“After many years of composing highly advanced pieces both technically and musically demanding, I felt the need to write something considerably simpler in form and language. This composition was bent on the idea of creating something not only for professional guitarists, but also for those still studying at secondary school level.”

“Little Sonata (titled inspired by Paul Hindemith’s “Kleine Sonate” for cello and piano) is an easy four-movement short composition, leaning on the form of the sonata and kept in the tonal post-classical and neo-romantic language. It was inspired by the cycle for solo piano Impromptus Op . 9 by Franz Schubert.

“Written entirely on the piano and later ‘adapted’ for the guitar — it explains the highly pianistic chordal structures and harmonies that dictate the structure of the whole work. It was nevertheless composed with simplicity and ease for the guitar in mind.” –Marek Pasieczny

His name is Andrew Gorny. He said it was ok to record and post his performance on YouTube. This is my first YouTube upload! I recorded it with a little Canon S95
pocket cam. Not a bad camera.

I can see myself doing a lot more of this with such a nice little camera to keep in my pocket. Next time I won’t move it around quite so much while I’m recording.

Why am I posting a mandolin video on a guitar blog? Well, I was tripping around YouTube listening to Bach here in the wee hours of the morning and I happened to find this brilliant bit of video on Thile, whom I’d never heard before. That led me to more videos from Thile, and in one of them he has some advice for guitarists wanting to cross over to the mandolin. At one point, while discussing the technical challenges, he drops a great bit of advice to guitarists. He says, “Don’t play the guitar — play music!”

Then I remembered this isn’t a mandolin video after all….

If you’ve been around the classical guitar world very long, you’ve heard lots of generalizations about these two. Popular opinion has it that Bream is the creative genius, while Williams is the supreme technician. Bream the Dionysian, Williams the Apollonian.

In this video we can see why people say such things. The contrast between them is striking.

But to stop there, with the easy observation, is to miss the best part of their gift to us.

What’s wonderful is the way their differences bring out the best in both. A beautiful and unexpected chemistry occurs.

As Williams himself said of the duo, “Although the way we each play is alike as chalk and cheese, we’re not two musicians, we’re an ensemble and we create magic together.”

Listen closely at the start of the second video.

When it comes to technique, some of that time has to be spent in the “crucible” — which is to say, performance at your highest level. (Not noodling around playing background music for a tea party, or drilling Segovia scales while watching House.) In the crucible your body will produce an adaptive response. You can try to simulate the crucible by practicing with all your might, but it doesn’t work as well as the real thing.

I’ve probably mentioned this before, but one of the things Rey de la Torre told me was that Segovia used to go straight back to his hotel after a concert to work out technical matters while the iron was still hot, while Rey would grab some friends and go out on the town after a concert.

I know from my own experience that an hour giving a solo concert in front of a large and attentive audience was worth 10 hours of playing in a noisy restaurant, and worth 20 hours of practice. Maybe more. And that if I would go home and work on my guitar playing right after a good performance, while I was still hot, my results were always much better for it.

Intensity, not extensity, leads to the adaptive response. I’d fill that 10,000 hours with plenty of intensity

Sometimes people ask me to post their videos, but usually one of the main ingredients is missing. Often, the playing is excellent, but the videography is terrible. Or the visuals are good and the playing is good, but the audio quality is bad.

This video has it all.

This is where I discovered Narciso Yepes, Alirio Diaz, Pepe Romero, Julian Bream, and the player who was to be my idol all through my youth, Christopher Parkening.

But back to Renata Tarragó. I remember listening several times to her playing the Aranjuez. I would imagine myself playing it someday (which, alas, never happened and never will). I remember thinking how much I would like to see her play. All these years I never saw her play.

Well, thanks to the wonder of YouTube, here she is. Plus you get to see Michael Caine pulling off a heist. How good is that.

Why is that?

Although I can make a guess, I don’t know for sure who Fretkillr is. (And If I knew, I wouldn’t say, because it’s clear he wants to remain anonymous.) He never shows his face. He plays steel-string, 12-string, country, blues, oldies, Broadway, flat-picking, finger-picking, Scottish fiddle tunes and I don’t know what else. He had over a hundred videos up on YouTube at one time and many of them were gems. His new YouTube channel is called FretKillrLives.

