the Exercises to you will indeed serve as a proof that Sychra finds his fame in the talents of Aksionov, and honour in his friendship. With eternal admiration and love I am yours. Andrei Sychra, The dedication is dated July Ist, 1817 Petrograd. Apparently, the edition itself was prompted by Akslonov's own admiration of his teacher. He took upon himself all costs and efforts in having it published and promoted. On the eve of its publication, Aksionov published the following deseription of it Mr Sychra, so well-known by lovers of guitar music by his talent, his art and by his practical and detailed knowledge of this instrument, presently composed for it four large seale exercises in the keys of C, G, and D Major and b minor. With these compositions, the Russian seven-string guitar can boldly be proud in front of all etudes, exercises and methods published for the guitar heretofore known in the world, Mr Sychra’s exercises see the light under the title: Practical Rules for playing on the guitar, consisting of four large exercises’ and constituting not a small edition, These rules are recommended to all connoisseurs and amateurs and all those who learn the guitar. Only long, experience and activity can produce such rare compositions, even more worthy of attention and esteem because they were made for s0 new an instrument. In Mr Sychra’s four exercises one finds the same pleasantness, the same beauty and the same art of music for which other musical instruments, already developed for a long time, are famous: [with these exercises] the guitar has reached the same level as theirs. Combining harmony and melody in these exercises and artful progressions from one key to the other constitute for the ear a beautiful chain of musical modulations, always well thought-out and crafted. All passage work An these exercises, as in classical compositions, is marked with numbers which show frets and Angers. It is necessary to add that it [this music] is quite applicable and useful also for the six- string and five-string guitars. I can botdly call these compositions a musical foundation. in which all can find gain. This is the key to the mystery of playing skiifully on this pleasant instrument .. 2” ‘The Four Concert Etudes are large concert pieces on a scale never before seen in guitar music of the early 19th century, embodying a musical inventiveness far ahead of its ume. It seems to me that Volman ignored these original works as concert material, for the same reason as they have been ignored by Russian concert guitarists to our day, i.e. their title, Practical Rules Consisting of Four Exercises. The arbitrary listing in the Stellovsky catalogue, which implies a continuation or supplement of the method, also placed an undue emphasis on the didactical aspects of these works to the detriment of their value as original concert compositions. Volman's opinion of the didactical worth of these etudes contains a patronising characterisation of them as ‘ragged’ or ‘kaleidoscopic’. The very ‘ragged- ness’ of this music can be seen as one of the earliest employments by a composer of the natural attributes of Russian folk musie, an area in which Sychra played an important role. Russian folk melodies do not have the same characteristics as those we are accustomed to hear in early 19th century. Etude II from this work was included by Valerian Rusanov in the second part of his guitar method.2® dole oa te ‘Syctra, Brude It In the accompanying text Rusanov says: ... 1 bring here the testimonial of P. 1 ‘Tehaikovsky, which I personally heard him say. Drawing my attention to the second part he said: ‘If only this was not borrowed by him [Sychral from somebody else, its an affirmative proof of his genius’ ‘Tehaikovsky's assessment of Sychra’s genius is not surprising. The music In question is reminiscent of Tchaikovsky's own melodies, as, for example, in the famous so-called “Theme of Love, in his opera Queen of Spades. molto espress. Tehatkousky, Queen of Spades, Introduction. Sychra’s harmonisation of the melody also must have captured Tchaikovsky's attention, as it daringly unfolds in a progression not typical of the musie of its time, Rusanov is not specific about the circumstances of his conversation with Tchaikovsky. It could have taken placesometimes in the later years of the composer's life, possibly before the creation of Queen of Spades. Rusanov was 27 years old when Tehaikovsky died in 1893. In trying to understand the title of the collection, one might wish to define the particular rules contained in it. The composer himself refrained from doing so and did not assign a didactical purpose to specific passages within the body of these works, restricting his verbal thesis to simple description of the notation and fingering. One is tempted to speculate that in his Judgement it was not necessary to add any verbal descriptions of the various technical clements included in these exercises: the extremely detailed fingering notation provided ample explication of the didactical idea. A close analysis of the fingering reveals one cardinal feature of ‘this music: a smooth legato that ereates a perfect ‘emulation of the fluid soundscape of the harp. One can point out several elements of guitar technique that were innovative not only for their time, but for ensuing generations of guitarists as well: 1 The four-finger cross-string trill. Cross-string {tills using two fingers were explained in many Western guitar methods even prior to 1817, but I am not aware of any that advocated the use of the thumb and three fingers of the right hand before Sychra. In later years, Nikolai Petrovich Makarov elaimed to have invented himself the four-finger cross-string.trill.