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    Gustavo Adolfo Niño Castro
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    225 views13 pages

    Manuel Ponce - Sonata Mexicana PDF

    Uploaded by

    Gustavo Adolfo Niño Castro

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
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    of 13
    my er er ee Se Sonata | Written by the middle of 1923, at a request of Andrés Segovia, this work marks the begining of the production, during this century, of guitar sonatas. In it, Ponce employs in his four movements a style close to impressionism. This is not strange since Ponce already knew Debussy’s music, as proved by his Scherzino written for piano in 1912 within the Debussy style and dedicated to him. And even his piano pupils, Carlos Chavez among then, played a complete recital in June of that year with works of the French composer. The uuly surviving manuscript of this first guitar sonata was copied by Segovia himsell iu blue ink aud beats his own fingering for the left hand. Ponce’s original manuscript was destroyed in Barcelona in 1936 during che Civil Spanish War. The sonata begins with an Allegro moderato, written in A major and in 2/4, with the indication of humoristico under the first bar and instead of beginning on the A major chord, begins with a minor seventh constructed on B. Ponce uses his musical dexterity for not arriving at the A major chord until bar 131, twelve measures before the ending of this first movement that lus a subtle aud delicivus twul vagueness that will prevail during the whole work. The first dieie is based una very simple wou in eighth notes, that appears during the first two measues which is quite similar to the theme of the villancico from Guanajuato Salve, nifiy hermoso. In the second theme Ponce employs a hemiola resulting in a syncopation before tle strong beat and the development is based, entirely on the first theme, being rather short and reminding us of the developments written by Debussy in his last sonatas. In the re-exposition, that follows the procedures of the sonata form, I have omitted the harmonics used by Segovia in his manuscript for the second theme, considering that they do not agree 19| gundo tema, por considerar que no van de acuerdo con el carter del mismo, suposiciSn que me fue confirmada recientemente al oft la grabacién de esta obra hecha por Segovia en Ma- drid en julio de 1962, yen la cual 6L mismo no los toca; tampoco aparecen en el manuscrito los rasgueados yue afiade en la grabacién. En el segundo movimiento, Andantino affetauoso, escrito en Re mayor y en 3/8, otra inno- avin eu a iveracura guitarrstica, aparece un acorde equivacadn en el primer tiempo del se- gundo compés, segtin la edicién publicada en 1967 por Peer International Corporation, edita- da por Carlos Véeques y revisada ydigtada por Manuel Lopez Ramos. Después de haber plat cado con él, y de que me asegurara que é1 no habfa hecho camiblos para la edicién y respetando incluso, dentro de lo posible, la digitaci6n de Segovia, legué ala conclusion de que esto se de- bis, probablemente, a un error del copista, ya que en el manuscrito aparecen dos sostenidos juntos, para el Fa yel La, mismos que el copista debe haber subido por error al Lay el Si, resul- tando un interesante acorde basado en la escala por tonos, pero que no corresponde a lo escri- topor Ponce. En su grabacién, Segovia también hace cambios en los compases ? y 3, simplif- cando ol acorde equivocado de la edicién de Peet, pero agregando el St sostentido, bajaudo una octava el acorde inicial del tercer compés, ast como el Sol sostenido que le sigue e iguorando también los sonidos arméniros de si propio manuscrito, que staparecen en la edicién de 1967. Eneste movimiento Ponce hace gala nuevamente de su habilidad arménica, usando una esca la cromitica ascendente y descendente en el bajo, donde el acorde de Re mayor no aparece hasta el final, después de un silencio de todo un compas que hace las veces de cadencia silen ciosa, y que Segovia omite en st grabaciGn, puesto que cambia todo el final, amén de otros cambios, cuya enumeracién resultarfa prolija. Fl tercer movimiento, Allegretto, quasi serena, fue la printera pieza escrita por Ponce para lo guitarra y resultado de su primera entrevista con Segovia, quien ul saber que Ponce era com pasitnr le pidié que escribiera algo para su instrumento. El resultado fue este pequefio troz0 ‘qn, después de contar con la aprobacion de Segovia, fue seguide de los otros movimientos que integran la sonata. Escrito en 3/8 y en La menor, viene a tener tun cierto parentesco con La sérénade interrompue de Debussy. Ambos estan escritos en 3/8, con un movimiento conti- rnuo en dobles corcheas, tienen una linea cantubile en octavos, un ambiente de serenata y una atmésfera arménica similar; excepto que Ponce, al final, en lugar de interrumpir la serenata, hace una cita de Vamos a tomar aole, que es un fragmento del Jarabe Tapatio, como propician- ddo de manera simbolica el inicio de la amistad con Segovia. El manuscrito que he empleado para este movimiento es el original de Ponce, el cual difiere, en més de un aspecto, como po- dird verse, del manuscrito de Segovia usado para la publicacion de Peer. Enel tltimo movinuento, Allegretto