Playing & Composing Outside the Box

For some of my thoughts on my new recordings coming up read Christopher Mallett's interview in the Summer issue of Classical Guitar Magazine........

Dear Friends,

Over a week ago the world lost one of its most innovative and extraordinary musicians in Prince. What a brutal shock this loss was for us. Prince was the person who was going to continue to create and perform into his 90’s and then some. His unrelenting creativity gave us the impression he was invincible and eternal. Prince was the energizer musician who just keeps on playing. Sadly for us he wasn’t. He was a human filled with human struggles and contradictions. His passing is fresh over a week later… maybe more painful. I listen to his songs like millions and tears well up. Why? Because for one, he often transcended himself, his instrument and actually became one with music. There was no filter, nothing in his way, he got right to it and lived inside whatever song he was playing. Prince really, really loved music and musicians of all shapes and sizes. If you ever saw Prince perform, you certainly would never forget it. At a Prince concert you danced, your jaw dropped in awe, you sang along, you laughed and every one was right there with you. And maybe.... he might drive a vintage car on stage and start shooting hoop as he did when I saw him on the Love Sexy tour. Prince wasn’t afraid to be completely who he was at all times and it wasn’t always pretty. I remember how irritated I got when he smashed the guitar of the guitarist from the Jimmy Fallon show.

In addition, I remember getting so irritated with certain recordings that appeared like rehashes and not what I thought he could or should be doing. Imagine that!!! Who the hell cares what I think Prince should be writing, least of all Prince?! But still I did. How do I feel about judging Prince that way? I’ve now been listening to the various albums I questioned, and they sound great.

Prince was family. My children grew up listening to tons of his songs from Purple Rain, Cream, Raspberry Beret, Sign O' the Times to tunes from The Vault like Cool as the Other Side of the Pillow. There are so many deeply musical Prince tunes of varying styles and emotions, it’s dizzying, including many stirring instrumentals.

Prince could just plain be funny. Even when he didn’t mean to be, he was. It was part of his charm. One of the greatest comedians of any era is Dave Chappelle and if Dave thinks you’re funny, you are. Watch his skit about Prince playing ball. BTW, check out Prince's clothes and style through the years. Wonderful!

I’m writing now because just this morning another one of my friends, knowing how much I loved Prince, wrote me to ask how I took it. It’s been very touching to me how many have written and called as if Prince was blood.

So, I thought I would write something directly from the heart, no filter, like brother Prince.
 

I was more than gratified to know that apparently back in the day when I released my four arrangements, (Kiss, Purple Rain, Lets Go Crazy, 4 the Tears in Your Eyes) Prince was aware of them and was pleased. He apparently mentioned it on his website at the time. Visit my FaceBook page for my 15 sec. instagram video that I did the day he passed. Below are links to each of the arrangements. They appeared on my 2000 CD Soepa. As some of you know, I have been playing Kiss in concert for the past few years. Music joins us all. Thanks Prince for bringing us together, now and 4ever. We love you!

Peace.

Purple Rain
Let’s Go Crazy
4 the Tears In Your Eyes
Kiss

Bach Two Generations

We all know that American music programs in almost all schools are under funded. I am offering this Bach recording as a free down load but I wanted to give you the opportunity to contribute any amount of money to the D'Addario Foundation which is committed to making music education accessible to all.

You know how wonderful it is to have an instrument in your hands and to make music with it. Now in some school there is a young Jimi Hendrix or a Joni Mitchell bursting with creativity but not able to express it because he or she can't afford a guitar. Below is the link and whatever amount you donate will go towards guitar programs in under funded schools.
http://www.daddariofoundation.org/about/donate

Download Bach Two Generations

I recently “rediscovered” my CD Bach Two Generations. It was my second full length recording. The repertoire I had intended for my first Bach recording was to be Bach’s Cello Suite #6 (BWV #1012) and the A Major C.P.E. Bach Concerto.

I can still remember Anthony Newman sitting at my kitchen table in 1978 suggesting that I should learn and record the 6th Cello Suite. At the time, my colleagues were recording the Lute music of Bach. The most commonly recorded cello suites at the time were suites 1 and 3. No one to my knowledge had recorded the 6th. I developed a profound love of the piece from the opening statement of the Prelude right to the last note of the Gigue.

It was my dear friend flutist extraordinaire Keith Underwood that suggested the A major C.P.E. concerto. It was such a natural choice as the composer made three versions of the piece. It exists for flute, cello and harpsichord so… why not guitar? I worked from each version to create my arrangement. It was an exhilarating experience. Anthony Newman along with the Laurentian String Quartet and bassist Dennis Massuzo agreed to record it with me. There were two rehearsals prior to the recording.

