The Pune Guitar Society
Notes from the 2017 Calcutta international guitar festival 2017. We thank the Indian Guitar Federation & the Calcutta Classical Guitar Society for organizing this wonderful festival. We hope these notes which were taken during the masterclasses, although highly condensed, will help the guitar community. Wherever possible we have provided some references and footnotes. Thanks Serenade for putting this out so quickly.
https://serenademagazine.com/features/high-note
By
Tuhin Rao
It was some weeks prior to our Spanish and Latin American concert that Jayant Sankrityayana decided that our next project should be a concert featuring Leo Brouwer’s music.
My first encounter with Concerto de Toronto was in December 2016 when Rosemary E and Jayant were recording the concerto in Mazda Hall and I was called to page turn for Rosemary. At that time, I noticed how Rose was almost improvising a truncated version of the piano reduction. It was not until I started learning the part myself that I realised the enormity of the monster I chose to tackle!
This was my first piece for the guitar and piano, my first piece by Leo Brouwer and my first piece using substantial amount of modal harmonies, especially the Lydian mode.
In the official reduction, even if many parts were still playable, they were too difficult to execute musically on the piano or too dense in texture to get a meaningful sound out of it. It was here that the challenge came. I had to listen to the orchestral recording several times ingraining the music in my head then studying the piano reduction and simplify the piano reduction to musically resemble what the orchestra sounds like.
Jayant, after his morning 4am practice and exercise normally waits at Starbucks for his ride to work at around 7am. It was at these times that I used to sometimes meet him and discuss the musical interpretation and other details over some black coffee.
Although I have played a few 20-21st century works, none have come close to complexity in time signatures as this one. On one occasion there is 3/4, 4/4, 3/8, 5/8 3/4, 4/4 appearing consecutively with irregular rhythms throughout. At such times, the only way was to literally ‘mug up’ the sound of the passage with the metronome, practicing on every bpm from 30 through 108! There were times when I felt like giving up, but then the sheer beauty of the modal harmonies that Brouwer wrote, pulled me towards practicing it even more.
The 1st movement, though relentless in both the piano and guitar parts has this breath of freshness into it and a perpetual momentum, making it a challenging to learn but extremely satisfying to play.
This concerto has a cyclic structure to it, i.e. ideas from the 1st movement are seen throughout the other movements. There are several times when some of the orchestral sections are so similar in the 1st and 3rd movements that in many of the practice rehearsals I interchanged the two, making Jayant wonder what had just happened!
I am extremely excited to play my first Guitar-piano work. This has inspired me to write a work for Guitar-piano, which I will be premiering soon!
And lastly I would like to thank my friend, Mr. Metronome, without whom I wouldn’t have been able to get most of the piece learnt.
Dedication : Leo Brouwer, a tribute concert to Leo Brouwer will be performed at Mazda Hall, Camp, Pune on the Oct 6th at 7 PM.
by
Kuldeep Barve
It was while watching those beautiful black and white films like ‘Lucia’, ‘Memories of Underdevelopment’, ‘Histoire de Revolucion’ and others in the Film and Television Institute of India and National Film Archives that i heard Leo Brouwer’s music for the first time. I was not aware of his work then or knew that he was a guitarist-composer of great repute. But i do remember that those soundtracks had something special in them. They had made a sonic impression on me which is as fresh today as it was then.
Later on, as me and a few friends became more and more interested in classical guitar repertoire and western classical music in general, his music was always discussed amongst some friends and fellow musicians. The works that attracted me most at the time were the ‘Preludios Epigramaticos‘(1981 – Epigrammatic Preludes). This is a set of short preludes; each prelude has a title which is taken from the ‘Poemas de Amor’ by the great Spanish poet Miguel Hernandez. It is interesting when one looks at some of the elements of form and structure used in these preludes and associate the poetry with the piece. I have come to understand this work now more as an impressionistic sketchbook. The first prelude has the title (loosely translated) ‘Ever since the dawn wanted/wished to be, you are mother’. Is the B and D ‘ostinato’ in Prelude No.1 a design element used to convey the eternal and perennial? Brouwer breaks the ‘ostinato’ with piercing rhythmic motives which provide the contrast and take the narrative forward creating an impressionistic texture.
Miguel Hernández
One of Brouwer’s most famous solo guitar work, the ‘El Decameron Negro‘ (1981) is based on some ethnic African folk tales collected in the 19th century by Leo Frobenius, a german ethnologist and archeologist. If one looks at Brouwer’s range of works, it is evident that Brouwer was taking inspirations from different art forms such as poetry, folk tales etc. It’s important to recognise the strong musical and cultural connections between Africa, Cuba and Latin America which go back to the slave trade and migrations to be able to contextualise and appreciate this music. The deep rooted relations between Africa and Cuba were studied and articulated by the ethnomusicologist and afro-cuban culture scholar Fernando Ortiz in the 1920s. From that period on, there was a school of thought in Cuba which looked to go to the roots of Cuban culture and identity. On the other hand, there was another school of thought which felt the need to look for universality in Cuban music without destroying its essential cuban character. These musical discourses must have influenced the musical climate in Cuba when Brouwer was growing up and does help contextualising some of his musical thought processes.
