CLASSICAL G Editorial Classical Guitar News ~ compiled by Colin Cooper Carlos Barbosa-Lima ~ A Profile by Colin Cooper Obituary — Laszlo Szendrey-Karper, 1932-1991 Peter Sculthorpe - Thérése Wassily Saba Silesian Guitar Autumn 1990 — Colin Cooper Absolute Beginners Class (Part 13) ~ Simon Wynberg Benicasim Festival ~ Colin Cooper Music Supplement — edited by Neil Smith ‘Tommy Tedesco ~ Colin Cooper Scandinavian Guitar Festival 1990 — Colin Cooper Music Reviews Record Reviews Book Reviews Concert Reviews Craft of the Guitar Maker - Trevor Semple Seales for Guitarists - Chris Kilvingron Views from Everywhere Concert Diary Letters to the Editor General Editor: Colin Cooper Reviews Editor: Chris Kilvington Correspondence Editor: Liz Beeson History Editor: Harvey Hope Masic Eaitor: Neil Smith Contributors: Haim Algranati, Colin Arenstein, Alize Artzt, Gordon Crosskey, Chris Dell, Zbigniew Dubiella, Paul Fowles, John Gavall, Paul Gregory, Ole Halen, David Lipkin, Ivor Mairants, Jorge Morel, David Russell, Maurice J. Summerfield, Chris Susans, Graham Wade, Timothy Walker, George Warren, Jack Whitfield, Hugo Zuleta Reviewers: Peter Batchelar, Jane Bentley, Raymond Burley, Sarah Clarke, Colin Cooper, Rebecca Crosby, Luke Dunlea, Lorraine Eastwood, Paul Fowles, Stephen Goss, Nicola Hall, Sandra Hambleton, Harvey Hope 1a Kircher, Andrew Liepins, Oyvind Lyslo, Steve Marsh, Michael MeGeary, Alfonso Montes, Joe Nickerson, David Norton, Thérése Wassily Saba, Chris Susans, Neil Smith, Paul Thomas, Graham Wade, Andy Warn, Advertisements: Malcolm Innes We welcome contributions, bu cannot accept responsibilty for them. Please enclose prepaid label or envelope i you want your work reture arc i eed atch pera ee ae SA cy sony tant, COLDENOFFSETLIMITED ASHLEY MARK PUBLISHING COMPANY Carlos Barbosa-Lima page 1 Peter Sculthorpe page 14 Benicasim Festival - page 24CLASSICAL GUITAR NEWS Carlos Barbosa- The Brazilian guitarist Carlos Barbosa-Lima is well known to London audiences, having appeared here many times. His concert on April 23rd will, T think, be his first appearance at St John’s Smith Square, where he is perform- ing with percussionist Thiago de Mello on Juan Monroy’s LACCS series It is a highly attractive pro- gramme of music by Pernambuco, Ernesto Nazareth, Ary Barrios, Radamés Gnattali, Jobim, Alfredo Vianna (better known as Pixin- guinha) and Thiago de Mello, the percussionist. Gaudencio Thiago de Mello is a celebrity in his own right. He was born in Amazonian Brazil, where conditions for musical train- ing were practically non-existent. His first career was that of a profes- sional football coach, and it wasn't until he was 33, when he moved to New York, that he was able to study music. He studied guitar, and in 1979 founded the Guitar Society at the United Nations, which he directed for ten years. As a percus- sionist of skill and creative ingenu- ity, he plays many percussion instruments with his band Amazon, a 12-piece ensemble based in New York. He teaches percussion and builds instruments. He is also a composer of originality, and has written a large number of pieces, including Cantos para 0 Morubixaba (‘Chants for the Chief"), which Carlos Barbosa- Lima will be premiering in this con- cert. Herbert Chappell’s new concerto One of the interesting things about the new guitar concerto by Herbert Chappell is that the recording was actually the first performance. Eduardo Fernandez and the English Chamber Orchestra con- ducted by Barry Wordsworth were faced by microphones rather than a ive audience. Not that Decea’s engineers go in for the multi-track- balancing act favoured by some: ything was captured with the d of a couple of judiciciously COMPILED BY COLIN COOPER Carlos Barbosa: Lima placed mikes, and the whole thing was accomplished in one session, thanks to the high professionalism of everybody concerned. Eduardo Fernandez subsequently performed the work in Montevideo, in his native Uruguay, with a differ- ent conductor. Herbert Chappell is not himself a guitarist, but he has had the advan- tage of knowing Julian Bream and John Williams and getting to know the ins and outs of the guitar as a consequence. In his perceptive and colourful liner notes, Eduardo Ferndndez quotes Herbert Chap- pell as saying “I wanted to add a concerto to the repertoire that respeets and actually rejoices in the instrument's natural resonances; a piece that is challenging for the soloist, enjoyable for the orchestra and ~ Deo volente — fun for the lis- tener’. The recording has attracted high praise in the national press. A review will appear in our pages soon. Composer derives inspiration from tortoise Much has been heard recently about the pet starling that Mozart owned and which is claimed to given him the melody he used in his G major piano concerto. {AS usual, the guitar does not lag behind when it comes to bizarre happenings of this kind. Freda fe Mell Ronnos, a guitarist and composer who lives a spartan (literally) exis- tence in the far south of Greece, has a pet tortoise which, she claims, provided similar inspiration for the Toccata she has written for solo gui- tar Unlike the stunted and taciturn tortoises that reach the shores of Britain, tortoises in southern Greece tend to be bigger and far more voluble. Ms Ronnos says that hers can actually sing five distinct notes of the diatonic scale, though not with any discernible rhythm, A dodecaphonist by training, she was able to extract an unusually vivid series from these five notes, and this was the basis of her composi tion. “I have given it, appropriately, the rhythm of the kalamatianos she told CG. “Although it must. of course, be very played very, very slowly.” The world premiere was scheduled for April 1 this year, in Venice. ‘A CD is being planned, though plans have not yet been finalised. ‘T would like Mozart's G major con- certo to be on the disc also,” said Freda Ronnos. ‘Perhaps in a guitar transcription. It will show that ani- mals can be just as musical as peo- ple. Guitar Orchestra