I think he must be an old pro who’s played with everyone, but I can’t say for sure. Maybe he’s sitting in San Quentin waiting for a train. But he’s someone most Americans would recognize immediately as “a real guitar player.” I think he’s great.

From Wikipedia:

“The Wayfaring Stranger” (aka “Poor Wayfaring Stranger” or “I Am a Poor Wayfaring Stranger”), is a well-known British spiritual/folk song originating in the early 18th century about a plaintive soul on the journey through life. It became one of Burl Ives’s signature songs, included on his 1944 album The Wayfaring Stranger. Ives used it as the title of his early 1940s CBS radio show and his 1948 autobiography. He became known as “The Wayfaring Stranger.”

As with many folk songs, the words are often changed. “While travelin’ through this world below” has also been sung “this world of woe” and “this world alone.”

For one thing, he’s got Deutsche Grammophon behind him. It doesn’t get more prestigious than that. Milos signed with DG last summer. They’re sending him all over the world to promote his debut album with DG, Mediterraneo.

And I don’t mind helping them out a little. Milos is a good player. (Yes, I call him just “Milos.” I can’t seem to remember “Karadaglic” very well. I notice that DG, too, has started calling him just “Milos” in their publicity. Good move.)

Milos is getting tremendous publicity. I first noticed the publicity campaign a few months ago when a well-written article about the guitarist came out in The Economist magazine, of all places.

Then I heard there was a TV commercial for his new recording on CBS TV. When’s the last time you saw a classical guitarist advertised on national network TV? Never. This is quite a push.

So I Googled around and he’s everywhere. Then I looked on YouTube to see what all the fuss is about. There I found video after video put out by Deutsche Grammophon pushing their new guitar star, but the videos were mostly hype. Lots of high-end, glamorous hype.

Which is perfectly understandable and acceptable, except I didn’t want to blog any of it. I wanted an honest, well-presented, and complete live performance – something that might be representative of what Milos is really about.

Yesterday I found one that wasn’t put out by DG. Although it’s mistitled – it says the piece is Granada by Albeniz – it’s still a nice video. It’s actually Milos playing Danza Espanola No. 5 by Granados, a great favorite with classical guitarists. It’s the fifth of the famous Twelve Spanish Dances for piano by Granados, published in 1890. The piece’s individual name is Andaluza, or sometimes it’s called Playera. (I don’t know why it has so many names.)

I heard a quote from Milos today: “I want people to fall in love with the guitar.”

I’ll second that. You’re doing a good job, Milos.

It is also sometimes heard arranged for guitar solo. It’s on the new recording by Milos Karadaglic, Mediterraneo.

(And contrary to the publicity materials for this recording, it is not the “first time ever” that it has been arranged for solo guitar. Denian Arcoleo does a beautiful job of it, as you will see and hear in the second video. Another fine arrangement exists by Jose Luis Gonzalez.)

But this is the first time I’ve heard it for guitar and ‘cello.

Well, I can’t resist. I have to add one more. Here it is by this wonderful couple, Evangelos and Liza, about whom Segovia said:

“Since fate cruelly deprived us of Presti and Lagoya, I no longer had the pleasure of listening to any comparable duet. But lately, when the talented Greek guitarists Evangelos and Liza played for me, I felt total satisfaction and enjoyment. They have rhythm, good taste, emotion and technique. They work together with loyalty to the music and vital dedication. I cordially wish Evangelos and Liza to conquer the high estimation of the public as they have conquered mine.”