The company Sine-Qua Non was very interested in releasing a Bach cassette of mine but did not want the combination of a solo/ concerto recording. The idea of combining a solo work and a concerto was inspired by a Segovia LP.

I then learned and recorded J.S. Bach’s second Violin Sonata (BWV #1003). It seemed a natural choice because it was a master piece, it had not been recorded on the guitar and it paired well with the 6th Cello Suite. In addition, like the Cello Suite to my knowledge it had not been recorded. Keep in mind this was long before You Tube!  Many of you reading this might not know what a cassette is! Subsequently the cassette entitled Bach Transcriptions was released.

I was then left with a recording of the C.P.E. Bach concerto that had no home. I approached the owner of Musical Heritage Society Jeffrey Nissim who offered to release the recording if I could couple it with another concerto.

Again Anthony Newman suggested I arrange the Bach violin arrangement of the D minor Harpsichord Concerto, which is considered by many to be one of Bach’s greatest masterpieces. I hurried down to Patelson’s music and bought the score and began learning it that night.

As I recall we had one rehearsal and the next thing I knew we were in the church recording. I remember there being two microphones only. Both the Bach Transcriptions recording and this recording were what we would refer today as “old school” recordings. They were recorded analog and edited by one of the best engineers working at the time, David Hancock. He was a joy to work with and was a splicing wizard! I’m not so sure they are not my finest sounding recordings. I learned a lot from working with such a masterful engineer so early in my career.

I recorded the C.P.E. on a Thomas Humphrey guitar and the J.S. Bach on a John Gilbert guitar.

I am forever indebted to my mentor and dearest friend Anthony Newman who was so generous with his time and artistry given his insanely busy schedule at the time. Both he and his wife Mary Jane were a tremendous musical influence in the years of this recording and my solo Bach recording.

I must also thank the Laurentian String Quartet and bassist Dennis Masuzzo. In addition, I owe an enormous thanks to my wife Rie Schmidt who helped tremendously with the final editing.

Finally I must thank my dear friend Jim D’Addario with out whom these recordings might not have been made.

It is a great pleasure to offer this recording to those who want to hear it.
As always, peace love, guitars and concerti!

Improvisation Goyesque, 2015

Dear Friends,

What a joy and a journey it has been to write music for the upcoming documentary The Goyesque. I will not say too much about the documentary but simply guide you to the site. Some of you have already seen the site and can trace the film's evolution from its beginnings.

About 4 years ago my dear friend, Christopher Burke, world renowned art photographer, asked me if I would write music for a documentary film he was directing about - among other things - the prominence of the bull in the history of art. After seeing masses of compelling footage I simply had to say yes.

This video was shot in the Roman Arena in Arles, France. Chris, his director of photography, Martial Barrault, and editor, Eben Bull,  decided to film me playing in a couple of different locations in the famous arena. At the same time they were also filming at a variety of other sites. Some of the footage of the bulls was taken during bullfights, which they had filmed in the arena a few years earlier.  In other footage of bulls, they are roaming fields in the province known as La Camarque.

The music I am playing is not an actual improvisation as the title implies. What I did was to play the various sections from the second movement of my piece, Now and Ever. I played them in a free and improvised manner.  I weaved in and out of sections, not in the sequence that appears in the original work. I wish I could say it was all improvised a la Keith Jarrett. I chose this piece early in the project because it fit perfectly with so many of the images. The music in this video will be in the finished film. It will likely be altered and scored for different instrumentations.

Since the beginning of the project I wanted the music to come from the perspective of the Bull. To the extent that is possible, that served as an emotional starting point.

As we progress I will be writing additional music which may or may not end up in the film but will be part of a CD release. Among the guests that will appear on the CD are the legendary guitarists Andy Summers and Paco Pena.

I hope you enjoy this video as much as we enjoyed making it. I want to extend huge thanks to Eben Bull who made 98% of the artistic decisions, and did all the editing of both the music and the film. In addition, tremendous thanks go to Christopher Burke and to Martial Barrault and his fabulous film crew. It has been an honor and a joy to be part of this project. 

Until the next time, Peace, Love, Guitars and Bulls!
Ben

Links to 
The Goyesque

Official Website:
www.thegoyesque.com

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Goyesque/132104903501273

Instagram:
www.instagram.com/thegoyesque
@thegoyesque

Tumblr:
thegoyesque.tumblr.com

Twitter:
www.twitter.com/thegoyesque
@thegoyesque

Pinterest:
www.pinterest.com/thegoyesque

Vimeo:
https://vimeo.com/goyesque

Shangri La Series

Aloha Friends,

I hope this finds you in great spirits and health!