Workshop Bach, Debussy and Mozart are the composers whose music will be rehearsed and performed at the 5shop for Guitar 4 by Myer Rosen y Kathryn Bennetts. Ripley Village Hall Surrey, is Sunday 14 April, n to Spm. The fee of £35 judes all meals and drinks. Grade Il is the minimum stan- dard, but more advanced players will find plenty of challenge. Parts available a week to ten days in advance, This is the seventh one-day work- shop run by Myer Rosen and his wife Aviva, including two very enjoyable days for young players. Apply early (space limited) to: Guitar Orchestra Workshops, 22 Caxton Gardens, Guildford, Surrey GU2 6AX (tel. 0483 35852). John Williams reaches demicentenary John Wi It is hard to believe that the golden youth of the guitar whose ‘brow ‘was touched by God” (but whose hands, perhaps more practically, were touched by his father Len) is now approaching that time of life which those of us who are already well past it like to call “early middle age’. But the evidence is there: John Christopher Williams, born Melbourne April 24th 1941. He doesn’t look it; and his playing, as, youthful and as vigorous as ever, ‘certainly doesn't sound it John Williams is not a great cele- brator of birthdays, and won't thank us for mentioning it. Nevertheless, journalists like to have some excuse, and an anniver- sary, especially one ending in a 6 nought, serves the purpose well enough. Classical Guitar extends its warmest greetings to John Wil- liams, with admiration and thanks for what he has done for our instru- ment and a confident expectation that he will continue to do the same and more for a very long time to come. Crities choose Castella Andriaccio ‘The Castellani-Andriaccio Duo’s ‘Danzas and More’ recording (Fleur de Son Records) has been named a ‘Critic’ Choice for 190° by the American Record Guide. Some of the smartest, most adroit playing since Presti and Lagoya’, said one citation, William Bardwell ~ new work The English composer William Bardwell, who lives in Spain, has written a work for soprano and sex- tet (guitar, oboe, alto sax, harp, celeste, flute). ‘Which Way’, a set- ting of a poem by Jack Geddes, had its premiere at the Minnesota Guitar Society in February. Women in Music London guitarist Rose Andresier has been invited to perform in the Women in Music’ Festival in Atlanta, Georgia., where she will give (on 6 April) what is probably the first guitar concert entirely devoted to the work of women composers. The same concert will be given at Chard, Somerset, early in May. In addition to performing in Atlanta, Rose Andresier has been invited back to Berea College in Kentucky (where she has previously taught) and will perform there on 4 April. Stephen Goss ~ new work Stephen Goss’s orchestral song cycle Hymnen an die Nacht for soloists, guitar and chamber orches- tra will receive its second perfor- mance on 28 April at Croydon Parish Church, forming part of a concert to be given by the Surrey Sinfonietta. The work was original- ly commissioned by the Taspis Chamber Orchestra, who gave the first performance at St John’s Smith ‘Square in London. It comprises set- tings of four poems by various 19th century German poets for baritone and mezzo-soprano soloists. The prominent guitar part will be played by Peter Howe. Segovia Trio locked on stage Segovia Guitar Tio The Segovia Trio (Roland Gallery, Vincent Lindsey-Clark, Alexander MacDonald) recently had the inter- esting experience of appearing on the stage of Covent Garden Opera House with the Royal Ballet in a new ballet by Sir Kenneth Mac- Millan, ‘Winter Dreams’. The music was arranged for four guitars by Tom Hartman, who used music from Tehaikovsky piano pieces and Russian folk melodies. Alexander MacDonald said, ‘Playing the music from memory on stage in a Russian soldier's uniform was one thing, but we had to be choreographed as well.” ‘After that, there can have been comparatively few surprises during their visit to Broadmoor Hospital, the high-security psychiatric institu- tion that houses some of this coun- {trys most dangerous prisoners. The Trio gave special performances in the wards for highly disturbed patients, where one of the psychi: atric staff observed that the Spanish programme had an extraordinarily beneficial effect on some of his patients. These informal recitals were followed by a concert in the main hospital hall, where security was tight and even the Trio were locked on stage for the duration of the performance.Octaphony in Devon Hot on the heels of Algranati & Lipkin’s 10-string guitar (see CG, February) comes Simon Ambridge, who lives in Devon, with a hand- some 8-string guitar made for London guitarist Stuart McGowan. With a 660mm scale length, it has six individual saddles, apparently in line but with a different contact point on each so that the lowest string (an octave below the usual E) touches it a few millimetres far ther back, so making tuning easier. The top is of European spruce, the back Indian rosewood, It has an interesting rosette with a crowsfoot pattern running round in a continu: ProvArté Laser Select J46s erent) Stuart McGowan with 8-string guitar and Henry MoGowan. ous line (not as the crow flies, but as if it had its other foot nailed to the middle of the soundhole). Handsome machine heads by Rodgers complete a very fine gui tar eee Simon Ambridge’s trai cabinet maker shows in the meticu- lous craftsmanship, but it is a play- cr instrument above all else, nec- essarily ‘The 7th string is tuned to B. With the bass E, it gives Stuart McGowan a fair range, though he would not want to play a melody on those two strings. Simon Ambridge hhas cut away the top part of the fin- gerboard, where a player is never likely to finger the 7th and 8th strings, after the pattern adopted by Ramirez. It saves a little weight, and the eye does not get the impression that the upper bout is dominated by the wide fingerboard. The necessity of large-gauge bass hhas meant modifications to he standard brid: n the Ramirez, which S wns : le