“The guitar speaks directly to the heart, with quiet simplicity.” -Segovia

A little history from Ceolas.org:

“The Queen of Irish Airs” maintains Francis O’Neill (1913). There are many versions of this ancient and celebrated air “of which Bunting’s and Moore’s are not among the best: they are both wanting in simplicity,” states Joyce (1909), who prints the tune as collected by Forde from Hugh O’Beirne (a Munster fiddler from whom a great many tunes were collected). He considers Forde’s version “beautiful…(and) probably the original unadulterated melody,” and adds that it is similar to the version he heard the old Limerick people sing in his youth during the 1820′s. Flood (1906) states it is probable the air dates from the year 1296 or 1297, believing it must have been composed not long after the Statute, 24th of Edward I, in 1295, which forbade those English in Ireland (who were becoming assimilated into the majority Gaelic culture) to affect the Irish hair style by allowing their locks to grow in “coolins.”

The original song, told from a young maiden’s point of view, berates those Anglo-Irish who conformed to the edict by cutting their hair, and praises the proud Irishman who remained true to ancestral custom (the Gaelic title “An Chuilfhionn,” means ‘the fair-haired one’).

The Irish Parliament passed another law in 1539 forbidding any male, Irish or Anglo-Irish, from wearing long or flowing locks of hair.

This piece was made even more popular in the 1990s by Michael Flatley (of Riverdance and Lord of the Dance fame). He called his arrangement Whispering Wind. Here it is as a concert solo in 1998 in Hyde Park, in the perfect moment of a summer twilight as the last traces of blue fade from the sky.

Impressed by the musical judgment behind the creation of this arrangement, fascinated by the rare powers of technical execution I was hearing, and thankful that Philip Hii had pulled it all together and put it out there, I listened to this recording many times when it first came out back in the ’90s. (Listen to the brilliant samples.)

Later, I bought the sheet music and tried to play the arrangement, but it was beyond me. I almost couldn’t believe that anyone could play it.

Today, from a link on Philip Hii’s website (pronounced “hee,” by the way), I discovered this video on YouTube. What a treat for me!

Seeing is believing..

Watch the full episode. See more 11th and Grant.

“The score of the complete cycle will be published in Germany by Editions Margaux (Berlin). But only after the premiere recording will be out. The recording is now in preparation. I hope that Asya will do everything as fast as possible, but the material is very heavy and difficult. It needs a lot of work. So, please, wait.”

While we wait, we have this from filmmaker Roman Gurochkin. I like the sound here better than on some of his others I’ve posted. I hear not just the guitar, but the room, too. There is some distance, some dimension, but without sacrificing intimacy.

Richard points out that this piece was previously attributed to Henry Purcell.

Wendelin Tieffenbrucker
David Tecchler
Matteo Sellas
Giacomo (Jacob) Ertel
Antonio Stradivari
Gennaro Fabricatore
Nicòla Turturro
Mario Maccaferri
John D’Angelico
James D’Aquisto

…and others. These are some of the guitar makers featured in Guitar Heroes: Legendary Craftsmen from Italy to New York, on view at The Metropolitan Museum of Art website, www.metmuseum.org.

Here’s a great remark from Jennifer Lopez to American Idol contestant James Durbin, as observed by New York Times Arts Beat blogger Jon Caramanica:

“You go away when you sing,” Ms. Lopez told him affectionately. “I got that sense you sing from a really different place than a lot of people we see.” Later, she declared, “You sing from where you’re supposed to sing from — from feeling, from heart, from your soul, from the need to feel and make others feel.” It’s a fundamental of great artistry, that the ability to connect is intimately tied to the need for connection, though it’s rarely articulated this succinctly.

Sometimes we make little effort to connect, when we could be aiming to play “from feeling, from heart, from the soul, from the need to feel and make others feel.”

Bellamente dijo.

After that there’s a short documentary film the gives a glimpse into the life of this ex-hobo who suddenly, at the age of 65, with his three-string guitar, hit the big time.

“Hobos are people who move around looking for work, tramps are people who move around but don’t look for work, and bums are people who don’t move and don’t work. I’ve been all three.”

Hear that lonesome whippoorwill
He sounds too blue to fly
The midnight train is whining low
I’m so lonesome I could cry

The silence of a falling star
Lights up a purple sky
And as I wonder where you are
I’m so lonesome I could cry

Materials:
Top: European Spruce
Back and sides: European Maple
Rosette and headstock veneer: Amboyna Burl
Bindings: Bloodwood

I got to play this guitar a few days ago and I loved it — the way it sounds, the way it feels, and the way it looks. Jeff has kindly allowed me to post a few pictures here to remember it by.

