Unquestionably, among the most influential composers for guitar of the latter half of the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, Brazilian Sérgio Assad (b. 1952) ranks high. He is primarily recognised for his involvement in the most exceptional guitar duo in history, where he collaborates with his brother Odair. In his works, Sérgio employs a diverse range of materials and compositional techniques, while consistently drawing inspiration from the musical tradition and the abundant melodic and rhythmic elements of his homeland.
Sun Wukong’s Toccata is a programmatic composition that comprises eight different sections. These sections have relatively loose musical connections and are intended to honour the the Chinese mythological hero, Sun Wukong, also known as the Monkey King. Sun Wukong plays a pivotal role in the classic Chinese work Journey to the West, accompanying Master Monk Tang Sanzang on his pilgrimage to ancient India, in search of priceless Buddhist sutras. Along the way, the Buddha has them complete eighty-one challenges designed to gauge their honesty and commitment. Overall, this is a virtuoso work with many fast passages, but virtuosity is not an end in itself. On the contrary, it provides the ideal setting for the composer’s subtle, hidden touches and ingenious accents to shine. There are also delicate slow passages, as well as idiomatic ones (such as left-hand tapping or the use of a tuning fork at the end of the piece). In all cases, each effect is part of the description of a situation or character, thus maintaining the work’s programmatic mood.
The next in the list of Assad’s work, Barbad’s Fables, is the one that gives the name to the whole album. According to Arabic and Persian sources, he played the barbat, a four-stringed instrument, being the most distinguished and gifted minstrel-poet of his time, under Shahanshah Khosrow II (r. 590-628 AD). He is traditionally credited with numerous innovations in Persian music theory and practice, though the attributions are tentative, because they were made centuries after his death. Except for a single poem fragment and a few composition titles, almost all Barbad’s music and poetry have been lost. Barbad’s Fables is a single-movement work that consists of 7 or 8, distinct, relatively small parts of different character, where the free, slow parts alternate with the rhythmic and fast ones. Rare guitar effects, such as tapping with the left and right hand, or light friction of right-hand thumb flesh over the strings, are used to intensify the mysterious and dramatic character of the work or to strengthen the rhythmic element. The dominant materials, however, are the scales with trisemitones, which dominate almost the entire length of the work, giving it its characteristic “Persian” timbre. Dramatic melodies with elaborate ornamentation emerge, usually in the higher voice, while a dense weave, typical of Assad’s compositional style, supports the harmonic and rhythmic foundation.
Also Brazilian, Ronaldo Miranda (b. 1948) wrote Appassionata in 1984, a piece commissioned by guitarist Turíbio Santos. During the compositional stage, Santos assisted Miranda in the creative process. However, Appassionata was not first performed by the Brazilian guitarist, but 12 years later, by Fábio Zanon, who also revised the first version of the work. Miranda, a composer repeatedly awarded for his work, holds a prominent place in the Brazilian music scene, thanks to a continuous stream of important symphonic and chamber music works. The title of the work, like several of Miranda’s other works, is borrowed from the historical repertoire, but it bears no other relation to Beethoven’s well-known sonata, with the exception, perhaps, of the use of two contrasting musical themes in a form like that of the classical sonata form. The work’s rich harmonies pay homage to the composer’s Brazilian heritage while its creative technique is reminiscent of the late Romantic piano tradition.
Egberto Gismonti (b. 1947) is another important figure of the Brazilian music, a world-renowned composer, but also a skilful pianist and guitarist. His music is deeply influenced by the folk tradition of his homeland and the classical music, especially that by Heitor Villa-Lobos, as well as by the harmonic language and improvisational mood of jazz music.
Memoria e fado is a ballad by Gismonti, with a relatively simple weave and structure, its main feature being a subtle melody that unfolds in the higher voice. On a second level, the main melody is accompanied by responses from the intermediate voice, while intensely charged chords alternate in each measure. The composition’s lyrical and nostalgic quality is enhanced by the title’s allusion to fading memories.
Gismonti’s next piece, entitled Palhaço (Clown), is a transcription from the original piano version, made by the master of the art of arrangements, Sérgio Assad. Although Gismonti is also a very good guitarist, who uses even multi-stringed instruments, Palhaço was written for the piano. It is an excellent example of transferring a piano piece to the guitar repertoire, giving the impression, to those who do not know the original version, that the work was composed for the stringed instrument from the beginning, or that the guitar version is superior to the piano one, to those who already know the authentic version. Once more Gismonti presents a piece of simple texture and structure, yet he emerges as an inventive melodist who weaves a captivating melody without indulging in unnecessary embellishments and effects. The Brazilian composer seems to have a natural ability to effortlessly compose beautiful, expressive melodies that capture the listener’s emotions, while dressing them with charming harmonies of the Brazilian jazz aesthetic.