ting such @ bridge on Si giving an improvement in saddle contact. The whole instrument is credit to the current school of English guitar making, which is attracting considerable internation al attention just at present. Notwithstanding his pleasure at this new acquisition, Stuart McGowan remains attached to the 8-string Ramirez, which is easy tc play and has a good clear tone Stein-Erik Olsen Stein-Brik Olsen was in London in February, taking a group of Norwegian students around the c leges and visiting well-known guitar people. He has another CD coming ‘out soon, with the flautist Olga Sandvold (with whom he made previous CD). Later in the ye Stein-Erik will be touring Norw in a duo with Vladimir Mikulk Nottingham SGC distrib music The Spanish G Nottingham is now distrib h guitar music pub! prominent Greek publishing house of Ch. Nakas-C. Papagrigoriou C> ications cover didactic, concerto works, Most ece’s leading composers are © including Andrio- poulos, Boudounis, Fampas, rginakis, Hadjidakis, Maman kis, Miliaressis, Sergidis, and Theodorakis, as well as the enowned duo of Evangelos and Li Full details from the SGC, Nottingham Road, New Basford, Nottingham NG7 7AE (tel. 0602 622709, Fax 0602 625368). Stentor against zips Nikita Koshkin and Viadimir Mikulka Not so much against them, but tak- ing precautions against their poten- tial for damage to sensitive guitar backs by issuing a special ‘protec- tion against zips’ apron. Nikita Koshkin is wearing one in this pho- tograph, and Vladimir Mikulka — whose own zip-free top is clearly not in the least dangerous ~ is suffi- ciently reassured to hand over his precious guitar for the Russian composer to play, News, good and bad First, the good news. Chandos Records are recording the complete works of Sir William Walton, including the Varii Capricci, Walton’s own arrangement for orchestra of the Five Bagatelles for solo guitar. The bad news is that there are no plans to record the Bagatelles themselves. It is an odd decision, bearing in mind that the guitar is, the instrument for which the music was written, But Chandos say they are now discussing the possibilit so there may be better news for gui tarists soon. Even to non-guitar omitting the Bagatelles from any collection purporting to be com- plete must be incomprehensible. LACCS commissions new work Edmundo Vasquez was born in Chile in 1938, and now lives and ‘composes in Paris. His guitar com- positions Créole et Lointaine and Ofrenda are published, respectively, by Robert Martin and Max Eschig, Other guitar music by him has been published by them and by Salabert. It includes Suite Transitorial, which was performed by Marc Jean- Bernard at the Wigmore Hall in 1981 and, more recently, by Oscar Ohlsen "in 1990, also at the Wigmore Hall. Now Juan Monroy, director of the Latin American and Caribbean Cultural Society, has commissioned Edmundo Vasquez to compose a work to mark the 1992 Christopher Columbus Quincentenary. The suite Mundo Nuevo (New World) will receive its first performance during the LACCS 1992 series. The fuitarist has not yet been named The Suite will be in four parts, each a *Visione’ of America. Each part will be a musical approach to the Americas, ranging from the time of Columbus to the present day, Britain's International Music Show After five record-breaking years at Olympia, the British Music Fair has achieved world status by becoming the International Music Show. In 1990 there were 158 exhibitors, and the number has been rising. Over 20,000 visitors came to see the show. There will be a repeat of the 1990 popular feature ‘Learn to Play enabling members of the public to receive advice about playing an instrument and in some cases reveive a free introductory lesson. ‘The guitar is well represented at this show, with most of the coun: try’s important distributors and retailers exhibiting. There is a Young Guitarist of the Year Competition, but the field is a very wide one and classical guitarists will be hard put to it to make them- selves heard, Classical Guitar will be there as usual, on the Ashley Mark stand, where we look forward to meeting. friends old and new. 10-14 July 1991. Organised by Westland Associates Lid, 23a Kings Road, London SW3 4RP (071 730 7852 Fax 071 730 6017) Prize for Dieter Hopt e a Dieter Hopf The work of the German luthier Dieter Hopf has been recognised officially by the award of the prize, presented at the Frankfurt Fair, from the Kuratorium des Deutschen Musikinstrumenten- preises. Events in brief Cambridge. 28 July ~ 2 August Cambridge International Guitar Festival (CG Jan), Cannington. 3-10 August. 18th International Guitar Festival and Summer School (CG. Mar). Chichester. 27 July ~ 2 August. Classical Guitar Festival of Great Britain (CG Oct). Cirencester. 10-18 August 1991. 1th G-B International Summer School (CG Feb/Mar) Horncastle, 27 July — 3 August. Summer School for Classical Guitar (CG Mar) London. 17 April - 23 May. North London Music Festival (CG Feb). 10 May. Trinity College, Guitar teaching course. 7 June. Trinity College. Guitar teaching course. 10-14 July. Olympia, London. International Music Show (CG Feb, Apr).FROM BACH TO BONFA - AND BACK A PROFILE OF CARLOS BARBOSA-LIMA BY COLIN COOPER SAGITTARIANS are reputed to be clever and imaginative, and Antonio Carlos Barbosa-Lima (born on 17 December 1944 in Sao Paulo, Brazil) does not disappoint. For what it's worth, he shares his birth sign with Hector Berlioz, Benjamin Britten, Manuel de Falla, Manuel Ponce, Joaquin Rodrigo, Joaquin Turina, Abel Carlevaro, Viadimir Mikulka, Franciso Térrega, and no doubt hundreds of other guitarists as well. But ict no one imagine that even a sagittarian can become a good guitarist without a lot of hard work. Carlos Barbosa-Lima has done his share of that, ever since at ¢ of nine he began to play the guitar. His teachers Isaias Savio and B. Moreira, and he received encouragement from well-known musicians like Luis Bonfé and Isaias Savio. By the time he was 13 years old he was regarded