I am writing to inform you that I have released a series of videos of three pieces that are dear to me (videos below). Two of the three are compositions by legendary Spanish composers and the other by a legendary South American Guitarist-Composer. With that much information I will let them be surprises as we progress through the series.

How this came about was to some degree haphazard and organic. In June of this year I had the urge to record these pieces. I asked my great friend John Kiehl if I could come down to his studio and record. He, in his endless generosity, complied and we had a wonderful time recording.

I then thought that perhaps I should make guitar-video “art pieces” in which the guitar would be featured but in some exquisite location.

That led to me asking the great folks at Honolulu’s Shangri La if I could do a video shoot there.  The Shangri La was the home of the great Philanthropist Doris Duke who was a passionate collector of Islamic Art. It is unlike any pace I have ever been and is a renowned museum. Much to my surprise and utter delight the  wonderful people at the Shangri LA said yes!

At this point, I just needed a videographer. “Wait a minute…” I says to meself. My daughter just graduated from Carnegie Mellon with a BFA, maybe she will be up to the task of working with her father? Yikes, not easy for anyone!!! She said yes and the journey began. We had a blast doing the shoot at such an extraordinary location. Anyone who has visited the Shangri La after a few minutes starts to wonder “hmm…how can I live here?” It is that magical.

I want to make it clear that these are Mitsuko’s creations visually with some executive help from her older brother John. My brother Don will be posting on the various platforms with some much appreciated outside assistance.

We have now arrived at the final stage of the journey. Accompanying each video will be a short article about each of the pieces you will find on my web site under Ben’s Deep Thoughts.

In closing, I want to say what an honor it was to record these pieces and to shoot them at the Shangri La. I’m extending a huge mahalo to all who helped them come to fruition, and you know who you are.

Aloha,
Ben

Reflections on Agustin Barrios Mangore’s Julia Florida

A primary reason we play any piece of music is because it touches us in some deeply personal manner. There exists within the piece some musical truth that resonates within us.

Such is the case with Agustin Barrios Mangore’s Julia Florida.

The first time I heard Barrios’ music was at the Festival International de La Guitare in Arles, France in 1975. John Williams programmed La Catedral in a solo concert. It was my introduction to John playing live, and let’s just say, he didn’t disappoint!

For all of us guitarists in the audience, it was the first time we had heard the Preludio, which now is routinely thought of as La Catedral’s first movement. Prior to this time, the Preludio to my knowledge had been difficult to locate for the general public. La Catedral is one of Barrios’ most performed works. I remember that I could not learn it fast enough after hearing John’s performance. John Williams was one of the first if not the first, to champion Barrios’s music in a major way and bring it to the attention of the general public. His commitment to the music was and is very genuine and inspirational.

As I began my career as a soloist, however, I simply ignored Barrios’ music, and yes, I will now admit that I had an attitude about it! I was quite an unbearable snob in my 20’s! ugh! 

According to Rico Stover, guitarist and author of the seminal book Six Silver Moonbeams: The Life and Times of Agustin Barrios Mangore, Julia Florida has proven to be Barrios most popular work. I came to play Julia Florida because I had been asked to include some Latin American music for a concert that I was playing last summer. In discussing what I might play with my dear friend, composer-guitarist Van Stiefel, he exclaimed, “I challenge you to play Julia Florida.” Van put it to me in that manner because he knew of my snobbery and lack of real appreciation of Barrios’ eminent gift and contribution to our repertoire. Since I’ve known Van—beginning as my student at Yale on through to the present—he has always been a great advocate and admirer of Barrios’ music.

Truth be told, I have always loved teaching Julia Florida, and because of this (and Van’s challenge) I decided it must be in the set with pieces by Brouwer, Villa-Lobos and Lauro.

From the commencement of my relationship with the piece, I have been struck by its soulfulness and honesty. I would die to write a piece this beautiful and balanced. It is a composition any composer could learn from and admire. I will always be grateful to Van for “ putting it to me” to learn it.

I love the two-bar introduction. It perfectly evokes the movement of waves, which is apt since it is subtitled  Barcarola. The melody that follows is to die for! The B-minor section is wonderfully mysterious and is a magnificent contrast to the D major opening section. The composer seamlessly modulates to the later A-minor section and skillfully returns to D major. The harmonics at the closing of the piece are iconic!

Barrios’ command of the guitar is second to none.  He had a magnificent intuitive sense of how to coax the most sublime sonorities from the instrument. Guitars do nothing but smile when Barrios’ music is played on them!

While practicing the piece, I found myself continuously adding little ornaments. I simply could not help myself! In addition to being a virtuoso and brilliant composer, Barrios had a reputation as a fabulous improviser. Below is a statement of Jose Candito Morales from guitarist-author Rico Stover’s seminal book Six Silver Moonbeams:

“Morales stated that many times he heard Barrios improvise in his own concerts, and when queried afterward why he “changed” a piece, he replied, “ Che, inspiration overtook me, and I forgot I was giving a concert!”