Three pictures of the interior taken through the guitar’s soundport.

Light shines through the beautifully translucent back of the guitar, seen through the sound hole.

The soundport, shown with and without its amboyna burl cover.

Luis de Narváez (fl.1530-1550)
La Canción del Emperador
from ‘Los seys libros del delphin (Valladolid, 1538)
Performed by Hideki Yamaya, vihuela
www.hyamaya.com

A thousand regrets at deserting you
and leaving behind your loving face,
I feel so much sadness and such painful distress,
that it seems to me my days will soon dwindle away.

James Taylor has some guitar lessons up on his website at jamestaylor.com. Looks good, sounds just like him. I like that sound.

Read Andrew’s story here.

Nice going, Chris!

The spirit really comes across, but I wish the audio quality were a little better on this one. (Dad’s voice is sssuper-sssibilant.) Still great, though. Loved it.

[YouTube removed this video. Sorry for the inconvenience.]

“The inauguration of the Curtis Institute’s guitar program is a milestone in the instrument’s history. With its inclusion at Curtis, arguably the world’s finest music conservatory, the guitar and its repertoire continue their steady ascent toward equal standing among the instruments and music of the great classical tradition. I am honored to join my colleague Jason Vieaux at this important moment in the guitar’s development.”

Good news!

Alessandro Piccinini
Ciaccona in Partite Variate

Anna Kowalska – baroque guitar
Anton Birula – theorbo

www.luteduo.com

Well, I got a nice email yesterday…

John,

Stroll through my house and you’ll hear my son playing the piano or guitar, my youngest daughter singing at the top of her lungs, and for most of 2010 me working on Bach’s Chaconne, and from time to time my oldest daughter playing piano.

By the way, about a year and a half ago my son picked up my Villa-Lobos book and in a week’s time read through Prelude 1 and had it memorized. Kind of surprising since he didn’t have any need to read guitar music before (gifted reader on piano though). He learned on his electric guitar and played it for me on a classical guitar. He played through every once in a while and then played it in a district music competition just over a year ago. He won for classical guitar which qualified him to compete at state… which he won. Then he played for about 4500 people at graduation. I would have been petrified and he was excited. Good night!

So again, thanks. You did a great job as my teacher and those lessons have lived on. One thing I learned from you was that I could play whatever. I have learned the Chaconne from just opening the music and going to work and I don’t think I would have figured that out if you hadn’t shown great works.

B-

Buffett, who is chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, plays the ukulele in his free time. He autographed and auctioned off this instrument in 2005.

Here’s Warren showing off his legendary timing:

If anyone knows where to find this video footage (I’m guessing it was from an English or Australian TV show), please let me know!

These are the two main choices for classical guitar tops. Many guitarists prefer one or the other. “I’m a cedar guy” or “I’m a spruce gal.”

Cedar is more forgiving than spruce. It’s easier to make a “good tone” on cedar. (“Good tone” usually means round and slick, with maybe some dark thrown in.) You have to have a more exacting technique to make spruce sound as round and dark as cedar. On spruce, every little right hand inattention will show up.

On the other hand, if you have a well-developed technique that features a variety of right hand touches (especially colors), the spruce will pay off in expressiveness.

Spruce is like a sports car that needs constant inputs, good in the corners. Cedar is like a big fat Cadillac, good for cruising.

Your mileage may vary.

Big thanks to Stefan Grossman for making possible this visit with John Renbourn. Grossman is putting a ton of great stuff on YouTube here.

Originally published on RMCG:

Sick You!

Sick You is how the hospital types pronounce SICU/Surgical Intensive
Care Unit. I love medical humor.