as a child prodigy, and had already made a successful recording in Brazil After making his concert debuts in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, the young Carlos went to the USA. performing at the Alice Tully Hall in March 1972. After that came extensive concert tours of the North a South Americas and Europe. In March 1974 he made his debut in Paris at the International Week of the Guitar, and in June 1979 he was the first guitarist to participate in the ‘Festival Casals’ in Puerto Rico. Carlos Barbosa-Lima now lives in New York, leading a busy life as an international concert guitarist, recording artist and teacher (he is a member of the Faculty of the Manhattan School of Music). He is active as a transcriber, and his work has resulted in many excellent transcriptions for the guitar of music by Scarlatti, Bach, Handel and modern South American composers. His arrangements of Jobim, Joplin and Gershwin have achieved widespread popularity. He has ways found it easy to switch styles, and it gives his music an unusually wide-ranging appeal. Says Carlos, Perhaps it was because of my own development in Brazil, where we do not have this air-tight division between classical and popular. I always felt a great affinity for the popular style treated in a classical way’. Many prominent composers have written works for Carlos Barbosa-Lima, They include Francisco Mignone, Leonardo Balada, Guido Santérsola, Albert Harris and John W. Duarte. In 1976 he commissioned Alberto Ginastera to write a work; the resulting Sonata Op.47, dedicated to Barbosa-Lima, has won almost universal distinction as one of the outstanding 20th-century compositions for guitar. Although other guitarists have recorded it, he has not. It is surprising, because a recording from him wouid have been regarded as the definitive interpretation. One reported reason was his intention of recording a song cycle of Argentine songs by Ginastera, which would make a whole disc devoted to the music of the Argentine composer but would take a long time to arrange. Meanwhile, recordings of the Sonata have appeared by Roberto Aussel, Carlos Bonell, Eduardo Fernandez, Marco de Santi, and Maria Isabel Siewers, notwithstanding the fact that Ginastera himself wanted Barbosa-Lima to make the first recording. It is a classic example of the efficacy of the fait accompli: faced with what was clearly about to become a minor flood of Op.47s, the publishers let Barbosa-Lima's option lapse. His programme at St John’s Smith Square, London, on 23 April does not include the Ginastera Sonata. I remember his sterling performance of it at the Queen Elizabeth Hall some years ago, and perhaps the Carlos Barbosa-Lin memory of that is enough to be going on with. Instead, Carlos Barbosa-Lima has chosen a somewhat different direction for his programme. For one thing, he is sharing the platform with a percussionist, Thiago de Mello, in a programme of enticing music by Joao Pernambuco, Ernesto Nazareth, Ary Barros, Radamés Gnattali, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Alfredo (*Pixin: guinha’) Vianna and Thiago de Melio himself It is arguable that, despite the fine work being done by contemporary Brazilian composers working more in the European tradition, this is where the real strength of the Brazilian guitar lies. In any case, it is a shrewd choice of programme, for British audiences, like audiences elsewhere in Europe, regard Latin American guitar music with a very real affection, even if they themselves can’t quite get the rhythms right. Carlos Barbosa-Lima gets the rhythm exactly right SOME OF CARLOS BARBOSA-LIMA’S RECORDINGS Dez Dedos Magicos Num Violdo de Ouro. Chantecler CLP 104 O Meninoe 0 Violio Chantecler CMG 1004 Musices deJ.0. Queiroz. Chantecler CMG-2434 Album de Modinhas “Chantecler 208 404 079 mortal Catllo. Continental LP 1-35-404-020 Brasle Violio Chantecler 210 407-280 Scarlatti Gutae Recital ABC Dunkill ABCIATS Mignone - 12 Guitar Studies Philips (Brazil) 659% Scott Joplin Works Concord Concerto CC Tobin & Gershwin Concord Concerto CC Music of Cole Porter Concord Concerto CC Impressions ~ Concord Concerto CC Bravil, With Love (Duet with Sharon Is Rhapsody in Blue: West Side Story (D 2012LASZLO SZENDREY-KARPER 1932-1991 AN APPRECIATION LASZLO Szendrey-Karper, who died on February the 12th, was the architect and builder of the Esztergom International Guitar Festival, the fortnight-long biennial event in Hungary where guitarists from east and west could meet and intermingle. He studied the guitar with E. Kaparti and Barna Kovats. In 1955 he gained a first prize at the Warsaw World Youth Festival, and achieved success in other competitions, including a high placing in the Radio France Competition in both 1961 and 1962. In his native Hungary in 1962 he was awarded the Second Degree of the Liszt Prize, and in 1973 the First Degree of the same prize. His recordings, mainly for Hungaraton, were numerous. He performed widely, and had been a teacher of the guitar at the Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest since 1962. His guitar method, now the basis of the teaching in the guitar department of the Academy of Music, was written in 1972. He gave many concerts with his wife, the operatic soprano Karola Agai. One of their duets was a notable feature of the last Esztergom Festival, held in 1989. Rivalry among teachers exists in Hungary as it does everywhere else, and a considerable proportion of that country’s guitarists were not to be seen at the festival. In that sense it is a pity that there could not be more international events held in Hungary to accommodate the talents of such as | Benké and Gergely Sarkézy, to name only wo. On the other hand, Lészlé Szendrey-Karper = good simply by holding a festival d ing such large numbers of people Without his efforts, very few of Hungary's young itarists would ever have had the chance of hea the best international players. For that reason alon the standard of playing rose in Hungary during the years of the