° Makarov knew Sychra personally, and there is, no reason to believe that he was not familiar with the Four Concert Etudes and their technical munificience. 2 Extensive use of left-hand slurs in seale runs and passage work. 3 Careful attention to right-hand fingering. While it is common to sce right-hand fingering notation in many guitar methods, most guitar music of the time does not address this issue.%! 4 Single-string glissandi, mainly on the treble strings, sometimes across large distances along the finger-board. 5 Complex ornamentation, often written out in full 6 Campanela figurations, which, although used by Western guitarists a few times before 1817, have rarely received the degree of inventiveness. ‘manifested in this work. In other words, the Practical Rules embodied in these Four Concert Etudes are not any verbal dicta on how to play the guitar, but rather: a) an exploration of the complete range of guitar technique known to Sychra, already fully developed within the first two decades of the introduction of the guitar in Russia b)A comprehensive examination of tone colours available on the instrument and, in particular, its ability to correctly reproduce the fluid legato of the harp. ©) A presentation of a compositional talent far ahead of its time in its melodic inventiveness and harmonic language. Our knowledge of the history of the guitar in Russia and our familiarity with the unique repertoire which developed there have been sadly superficial until quite recently. We cannot imagine today World literature without Pushkin, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Gogol, Chekhov and Pasternak. We cannot imagine theatre today without Stanislavsky and ballet without Nijinsky. Nor ean we imagine art today without Chagall and Kandinsky. We certainly cannot Imagine music today without Glinka, Musorgsky, Rimsky- Korsakov, Tchaikovsky, Rakhmaninov, Skriabin Stravinsky, Prokofiev and Shostakovich. It is time Western guitarists took a close look at one of the richest sources of repertoire for the guitar, that of Russia. Once we find out about it, we wonder how it was possible for this tremendous culture to remain almost untouched by us. Once we know about it, itis difficult to imagine guitaristic culture without Russian guitar music. The culture that gave us the great symphonic and operatic masters of the 19th century is certainly capable of enriching the repertoire of the guitar today. 20 Margarita Mazo, ‘Stravinsky's Les Noces And Russian Village Wedding Ritual,” Journal of the American Musicological Society, Vol. XLVIIl, No. 1, 1990; pp. 99: 142. 21 See: Matanya Ophee, The Russian Collection, Vol. | Introduction 22 Andrei Sychra, Russkala pesnia ¢ variatsiami, Ne Odna vo Pole Dorozhenka Prolegala, [Russian song with variations, Not A single Path in the Field). No. 40 in the Stellovsky catalogue. Pl. Nr. K2029 G. Copy in my collect 28 Andrei Sychra, Four Concert Btudes, The Russian Collection, Vol. il, Editions Orphée, Columbus, 1992, PWYS-13, 24 Copy of the first edition is in the Museum of Musical Culture named for Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka in Moscow, Fond Mashkevic 25The edition numbers assigned by Stellovsky to the ‘work of composers he represented, among them the guitarists Sychra, Vyssotsky, Aksionov, Morkov. Sarenko and others, were entirely arbitrary. 26The date line Petrograd ts a peculiarity that was repeated several times in guitar editions by Paez. As is ‘well known, the city of St Petersburg officially acquired ‘the name Petrograd only in 1914. 27 Moskovskte Vedomosit, 1817, No. 21, supplement. Quoted by Volman, Gttara v Rossi, pp. 86-87. 28 The first part of Rusanov’s method was published in 1906 by Alexei Afromeev in Tiumen. The second part, although advertised by Affomeev, was not published. was later completed and edited by Vladimir Mashkevich (1888-1971). His 500 page typescript of this volume isin the Glinka Museum in Moscow. 