I played guitar today for the first time in the SICU/Beth Israel
Medical Center here in NYC; this morning from11AM-12PM. I will be
doing this Wed’s at 11AM and Fri’s at 3PM for a good while. The music
therapy dept. director, Dr. Joanne Lowey, is devising a study that
will start in about a month based on my playing there (I wanted to
start playing ASAP which is why I started today) and it will be
written up and published in the journal “Music and Medicine” of which
she is editor-in-chief.

https://online.sagepub.com/cgi/register?registration=MMDSAGEPUBREG121808

http://www.wehealny.org/services/bi_musictherapy/index.html

A few quick observations. First, I would guess classical guitar is
probably the best instrument for this because it fits so well. As Dr.
Lowey explained to me in the two meetings I had this past week with
her, the basic need is for soothing music. The guitar’s inherent
tonal range, portability, and repertoire is a natural. Also, as I was
instructed, tempos have to be mid-range and slower, so it makes this a
very do-able thing for a wide range of players. As long as you have
enough suitable repertoire and can play cleanly with a good tone you
can make a contribution.

I will be keeping a journal. Today I played some Carcassi to start,
then some Bach (Sleeper’s Awake/BWV 140, Sinfonia/BWV/156,
Choral:Befiehl du deine Wege/St. Matthews Passion/BWV 244, etc.) some
choros music by Abreu and Reis, and improvised for a while.

The BWV 244 meant a lot to me personally because that was the piece
that had such a big affect on me when I was a patient in there in
July; I had it on my iPod and my wife played it for me several times
while I was in a coma.

Also on a personal note, when I got there two of my main nurses from
July were on duty; they were there the first night when I was
resuscitated, and one or the other was there for most of the 9 days I
was in the ICU (I found out from them that I got zapped with those
electronic thingys just like on TV, I had wondered about that).

They didn’t recognize me at first, both said they realized who I was
from the sound of my voice – of course, I’m 40 pounds lighter and I
didn’t look all that wonderful that week, unshaven and pale as ghost.
But it was great to see each other again.

Also, if you’ve ever visited a place you spent a lot of time in when
you were a child and then returned as an adult many years later and
observed that things looked a lot smaller than you remembered, you
know what I saw today. In my memory of the day after I was awoken and
took my first walk with a walker (one of those aluminum things with
wheels that you see old folks using) it seemed like from my bed to the
end of the hall was about 50 yards. In reality it is about 20 feet.
As one nurse said, being very sick and on a lot of heavy drugs changes
the way you see things.

So, what I observed today after playing was that it clearly helps the
staff, they appreciated having live music, as did the family members
at the bedsides that I saw. None of the patients were in a coma, but
only one was awake and alert. The testing of the effect on the
patients of live music will start soon and I’ll know more about that
when it is underway.

Finally, it felt very good to do this, to volunteer the time. I’ve
spoken to 2 other guitarists this week that have played in hospitals,
one also in an ICU (this ICU also has people from the music therapy
department playing there sometimes, but they weren’t there in July
when I was a patient). I urge anybody who can do this to do so, it’s
a great way to share your love for music.

Andrew

=================
=================
Andrew’s Story

Originally published on RMCG:

I have mixed feelings about telling any of this, based on past
experience here, but there are two things connected to it that have to
do with music, one specifically the guitar, and as I’ve told a few
RMCG friends privately, and I am basically out of the woods now, here
is a relatively short version of what happened that I will share with
you.

I posted in July that I was taking a month long vacation. Not really
a vacation, but quite a trip.

Last summer a CT scan revealed 2 cysts on my pancreas. A subsequent
biopsy was inconclusive as to whether it was cancer. Another CT scan
was recommended and was done this past June. It revealed a mass in
the tail of the pancreas with all the earmarks of cancer, concurred on
by 4 doctors. It was considered to be 98% likelihood of being
pancreatic cancer. Pancreatic cancer is deadly. There is a 4%
survival rate.

The operation took place on July 16th – 6 hours. At the halfway mark
the removed mass and cyst next to it were examined by the pathologist.

I got the 2% deal. It wasn’t cancer but rather a rare kind of
inflammation. Indistinguishable from a malignant tumor via a CT
scan. Still, a big operation to do, it had to be removed because the
likely complications later on from it can be fatal.