Festival. The converse also applied many guitarists from other countries owe much of their subsequent international success to their repeated appearances in front of large and enthusiastic audiences within the of the festival. Those whom the audience loved were invited again ~ and again, and again. They, and the thousands of participants who every two years swarm to Esztergom to enjoy two weeks of continual (or so it sometime seems) concerts, have reason to be grateful to Laszl6é Szendrey-Karper for his achi My last meeting with him was at the end of the 1989 Es/tergom Festival, some eight months after his first heart attack. Although obviously not in good health, he remained — as he had done throughout the fortnight of the Festival ~ his usual calm, courteous and self-contained self. His presence on the guitar scene will be much missed. Laszi6 Szendrey-Karper’s popular festival in the vement. R Laszlo Szendrey-Karper little Hungarian town of Esztergom is now firmly established in the calendar, and celebrates its 10th anniversary this year — sadly without its founder. It seems likely to continue. His many other successes in the field of the guitar and music notwithstanding, it remains Las2l6 Szendrey-Karper's finest achieve- ment, a fitting memorial to his life and work. Colin Cooper New Classical Guitar CD's from GNA Records ... EDUARDO ISAAC plays 20th CENTURY MUSIC ins secon of excling new work Tiles tnclade Tedere -Tlony Fiesvolleftomantiog a Asenclosuite SCOTT TENNANT GUITAR RECITAL Scolt Tennant is well known as an integ oF the Los egcles Guartet but he bo aloo, ao this well reoorded CD shows mt x {CD only £13.20 (USA $25.00) each Price includes postage and packing ~ Available now trom: ASHLEY MARK PUBLISHING COMPANY Olsover House, 43 Sache Rad Newcastle upon Tyne NEB STA, United Rngaom,PETER SCULTHORPE Australian Composer By THERESE WASSILY SABA 1es concern me that people buy contemporary ngs and read novels just published, but with music nn to Beethoven and Mozart. It seems rather odd ~ Peter Sculthorpe JOHN Williams played the European premiere of Nourlangie last December, a new work for large ensemble, guitar and percussion. Nourlangie was written by the Australian composer Peter Sculthorpe and commissioned for John Williams and the Australian Chamber Orchestra. The work was performed with the ACO on their European tour with the Australian percussionist, Michael Askill. The percussion included a thunder sheet, a bass drum, tam tam, bongos and a Chinese cymbal Nourlangie is a rock in the Kakadu National Park (where Crocodile Dundee was filmed) and is sacred to the Aboriginal people. At the time of writing the piece, Sculthorpe spoke of Nourlangie: ‘Early this year I spent some time around Nourlangie Rock in the Kakadu National Park. A place both powerful and severe, it me of the best Aboriginal rock art in the area one can see across the flood plains out to ton, to the Arafura Sea and to Torres Strait oposed uranium site lies just to the east of the k’s very programmatic style reflection of it: “This work, in concerned with my feelings s concerned with an actual in order to give a sense haracteristics co ually not easily dentifiable in aim to use the m b jody and then work a wa. He to fragments may not b istinguishable. It is almos a ritualistic concept of making an offering to ap the gods. In Kakadu (1989), completed in the composer's 60th year, a fragment of the first abor music recorded by western musicologists was included The piece was to be played in the Paris Bicentennial celebrations and the melodic fragment came from the collection of two Frenchmen, Péron and Freycinet, published around 1800. Not so well known in England, Sculthorpe has been at the forefront of composers seeking an Australian musical language. He relates his musical style to the Australian landscape ~ one of wide open spaces ~ flat horizons with waves of heat glare rising from the ground. But he doesn’t wave a nationalist flag, as he explains: ‘Actually, I'm only made out to be an overtly nationalistic composer because people keep asking me to talk about it. I write music about Australian themes because that’s what I know.” His popularity has spread because he has been able to achieve a musical style which is easily accessible to the 4 Peter Sculthorpe public without compromising his own ideas. The accessibility of his music is a reflection of his personality he is very personable ~ and is the result of his aim for + directness of style. horpe had a close friendship with the Australian Russell Drysdale for many years and there is a aspect 10 his music, despite the occasional lodic sections. In the powerful feeling of d not only the isolation that many of the early European settlers must have felt, but also the great isolation that one experiences within the country and its unconquerable distances ‘Nourlangie is very recognisably Sculthorpe. Birds on the strings, some suggestions of Balinese music and gamelan, Gagaku ~ Japanese Court music ~ and then his moving rhythmic cells and the arch-form structure, overly sweet melodies sharply contrasted by a doomful sad loneliness His compositions explore the area of sound as well as the old concept of music-as-notes, He is inspired by the sounds that are around him. The inclusion of bird sounds provides a good example of this concept. Birds have been almost a constant feature of his large-scale ‘compositions since the Sun Music series of 1965-69. Sculthorpe is not concerned with the melodic detail;he uses the birds for an effect, often with the sound of many birds singing together. As he explains: ‘I've only ever written one piece where the birds are sort of specific , and that was a piece called Irkanda I which I wrote in the mid-fifties and there the birds are carefully written out. They were in fact birds heard around Canberra where I wrote most of the piece, but since that time whenever I've used birds, as far as 1 can remember, it more to get a feeling of birds flying; it more like a massed