un poco vieu.e, Ponce regresa a la tonalidad de La ma- 20 Torrey rr ee ne ee ey oer with its character, a suspicion that was confirmed recently when I heard the recording of this sonata, made by Segovia in July of 1962, and in which he does not play them; also the raagueados that he plays in that recording do not appear in his manuscript. In the second movement Andantino affettuoso, written in 5/8, another innovation in the guitar literature, and in D major, a wrong chord appears on the first beat of the second measure in the edition published in 1967 by Peer International Corporation and edited by Carlos Vaques with the revision and fingering of Manuel L6pez Ramos. After ronsulting with Léper Ramos, he assured me thar he made no changes for the edition and that he even respected, afer possible, Sesovia's fingering, Consequently, I came to the conclusion that the mistake was probably due to the engraver since in the manuscript two sharps appear together for F and A, sharps that he might have copied wrongly for A and B resulting in an interesting chord based on the whole tone scale but not corresponding to what Ponce wrote. Segovia also made changes in his recording of measures 2 and 3, simplifying che wrong chord of the Peer edition but adding the B sharp; and also transposing down an octave the initial chord of the 3rd measure as well as the G sharp that follows, ignoring the harmonics of his own manuscript that did appear in the 1967 edition. In this movement Ponce shows again his harmonic ability using an ascending and descending chromatic scale in the bass, the D major chord not appearing until the end, after arest of a whole measure that serves as a sort of silent cadence. Thi rest was ignored by Segovia in his recording, since he changed all the ending, amongst other things that would require t00 much space to enumerate here. The third movement Allegretto, quasi serenata was the first piece written by Ponce for the guitar and the result of his firse meeting with Segovia, who knowing that Ponce was a Composer asked him to write something for his instuumeut. The ourcome was this lite piece that after being approved by Segovia was followed by tie other movements that comprise the sonata. Written in 3/8 and in A minor itis relaued to La sérénaide interrompue by Debussy. Both are written in 3/8, with a continuous movement iu sixteenth notes, both have a cantabile in eighth notes, both have a serenade ambiance and a similar harmonic atmosphere, except that Ponce at the end, instead of interrupting the serenade makes a quotation of Vamos a tomar tole a (ragmentof che Jarabe Tapati, as a sort of symbolic propitiation for the beginning of his friendship with Segovia. The manuscript that I used for this third movement is Ponce’s original, which is different, as can be seen, from the Segovia manuscript that was used for the Peer publication. In the last movement Allegretto un poco vivace, within the rondo form, Ponce goes back to the A major key and employs for the principal theme a motif derived from the first theme of the opening movement, although this time it appears in A major. Afterwards, in the second 21 yor, sirvigndose de la forma rondé, y en el tema principal emplea un motivo derivado del pri- mer tema del primer movimiento, aunque esta vez silo inicia con el acorde de La mayor. Pos- teriormente, en el segundo episodio, hace una cita textual de este tema, Io que viene darle un caracter ciclico esta ubra. La coda esté construida eon una serie de acordes paralelos, so- bre un pedal de dominance, procediniiento empleado por Ponce en algunas de sus obras poste” riores, como el final Uel desarrollo del primer tiempa de Ta Sonatina ol fal del Honea # Tarrega. Eneste dltimo movimiehto he suprimido los sonidos armomicos puestos put Segovia enla teaparicin del rema principal, asf como las indicaciones del rasgueado, que también fuc- ron omitidas por Manuel Lépez Ramos en la edicién de 1967. Resulta curioso que en la década de los afos setenta, de acuerdo a varios programas publ cados en el segundo volumen del interesante libro de Graham Wade y Gerard Garno A New Look at Segovia. His Life 6 His Music (Pacific, MO: Mel Bay Publications, 1997) Segovia estu- vo tocando esta sonata, pero excluyendo el tercer movimiento y dandole titulos programéci- cos —practica muy de su agrado— allos tres tiempos testantes. Ast el primer tempo fue bau- iva: Dailecito del reboro; el segundo: In que sueria.el ahuehwete; y el cuatto: Ritmos reantos a2- eeu. Segovia quedé satisfecho con este primer opus guitarristico de Pouce, y su estrene rave he gar en Madrid el mismo ao de su composici6n, de acuerdo a una carta sin fecha y s6lo con la anotacién 1923, en la que Segovia todavia le hablaba de usted a Ponce: [Ademnés me complazco en aprovechar la ocasion de haber tocado recientemente en Madrid su bella Sonata, con aplauso dl piblico, asentimiento dela critica y admiracién efusiva de los msicos. Le mando a Usted prueba de las tres cosa: el publico me la ha pedido de nuevo, los ex vjcoo la han alabada sin peclanteria ni estricciones, y como ejernplo del gusto de los misicos le sitaréelde Falla, ante ol eval roqué el andante vel final, sin prevedealos del nombre del autor, y

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