Fortunately we were lucky to have gotten a recommendation to one of
the best pancreatic surgeons in the country, at Beth Israel Medical
Center in downtown NY. A great human being at that, Dr. Martin
Karpeh. Pancreatic cancer is extremely difficult to do, there aren’t
a lot of doctors in that specialty.

However, I didn’t get off that easy. There is a 1 in 25,000 chance in
surgery to go into severe anaphylactic shock, and just before the
surgery was over that’s what happened. Probably from a miniscule
impurity in a blood transfusion. I was rushed into the ICU and
immediately put into a medically induced coma. For the first 3 days I
was near death. At one point early on my blood pressure was near
zero.

After I was brought out of the coma I spent 3 more days in the ICU,
but recovered so quickly that I was put into a regular room without
going into the intermediate “step down” ward. I was only there 2 days
before being sent home.

Not a single doctor or nurse in the ICU thought I was going to
survive, many of them told me that before I left the ICU. On the
second day after being woken up I took my first walk, using a walker,
like an old man. A young resident walked by and was almost in shock
seeing me alive let alone walking. Which led to the funniest line of
the 12 days when he said, “7 days ago my shoelaces were higher than
your blood pressure”. By the way, I never lost my own sense of
humor. I had quite a few good one liners after I woke up. Making
your doctors and nurses laugh is a great thing to do, for them and for
you.

So, how did I survive? That is an unknown but there were a few
factors in my favor.

I had great doctors and nurses in a great teaching hospital. Amazing
people from all over the world.

I’ve been going to a gym 4-5 days a week for years, and I walk 2 big
strong dogs every day and play rough with them. I was physically very
strong.

My wife was with me most of every day, and whispered in my ear; love,
and explanations of what was happening. And you do hear in a coma,
but it gets translated into a whole inner world. I hesitate to call
them dreams, what you are in is much more vivid then dreams. It is a
reality onto itself. Some of it was delightful, some of it was quite
frightening. And how it connected to what was actually happening
around me was amazing. I remember a great deal of it, maybe all of
it.

I had brought my iPod and on the second day of the coma my wife put
the earphones in and turned it on at the piece I had in place. That
piece was BWV 244, St. Matthews Passion, by J.S. Bach. Listen to the
opening especially and you will hear what hope it will give someone in
that condition. However, in it’s entirety it is one of the greatest
pieces ever written and I’m sure it made a difference.

The guitar related aspect: I got home almost 3 weeks ago, after 12
days in the hospital, walked through the front door, walked straight
across the living to the far end where I keep my guitar, picked it up,
sat down, and played Bach’s Sarabande from BWV 997. It took a huge
effort to do this, almost having to will each finger to move. I felt
a deep satisfaction to play that music. However, I was very weak and
very tired and put the guitar down.

I played ten minutes the second day. A little more each day, real
practicing. Today was the first day I felt back to what I can do
musically, and almost back technically. It was like being a beginner
again, very hard to do, but it comes back quickly. Today I smiled
when I played.

The hardest part of getting back is recovering from the anesthesia and
all the drugs. It will take months to get it completely out of my
system. It was essentially 7 days of anesthesia.

I was on morphine at one point after the coma and was delighted to
feel how much I didn’t like it! But the music that plays in your head
with that is quite amazing. Didn’t like all the Percocet either.

Haha, I wasn’t going to say any of this here, but for better and for
worse this place called RMCG is a family, and if TG and Alain ask
about me, I guess I have to tell the story.

So, moral of the story – never give up hope. And, Life is Beautiful.
That would probably make a good title for a movie.

Andrew

Edit, Jan 8: I’ve listened to this many times since I posted it a few days ago and it doesn’t get old. This could be a hit. I think Stephanie should try to get Sungha Jung to cover it! This piece could go a long way.

Here’s Kevin Gallagher:

From the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama:

Julian Bream, the world revered classical guitarist, has donated his personal art collection to the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. This extraordinary glimpse into the private thoughts and life of such a celebrated musician can be viewed at the Weston Gallery at RWCMD.