flight of birds, singing, chirping, screaming, and screeching, whatever. In some pieces I have used seagulls, and in Kakadu 1 use seagulls and they're specific; but otherwise the music is meant to symbolise birds rather than be any special kind of bird ~ unlike the French composer Messiaen, who is very specific about birds. I mean, he writes the names of them in all of his pieces..." Sculthorpe's compositions are without development in the traditional western classical music style. Much of the music which inspires him lacks that type of development the music of Victoria doesn’t develop, nor does that of Palestrina, Monteverdi, Bach, Gagaku, Balinese music. The greatest music doesn't develop at all! Mozart and Beethoven, for instance, are dwarfs compared to all that. Nourlangie is a fine example of Sculthorpe’s structural form of composition. He often composes works in blocks, not quite movements but contrasting sharply with one another. Another aspect to the easy recognition of Sculthorpe’s ‘music is the way his pieces often relate back to and use material from his previous works. This practice has sometimes been described as_sclf-plagiarism; however, it serves him well. For any creative artist, it is very difficult to finish a work. There are always improvements that could be made and different ways of expressing an idea. In one respect, Sculthorpe’ style of composition relieves some of the frustration experienced when one must finally let go of a piece, by allowing him to explore those other alternatives in future pieces. Nourlangie quotes freely from previous pieces. John Williams was pleased to have Sculthorpe write this ensemble work for guitar, and in speaking of the need for this type of repertoire, said: ‘I don't think that we can pretend that the odd transcription like the Marcello or even the Vivaldi concerto make up a repertoire.’ The odd transcription goes very well musically, said John Williams, but pieces like Sculthorpe’s Nourlangie were particularly welcome: lot of composers are writing for the guitar in a imaginative way today. I think even more imaginatively than they were 20 or 30 years ago, because of the greater interest in musical textures now amongst Contemporary composers compared to a generation or two ago. This of course suits the guitar down to the ground."s In the same BBC radio interview, John Williams spoke with enthusiasm of his attraction to certain con- temporary styles of composition: ‘I'm very interested in the encouragement and the taking up of composers who are working in fields that are not absolutely straight down the European mainstream of classical music. | don't mean necessarily experimental, but Peter Sculthorpe, for example, is particularly wonderful at developing a kind of Australian classical music. You know, it’s absolutely conventional in terms of instrumentation and the approach of using the language, but the musical impressions and the sound- pictures that are created by it are very reflective of the Australian field. And of course in his large-scale orchestral pieces like Kakadu and Earthcry and Mangrove: big orchestral pieces which I think are absolute masterpieces. I think they will come into the repertoire in the next 20 or 30 years as very significant orchestral works, Peter is a wonderfully over-modest fellow when it comes to understanding the technique of the instrument. He’s rather reticent to push it too far, but everything he does is absolutely right. He's a ‘wonderful composer.’ 4 Some Biographical Details: Born in Launceston, Tasmania,1929. Studied at the University of Melbourne Conservatorium of Music in the late 1940s. Stidied with Egon Wellesz at Wadham College, Oxford in 1957, Returned to Australia in 1960. Appointed Reader in Music at the University of Music in the late 1960: Composer-in- Residence at Yale University in 1966. Visiting Professor of Music at the University of Sussex 19; Appointed MBE f 1970, and OBE in 197, University of Tasmania conferred upon him the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters in 1980 University of Sussex conferred upon him an Honorary Doctorate in 1989, services 10 Australian music in References: 1- Interview with Michael Hannan. SSO educatior 2 Interview with Belinda Webster. 2MBS Programme April, 1989 3. Interview with Nicholas Kenyon, BBC Radi tha Peter Sculthorpe’s works are published by Faber and Faber in London. PETER BARTON rer ine clash ies Te 0943-$30447 ‘S 36 Hh St ARinghom.Serkshre 829 oP mA Flamenco - Folk Latin American Blues - Ragtime Lute and Mandolin £2.25 including Records post, £2.75 including post DAVE BARCOCK ‘9 The Drive, Kingsley, Northampton (0804) 715414 IsThe Guitarists’ Avdtsotute B eginners Crass By Simon Wynberg 13: Melody and Accompaniment THE repertoire of a beginner piano student normally consists of simple pieces in which melody and accompaniment are clearly divided between right and left hands. From the easy works of Bach, Mozart, Clementi, Schubert, Beethoven and Mendelssohn to those of Debussy, Satie and Schoenberg, the melody is normally assigned to the right hand while the left assumes the task of accompanist, playing an essential but nevertheless supporting role. Of course the hands may swap roles, but it is this separation of function that is essential to understand. From the very beginning of his studies, a piano student will learn to use one hand in order to provide a sympathetic rhythmic, dynamic and harmonic support for the other. This is a fundamental part of all piano playing, whether the pianist plays in a concert hall or a cocktail lout The solo guitar often has to satisfy these entical musical requirements; it has to provide its own effective internal accompaniment or support. All composers of guitar music from Sor to Villa Lobos have had to find various ways of making their music fulfil this essential requirement. But as we all know too well, the guitar doesn’t work in the neat manner of the keyboard - one hand tune, the other hand supporting harmony. Guitarists