Brouwer in various phases of his work has drawn heavily on the folk musics of these regions. His music has deep connections with Spanish, Latin American, African and European music. European classical music from the early 20th century and popular music from the 60’s onwards seems to have been a constant influence. It is important to recognise Brouwer as a pivotal figure at the crossroads of all these musical influences and cultures. It is vital to note the proximity of Brouwer to various types of popular music from the Beatles(Brouwer re-harmonised some Beatles songs) to Eddie Van Halen(‘Paisaje cubano con campanas‘ is said to be a tribute to Van Halen). Brouwer seems very interested in creating sonic textures which stretch the guitar’s sonic palette and possibilities. Much of his music seems dramatic and narrative with powerful rhythmic motives which weave together the themes and motifs in a very effective way. He seems very involved with the ‘visual’ aspect in music and this is not only because he has composed a lot of great film, theatre and opera music. The ‘visual’ character in Brouwer’s music is a subject which maybe deserves a detailed study on its own. His musical output is vast; he has written many concertos, chamber works as well as a great number of solo guitar works and it is very difficult to make any easy generalisations about his output. Having said this, his music does have his characteristic sound, sometimes evident through his motifs, sometimes through his angular rhythms and at other times when he paraphrases his own music in a completely different context.His contribution to guitar pedagogy cannot be overstated. The 20 studies for guitar have become standard repertoire for guitar students and concert performers alike. The ‘Etude Simples‘ are great studies and have great musical expression as well.
Leo Brouwer
Rederences –
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Brouwer
The Emergence of Leo Brouwer’s Compositional Periods: The Guitar, Experimental Leanings, and New Simplicity – Kim Nyugen Tran
by The Pune Guitar Society(PGS),
There are less than four weeks to go, and even as the music begins to take shape, so do a plethora of support activities. Preparing for this, for all of us, has been a lot like mobilising ourselves for a revolution, though admittedly one not quite as tectonic as the CubanRevolution which shaped much of Leo Brouwer’s circumstances and his music.The program has evolved organically to include two of the Maestro’s concerti, one movement from a suite, and two solo pieces. It would take an entire week of concerts toput across even a cross-section of Brouwer’s prodigious output and multiplicity of styles. Ina little over an hour of music we hope to introduce audiences to a small fraction of his material. The performers include Kuldeep Barve, Kabir Dabholkar and Jayant S on the guitar and Meghana Dharap, Rose E and Tuhin Rao on the piano.
The two featured concerti – the Elegiaco and the Toronto – are contrasting works. The Elegiaco lives up to its name by being sombre in a very abstract manner, while the Toronto is a complex, bright and largely optimistic work, with its fabric woven through with multiple thematic statements and motifs. For me, preparing for both of these has almost required assuming two different personas.The first movement of Retrats Catalan will be included: with its references to several Catalan folk songs. This is a quiet movement, with the orchestral section expressing some unexpected harmonies.The two solo pieces were the most difficult to choose from the extensive oeuvre of the composer. It would have been tempting to include one of the longer works, such as El Decameron Negro or the Sonata, but we took a conscious decision to have short pieces, essentially to start and punctuate the program.
The concerti and the Catalan will feature piano reductions. This continues the efforts of the PGS to bring other instrumentalists into our programming – and the experience is very rewarding and musically enriching. Formally-trained pianists have a very different, structured approach to the learning of unfamiliar repertoire which is inspirational to watch and participate in. It would have taken me several months to learn music of this complexity, placed in their position. As it is, the role of the piano here has emerged as not that of a mere accompanist: the selected works are sonically closer to being piano-guitar duets and their original orchestral textures have not required more than a fleeting reference at best.
We hope that this forthcoming concert will build some local interest in Leo Brouwer’s work, as one of the foremost modern composers for the guitar, and also incite more musicians to work on collaborative ideas with us. There is a lot of potential in working with Pune-based pianists and this is a format which could yield several more concerts of challenging and engrossing repertoire. Watch this space!
Venue : Gyaan Adab Centre, Pune
Date : 19th August, 2017
Time : 7 PM
Introduction
The Pune Guitar Society(PGS) presented a concert of guitar and piano music at the Mazda Hall in March 2017. This was the first concert in a series of three concerts planned this year by the PGS and showcased some important solo works from Spain and Latin America written for the guitar and the piano. The second concert, which will be presented at the Gyaan Adab Centre on Aug 19th, 2017, will focus primarily on solo guitar repertoire from early 19th century to late 20th century and will feature music from Italy, Spain, Cuba and Latin America.