The Exhibition Launch on 6th March 2009 was well attended by friends and supporters. Hilary Boulding, Principal of RWCMD, welcomed the guests, “It has completely transformed one of our many recital rooms… It is wonderful, an extraordinary and generous gift.” Her words echoed everyone’s thoughts, particularly those who had admired the great guitarist for years. “Julian Bream is perhaps the most celebrated guitarist alive. He is a living legend… It is a superb gesture. We are truly honoured.” said John Mills, Head of Guitar Studies at RWCMD. Julian Bream seemed very happy and addressed the audience, “They do look pretty good if you don’t mind me saying… They are good friends, these paintings. I’m glad they’re here and I’m terribly moved.”

You can read the rest here.

I’ve been playing with the Edirol a few days and I certainly like it as a “field recorder” (I’m going to take it to a live music venue later this week and see how it goes) and also as a “sketchbook” recorder to have nearby whenever and wherever I am playing guitar. Whether it will work out as the recorder of choice for my “official” recordings remains to be seen, but some of the glowing reviews I’ve been reading suggest that it’s not out of the question.

Here’s what Kevin can do with the Edirol R-09HR:

Part 1:

Part 2:

The 2009 Brazilian Music Institute featuring Cecilia Siqueira and Fernando Lima (Duo Siqueira Lima) performing Tico Tico.

If someone would provide the titles and a translation of the lyrics to these pieces, I would be very grateful.

Says Samantha:

Tarrega’s musical tribute to the Alhambra Palace in Granada played by me, Samantha Muir. A recent trip to Granada provided the perfect opportunity to fulfill a childhood dream and play Recuerdos de la Alhambra in the Alhambra! I didn’t quite make it into the famous Courtyard of the Lions (the Lions are actually on holidays at the moment being restored) but the following is a postcard of my musical wanderings…. we begin in the beautiful gardens with the Generalife in the background…. then into the Chapel sitting on the tomb of Isabella and Ferdinand…. and then into a typical courtyard accompanied by a fountain (and 2 squirrels playing in the tree above my head!)…. returning to the garden briefly before finishing with the tinkling waters of one of the many fountains which so inspired Tarrega. The sound of the video is inconsistent and the quality poor but I hope it captures what for me was a magical experience. Sometimes dreams really do come true….

I just had to tell someone.

As Samantha’s tells it:

Last weekend I went with some friends to Granada to see Leonard Cohen in concert. We were staying in the Parador Hotel which is in the grounds of the Alhambra Palace. Of course, I took my guitar, plus Jorge Nolla’s lovely arrangement of Mr Leonard’s Hallelujah which Jorge had recently sent me. I thought I might get a few moments to learn it… I certainly hadn’t anticipated making this video but since the Parador very kindly allowed me to play in the chapel – I’m actually sitting on the tomb of Isabella and Ferdinand – I thought it would be nice to share this unique experience with my YT friends. Sorry about the poor sound quality but it’s taken on my camera. A storm was moving in and the trees behind where I’m sitting were restless…..at least, I think it was the trees.

Mr Leonard’s concert was awesome thanks to his genius and the genius of the musicians who accompany him. It was one of the best experiences of my life. Something which is hard to put into words so I offer you this small gesture… Wishing you all peace and happiness and sunshine.

Sheet music and tabs are very kindly made available from Jorge Nolla.

And here’s Op.60, No.2 by the same player:

The YouTube channel on which these videos appear seems to belong to someone who might be the owner of a busy guitar shop in Taiwan, or maybe she’s the teacher, or both. She is a prolific Youtube poster with well over 100 videos posted.

Let’s have more videos from ChanjuanChiou!

Clerk: “Well, Louis Armstrong is pretty popular.”

Customer: “Louis Armstrong? Isn’t he the astronaut? He’s like the first guy to walk on the moon.”

Clerk: “No, no, you’re thinking Neil.”

Customer: “Fine, whatever, the first guy to kneel on the moon.”

“These pages will document my attempt to perform the music of Fernando Sor with the techniques and interpretive practices outlined in his musical scores and tutors.”

Beautifully done!

Sor Op31 No18 Lesson in Bm from Rob MacKillop on Vimeo.