29Sce: P.I. Tchaikovsky. Ptkovaia Dama (Queen of Spades), Introduction, molto espressivo, measure 83-34 80 Sce: Matanya Ophee, ‘The Gultarist’s Album’ notes to Makarov's Vartations on the Carnwal of Venice, ‘Sounathoard, IX/3, Fall 1982, p. 288. ‘81 One right-hand pattern in this muse, Etude ll, p. 17 measure 41, is almost identical to the pattern found in the first Etude of Villa-Lobos. The harmonic progression in which it Is found is also highly ‘eminiscent of Villa-Labos's use of i 35Variations on the Russian sng ‘Not A Single Path In The Field ‘Adapted for G-string guitar Cad Andrei Sychra (1773-1850) by Matanya Ophee 7 a 'P pee Of F Copyright © 1993 Eéitions Orphe, In, Columbus, OH, 48215 es Peete5 itm Ais mn adn Gi 6 = oye a r ae "hE ait ic La OST mF t 38 Relembrando . . . Marlos Nobre’s piece, published in our Novem: ber 1993 issue, unfortunately contained a number of errors, for which we apologise. ‘Some of them - such as the F natural in the second bar, second page ~ will be obvious in a play-through: others perhaps not quite $0 obvious. We have prepared a corrected version, and if any guitarist who is thinking of playing this plece, with its beautiful and subtle harmony, ‘would like to send us a self-addressed envelope (stamped if you live in Britain), we would be happy to send a photocopy without charge. gee SCORE 8 =~ Wocurey hold noo he the \ Sous tenets ot soncat classical \ Sn area Pacer guitar} Sivamdge ist te, centre J Psreuton Pip tote amundo, Rodaguez, Asturias, dor Aambra an & M fan exollent selection of Itd ‘over 800 CO's, Cassettes ana LPs, a reaseteephone or send sriNcAM SAE or deta ‘514 St Mary's Road, Bearwood, West Mislands B67 SDH. Tel (02) 429 786, 200.FUNDAMENTAL PERSPECTIVES 5: RHYTHMIC RELATIVITY By JIM FERGUSON ONE of the most effective steps you can take toward improving your musicianship ~ and, consequently, your guitar playing - is to refine your rhythmic skills. It's very common for a Tookie to be introduced to new rhythms only as hhe or she Iearns new pieces, The result of this catch-as-eatch-can method is that rhythmic patterns encountered in the context of an isolated work must be virtually relearned every Uume they appear elsewhere, It should also be mentioned that what is seen, on a printed score is often overridden by the powerful impression left by having listened to a recording. To avoid this particular pitfall remember that a recording either may not be ant accurate representation of the score, or it may reflect a loose interpretation that purposefully deviates from the music. In either case, using recordings as primary source material is not the best idea. So how do you refine your rhythmic skills? Start by acquiring a good book on the fundamentals of metre and rhythm. While these interrelated areas are too vast to cover in great etail here, the following will give you an Initial direetion. ‘To play a piece of music, you need to be able to identify the beats within each measure, whieh can tell you many things, including where the metrical accents fall. This brings up the subject of metre. a kind of mould into which rhythms are poured. Basically. there are two kinds of metre: simple, where cach beat is divisable by two, and compound, where the beat is divisible by three. In simple metre, the upper number clearly indicates how the beats are grouped per measure (usually in a duple triple, or quadruple configuration). Compound metre also usually reflects these same groups, but its time signature Is less clear since its most common upper numbers are six, nine and twelve, So to determine whether a compound time signature Is duple, triple or quadruple in nature, you need to divide the upper number by three. Example 1 compares a simple metre to its compound counterpart. If these differences are new to you, resolve to increase your under- standing through further study. Another good step to {ake is to master all of the common rhythmic patterns in both simple and compound metres. If you approach this systematically, you'll discover that these are limited in number and actually ean be learned quickly. For instance, in a simple metre where the bottom number is four, there are only six 48 possible figures if the beat division is limited to the sixteenth note). These common patterns are shown in example 2, Master them separately, and they will never again present a problem. Of course, the process doesn't stop here. The next step might be to include eighth and sixteenth rests, which should at first be added one at a time: example 3, three one-beat figures in which an eighth rest is moved to every possible location, gels you started Once you begin an organised study of rhythm, you'll begin to notice many useful connections, Such as the one illustrated in example 4 where the figures are relatively the same (assume a simple metre with a bottom number of four), except the first 1s in a one-beat context, while the second encompasses two beats. Understanding this similarly and being able to perform each, pattern equally well can be extremely helpful in playing music in which the beat is divided into exceptionally small parts. For instance, if you see something Ike example 5, try mentally converting it to what's shown in example 6 (you would ultimately perform the piece according to the original time signature) Here are a few other suggestions: "Practice rhythms away from your instrument. Be aware that counting systems (ways of applying syllables to the beats and their divisions) are not standardised, “Practice all rhythms at a variety of tempos. *Always use a metronome when you practice. ‘Before you actually play a piece of music, count it out, reducing it to its rhythmic essence. In other words, when you see something like example 7, imagine what's in example 8. “Be able to play a piece strictly in time before you begin to artistically interpret it. We'll continue along the same lines next month, when we look at some connections between rhythm and technique,