The guitar repertoire till the end of the 18th century was not comparable in scale, complexity and structure to the repertoire of other western orchestral instruments such as the piano, violin etc. The period spanning the19th and 20th centuries is undoubtedly the most important period in the development of classical guitar repertoire. It is during this period that we see the guitar truly coming to life in terms of its very sound as well as the music written for it. The August concert program will represent a variety of styles and influences focussing on some of the most important works in this period with more focus on works from the 20th century.
With these three concerts, the Pune Guitar Society would like to underline and highlight the low representation of Spanish and Latin American music in our overall musical consciousness. A lot of great music has come out of these regions and continues to do so. The PGS will continue its efforts to bring this great musical treasure to audiences.
Concert at Gyaan Adab Centre – A brief overview of the concert programme in historical timeline
The 19th century
We start the recital with a great work by the Italian guitar virtuoso Mauro Giuliani, followed by some greatly influential Spanish music by Francisco Tarrega and Isaac Albeniz.
The Grand Overture by Giuliani was written in 1810. Traditionally, an Overture was written as an introductory piece for an opera. It was supposed to create excitement or curiosity for what was to come. But composers started writing overtures which could stand alone as compositions without any necessary connect to a larger work. Giuliani’s work is in that vein and is a masterwork which has stood the test of time and finds numerous concert performers giving it life even today.
We continue with three major works from the late 19th century by two great Spanish composers, Isaac Albeniz and Francisco Tarrega. These works are representative of the so-called ‘nationalistic’ style prevalent in the late 19th century.
Tarrega’s Capriccio Arabe (1892) is one of the most popular pieces in the classical guitar repertoire and is a beautiful mixture of castellan, moorish and european influences.
Albeniz’s Mallorca (1890) was originally written for the piano but lends itself beautifully on the guitar. It is a lament to the island of Mallorca where Albeniz spent some time of his life. Capricho Catalan, again by Albeniz, has a beautiful melody with a dance-like ostinato (a repeating musical motif) pattern throughout the piece.
Early 20th century
We come to the early 20th century with music by some of the most important and prolific guitar composers such as Heitor Villa-Lobos (Brazil), Agustin Barrios Mangore (Paraguay), Federico Moreno Torroba (Spain).
We present two pieces by Villa-Lobos, the Mazurka Choro and the Prelude No.2. Villa-Lobos combines elements from the Mazurka (a Polish dance form) with the Choro music form from Brazil. The Prelude no.2 is a dedication to the traditional Capoeira dance form and is a part of a collection of pieces, each dedicated to a particular type of music which was dear to Villa-Lobos.
Julia Florida is a beautiful Barcarolle (a boat song) dedicated to Julia Martinez, a girl who was a student of Barrios and perhaps Barrios was quite enamoured with her. The piece has a beautiful melody but also has contrasting sections demonstrating Barrios’s total command over the instrument.
Romance de Los Pinos, a short piece by Spanish composer Federico Torroba, is part of a collection of pieces called Castles of Spain. Torroba, a major Spanish operatic composer, was encouraged by Andres Segovia to write for the guitar and thereafter ensued many works by him for the guitar; all of them heavily influenced by Spanish traditional music.
Late 20th century
The late 20th century has been an extremely vibrant period for the classical guitar. In the late 20th century section, we present music by Leo Brouwer (Cuba), Sergio Assad (Brazil) and a lesser known, but nonetheless important guitar composer Jorge Cardoso (Argentina).
Milonga, a composition by Cardoso, is based on a musical form by the same name from Argentina/Uruguay. The traditional Milonga is said to have originated from the Habanera (a Cuban dance) and the Argentinian Tango. The piece has a lilting rhythm and exquisitely constructed.
Sandy’s Portrait by Assad, is dedicated to Sandy Bolton, a great patron and supporter of activities related to the guitar at the University of Arizona. The Toccata, which is the third movement from the piece, is a guitar showpiece, highlighting technical virtuosity as well as traditional Brazilian rhythmic complexity.
Cuban Landscape with Bells by Brouwer is a sombre and sparse composition which draws attention to the unnecessary deaths and strife that have affected Cuba due to economic sanctions. The musical devices employed move seamlessly between poignant melodic fragments and bleak, almost-dissonant arpeggiated chords.
The third concert – A tribute to the Cuban composer Leo Brouwer
The third concert in 2017, planned to take place at the Mazda Hall in Pune on October 6 (with support from the Poona Music Society), is dedicated to the works of Maestro Leo Brouwer and commemorates the Cuban composer’s pre-eminent position in the guitar repertoire. The concert will feature solo pieces as well as concerti by Maestro Brouwer. The concerti are presented as piano reduction accompaniments.