Agustín Barrios Mangoré (1885 – 1944) is widely regarded as the most revered and renowned guitar composer in the guitar history. He has an extensive list of compositions, many of which are performed by guitar soloists worldwide. He was among the pioneering classical guitarists to produce recordings, with a total of approximately 50 tracks recorded. His exceptional talent is articulated by Richard D. Stover, the leading expert on Barrios: “The defining feature of Barrios’ music lies in the harmonious integration of musical, technical, and emotional elements. The way in which Barrios proceeds – how the hands work, the harmony and modulation he employs, and the emotional expressiveness and imagery he achieves – the unity of these elements support the claim that Barrios is the greatest guitarist/composer of any time”. His music exhibits a late-romantic aesthetic, drawing inspiration from the piano literature and incorporating elements from the Baroque compositional style. Additionally, it is heavily influenced by the traditional music of the composer’s homeland and other South and Central American countries, while can be categorized into three main genres: folk, imitative, and religious.
Una Limosna por el Amor de Dios (Alms for the Love of God) is an example of a religiously inspired work, although the piece was not given that name from the beginning. The prevailing story of this melancholy piece, in which the tremolo technique is demonstrated, is as follows: A beggar positioned himself daily across the street from the house where Barrios resided in San Salvador and beg people passing by with the phrase “Una limosna por el amor de Dios?” Barrios was motivated to write this piece after hearing this phrase daily. The persistent bass figure, repeated ingeniously throughout the work, underlines the melody played with the tremolo technique, representing the beggar’s incessant query. On August 7, 1944, a month after he finished the composition, Barrios passed away, leaving this complete but untitled tremolo. The piece was erroneously titled El último tremolo (The last tremolo), El último canto and La última canción (The last song), as it is the last major piece that the composer from Paraguay ever composed. In remembrance of the aforementioned story the piece received the name of Una limosna por el amor de Dios.
Choro da saudade was composed by Barrios in Uruguay, probably before 1928, and published in Sao Paolo in 1929. It has folkloric influences from the Brazilian tradition of choro, a type of dance that is an ancestor of samba, whose music originally denoted urban ensemble music comprising wind instruments and guitars. Incorporating three different “moods” of choro, Barrios composed one of his most popular works to date. Despite the direct reference to the choro tradition, the work is primarily melodic and secondarily rhythmic. The second compound word in the work’s title, saudade, it is the melodic development that charges the listener’s emotions with its nostalgic quality. This is a Portuguese word, translating as the mix of longing, sadness and nostalgia.
As for the piece Las Abejas (The Bees) was created in 1921, also in Uruguay. The composition is marked as Allegro brillante, and is centered around the use of fast arpeggios and scalar passages, demanding exceptional technical skill. Based on its name, one might assume that the piece relates to the tireless insects. However, there is a different story behind the naming of this piece. Barrios’ friend Martin Borda Pagola, to whom the work was dedicated, was always exhorting Barrios to write down his music on paper, something which Barrios didn’t do for a great number of his works. It is worth noting that we know that more than 40 original works exist without a manuscript. Borda y Pagola became so frustrated with Barrios one day, when Barrios was visiting, that he locked him in a room and declared that until he wrote down a substantial amount of his music in manuscript form, he would not be allowed to leave. Thus, Barrios began working and created Las Abejas, giving it that name to show his friend that he was indeed an industrious worker like “the bees”.
Based on the arpeggio technique, the Preludio in G minor, Op. 5, No. 1 is a work with a weave like Las Abejas. The melody and the harmony unfold horizontally, without the simultaneous striking of two notes until the final cadence. This work was also written in Uruguay, in 1921 and is one of only three opus number works by Barrios, along with the two very popular waltzes Op. 8, No. 3 and No. 4. The use of opus numbers was purportedly an attempt by Barrios’ friend Martin Borda y Pagola to organize Barrios’ compositions. But outside of opus 5 (which was presumably a set of preludes) and opus 8 (a collection of waltzes), no other opus number was ever assigned to the great volume of works Barrios produced. In Preludio the composer incorporates elements from the style of J. S. Bach’s preludes, constructing a work in which both of his favourite aesthetic concepts of classical music, Romanticism and Baroque, coexist.
Dimitris Kotronakis © 2024
Barbad’s Fables: Works for solo guitar by Latin American Composers