have to do both jobs with both hands, which makes it that more challenging (and for the listener both surprising and satistying when it really succeeds). At its most effective the guitar will sound as though it is fulfilling several independent functions simultaneously: for example providing a melodic line, a harmonic filling and a bass foundation. Separating the melody from its accom- paniment or supporting part is a technique that most players, even some professionals, find extremely difficult. It is not just the technical and physical problem of highlighting a melody above arpeggios, chordal accompaniment or counter-melody, there is the initial hurdle of realising and understanding just how crucial this separation process is. Many a piece is crucified simply because players are not preoccupied 2 enough with this problem. Before going into some technical detail of how best to practise the separation of melody from an arpeggio accompaniment, it is worth stating the beginner pianist’s rule: before you work on both hands together, play each hand separately. For the guitarist substitute the word ‘part’ for ‘hand’. ‘After going through the piece in its entirety, isolate the melody, whether it be in the bass or treble, and play it as if it were a solo melody line. Experiment with different fingerings. Then isolate the accompaniment and play and finger it as if it were independent of the melody. Imagine that the melody is being played on another guitar. Return to the melody and now try to imagine that the accompaniment is being played on another guitar. Once you have gone through this process, combine the two elements and work out an effective fingering for the combination. This method involves extra work but ultimately saves time. Here is a practical example: Sor Exercise Op. 35 No. 13. Example | Now play the top part, making sure that the notes last for their full value: Example 2 — “= Sing the line while you play it (and then without using the guitar), try to add some expression to the line. I have marked in some suggestions. ‘Now play the accompaniment Example3 Return to the melody once again, before assembling the two parts. In the early stage of learning the guitar it is very difficult to accentuate the melody without also accentuating other notes that sound at the same time. The musical result, or rather the unmusical result, is plodding and heavy in character. The ideal effect to aim for is a murmuring but clear accompaniment below a full, bright melody A helpful trick is to practise very slowly, playing, the lower note fractionally earlier (and much more quietly) than the melody. This enables you to play something that closely approximates the desired effect, making the final goal easier to understand, and ultimately, to reach. In using this technique you will need to exaggerate the difference in dynamics. © Simon Wynberg, 1991The Snow Village Steve Marsh (Dawn) Lento Hi2 HT HI2 HZ piano * Moderato ( J = 144) @ist FPP PT TPP PP oforr “Throughout all this work, hold down as many left hand fingers as possible for as long as possible, to obtain a ‘campanella’ effect.2B) gerd a 0" (The Little Church) Va Aaa A a A dt LALA Lt dol ddd | A ol @e (The Village Green) Allegretto (, = 92) (tap front of guitar ral ie ee ; on y WH —alte ho 30LIEBESLIED - CHANT D’AMOUR Adagio a4 crPEon f i—- - 1 P! espressivo RP FS (1806-1856) J.K.MERTZ4 cn cere il canto ben marcato m —zTHE CRAFT OF THE GUITAR MAKER By TREVOR SEMPLE 8. The Early Years THE problem with any varnish, ancient or modern, is one type has all the ideal qualities. A hard sh gives the best protection for guitars or lutes. use they are handled so often. But, if the varnish is >0 hard, it may chip away or restrict the sound. Hard varnishes tend to be rather brittle, and they find it hard adjust to the movements of thin, flexible wood surfaces. This can sometimes be seen as ‘crazing’ — a pattern of fine cracks all over the varnished surface, not, unlike the glaze on some Victorian porcelain, A softer varnish may give acoustically better results, and be more compatible with the wood underneath, but then it often wears very quickly. Old violins give us the best example. The back of the neck is usually grey and rather grubby, in contrast to the brilliant gloss of the rest of the body. This is not because it was made that way, but because the varnish has been worn away in use. This has become so much the accepted appearance that modern makers may use little or no varnish on the back of the neck, even if they make a new instrument. The antique has come to dominate the contemporary, and the faults of the original varnish have become a feature! Luthiers may be entirely justified in making such a decision if it is done out of respect for the past However, itis just a small step further down this path to the world of furniture, where such attitudes combined with less honest intentions may lead to some distressing practices. If you were a piece of furniture subjected to such indignities, you would be distressed as well, for this is, of course, the term used to cover various ways of artificially aging ‘antiques’. They include the use of a shotgun to imitate woodworm holes, soaking in sé water to cause staining and discolouration, and beating with padded chains to cause surface damage suggesting In the previous article we saw that from around 1550 it was common for luthiers to use at least two different varnishes. This gives rise to the questions: why use more than one varnish at all, and what exactly were these varnishes ? It is clear that the choice was for relatively soft varnishes, regardless of the limitations. Then why two types? I suspect that the answer lies in one of two possible areas. The use of colour coating was alicady common, and the art of using colour is to lay it on in dense, thin coats. On an instrument, you cannot afford dozens of lightly coloured coats, otherwise the sound suffocates under so much lacquer. Some varnishes, by the nature of the solvents used, are better than others at dissolving organic dyes. The other possibility is that luthiers required a very thin varnish for use on soundboards alone. Surviving lutes appear to have something applied to the soundboards, but the coating is very subtle. Makers may have chosen to use a different varnish on the soundboard alone out of concern for the sound of the finished instrument. It also suggests that luthiers may have deliberately made a very thin, penetrating varnish for their own specialist use Bearing all this in mind, it seems probable that 50 1950, makers had both oil- and spirit-based varnishes at their disposal. Oil varnish can be made from various oils mixed with turpentine. You can add dozens more ingredients as well if the mood takes you. Oil varnish is rather like modern paint. It is thick like honey, and flows well from a brush. It dries by oxidation to become fairly waterproof, and this process is greatly accelerated by ultra-violet light (present in sunlight). Hence the ‘many tales of makers hanging instruments in windows or in sunlight to dry. Spirit varnish is so named because the resins are dissolved in some kind of spirit, usually alcohol. These varnishes are typically very thin and watery, hold der colour and dry very quickly. They are difficult to apply with a brush. There is an almost endless list of possible resins that could be dissolved in alcohol. ‘This brings us to french polish, or shellac. This is one specific type of spirit varnish, and certainly the best known. It is made by dissolving shellac flakes in alcohol.SK = The resin comes from the remarkable lac insect, In India and South-East Asia they live in their millions on the branches of certain trees, where the female insects secrete a thick layer of brown sticky gum. It is believed this is part of their survival strategy, offering protection from heat or attack. It is an effective deterrent to other insects, as they themselves would suffocate in their own treacle if it were not for the fact that they have evolved their own unusual method of breathing. For centuries. man has harvested the branches of the trees, and extracted the shellac to make ‘lacquer’. French Polish made its appearance in Europe during the very rapid innovations that began around 1760. Rather surprisingly, it was initially something of a military spin-off. At the time, many European military uniforms were brilliant red in colour. The dye came mainly from an overworked little insect in Mexico, and was called cochineal became crippling, and in the scheme of thing better to spend the military budget on nasty destructive things like guns, rather than on elegant trimmings like Uniforms. So an alternative was sought. At this point. it was noticed that many Indian fabrics were dyed brilliant red, and the base of the dye was shellac. By 1800, large quantities of this dye were imported into Europe together with a certain amount of shellac resin. But over the next 80 years the balance was to reverse dramatically as more and more new uses were discovered for the versatile resin, including the manufacture of early gramophone records. Now luthiers and cabinet-makers had access to enough shellac to make their revolutionary new varnish It had many fine qualities, and they were impressed. French polish dries quickly, and can give a brilliant shine if desired. It has a wonderfully rich reddish-brown colour. It is fairly waterproof in normal use, though less so than most oil varnishes. It wears better than the violin varnish of Stradivari’ time. Tt does not craze, and usually remains somewhat flexible. ‘There are many fine qualities here, and this accounts, for the continued use of french polish in the 20th century. Its use has declined since about 1930 for two main reasons. First, it is rather slow to apply, and therefore comparatively expensive. The furniture and car industries have put considerable ingenuity into developing finishes that can be applied thick and dry quickly, in an attempt to reduce varnishing time. Secondly, we now make far greater demands on our wooden objects. We have become used to plastic surfaces (especially in kitchens) that can withstand heat, and can be easily kept clean with detergents or bleaches. We now expect the same from wooden objects as well. French polish is totally inadequate in the face of such harsh treatment. Luthiers have to make the difficult decision how far they should be influenced by practices developed largely for other applications by other industries. Next month we will look at some modern alternatives. © 1991 Trevor Semple As demand soared, the cost it was rosvernsen Classical Guitar CONTACT: Malcolm Innes, Classical Guitar, Olsover House, 43 Sackville Road, Newcastle upon T) Tel: (091) 276 - 0448 - Fax: (091) 276 1623 NEG STA ‘T-H-E —— Spanish Guitar Centre — OF NOTTINGHAM — woes GREEK We now distribute the guitar music of the Ieading Greek publishing house CH. NAKAS Co. ‘Music available for didactic, solo, duo and ‘concerto. Many leading Greek composers represented including: E, Andriopoulos, E. Boudounis, D. Fampas, K. Giorginakis, M. Hadjidakis, N. Mamangakis, G. Miliaressis, A. Sergidis & M. Theodorakis, plus albums of duet arrangements by Evangelos & Liza. Dealer enquiries welcomed. Full details from: 4 Nottingham Road, New Basford, Nottingham NG77AE/ (0602) 622709 Fax (0602) 625368 Hours: ump Mew Se 6 / ‘ee SIDE ONE SDE TREE CARCASS -25 Es 0 60.10) SOR-20 SDETWO ‘SDE FOUR IDE CARCASL- 25 Etudo OF60 Na. 2.5) EROUIE SOR mstuses 110) a 120 ;nt performance by David Tanenbaum of these standard student repertoire pieces. Ideal learning material for the studont guitarist and delightful music or the classical guitar music lover to listen 2 Cassette Set £11.99; 2 Compact Disc Set ~£17.9. lable now from specialist guitar contres throughout United Kingdom. In case of difficulty ~ svailable from ‘exclusive UK distributer (add £1.00 post and packing). ASHLEY MARK PUBLISHING COMPANY Olsover House, 43 Sackville Road, Newcastle upon Tyne NE6 STA, United Kingdom.