With this knowledge, I decided that Mangore would have approved of the wee passing tone I added in the repeat of the B-minor section and the flourish I added at the closing of the piece. I have often repeated the measure (5 measures form the end) prior to the closing harmonics in concert. Depending at the tempo that I am playing, it seems natural to do so. I did not repeat that measure in this recording. My little ornaments are played with the utmost respect to the legendary composer.

Rico Stover tells us that Barrios wrote Julia Florida in December of 1938 while living in Costa Rica. It was apparently a difficult time for the composer due to diminishing health and a lack of regular employment. Julia Florida was dedicated to Francisco Salazar’s niece, Julia Martinez whom Barrios taught.

In a recent email Richard elaborated:

“I met Julia in Costa Rica. She told me that Barrios smoked a lot and was a bit nervous. Maybe because she was so beautiful and he of course wanted her but restrained himself…. or maybe not? She never let on to me that anything at all went down between them and I somehow think that was the case. But, knowing Mangore’s history with women, I wouldn’t rule it out either.

And of course you know why she was called “ Julia Florida” by her family? She grew very fast in adolecence,”bloomed” and “shot up” at an early age (“florida’ means “bloomed” form florece = to bloom or flower).”

He must have been extremely fond of Ms. Martinez to write such a masterpiece. To quote again from Rico’s wonderful book, Leo Brouwer remarked:

“Barrios’s mind and the structure of his thoughts were romantic. Just as Bach continued to write suburb baroque music up to the year of his death (1750), well after the high baroque period had come to an end, Barrios was writing exquisite romantic music long after its passing in Europe”

He continues to say; “In Barrios there occurs a certain kind of innovation in the mid-19th century harmonic language which can only be done from a point later in time, out of the period.” Barrios great love for Chopin is evident. It is apparent in much of his music, hence his well earned title “the Chopin of the Guitar.” Perhaps this is why my college roommate and interpreter of Chopin extraordinaire, Chris Lewis, turned to me as John Williams was playing Barrios on stage and asked “ why don’t you play this music!?  It’s gorgeous!”

It has been said that Barrios was in no way musically in tune with his times. Perhaps this was because he lacked the formal musical education one might have had in Europe. For much of his early career Barrios was unaware of the European musical scene. That having been said, in his later travels he did meet people like Villa-Lobos who were writing in an extremely different musical language and employing dissonance in a manner one does not encounter in Barrios. The author Bacon Duarte Prado apparently has a postcard written to Barrios from Stravinsky. On some level Barrios must have been aware of the world-renowned composer’s work. Perhaps that is why Van called him the first “post-modern” composer in his notes for On Wet Roads on Autumn Nights for my CD Soepa.

Clearly, Barrios wrote the music he heard in his head and heart. Among its attributes, it is extremely honest music.

What more can we ask of an artist but to be true to him or herself thorough out life’s journey? Like thousands of other guitarist Julia Florida has an emotional truth within it that will always be dear to me, and one that I will continuously want to share with audiences for years to come.

Here is a manuscript in Barrios’s hand. It is illuminating to see the actual handwriting of the composer and how ornate it is. My dear friend Richard Savino just recently for his article generously sent this manuscript to me. This same one can be found in Rico Stover’s The Complete works of Agustin Barrios Mangore published by Mel Bay Editions in 2003. I highly recommend this edition. He explains that there was an earlier manuscript not in Barrios’s hand and a later one in Barrios’s hand that he found in Paraguay. In Rico’s edition he prints the later but shows you the differences. In my recording I do the earlier version. I’m sorry to admit more out of ignorance than preference! It’s not any less soulful!

I would also like to mention a wonderful article about Julia Florida by the virtuoso guitarist Carlos Bonell that Rico alerted me to. Here is the link: http://www.carlosbonell.com/blog/?p=3420 

I would also like to include Rico Stovers website as he was so gernerous in corresponding with me for this article.

Barrios wrote an extensive amount of poetry. Below is his poem My Guitar. It is taken from Richard Stover’s SixSilver Moonbeams.

Mi Guitarra
Agustin Barrios Mangoré

Hay un hondo misterio en tu sonoro 
y ardiente corazón, guitarra mía, 
gozas pensando y hay en tu alegría 
transportes de pasión, gotas de lloro. 

Te dió su corazón el dulce moro, 
el ibero te dió, su alma bravia 
y la América virgen, se diría, 
puso en tí, de su amor, todo el tesoro. 

Por eso en tu cordaje soberano, 
que vibra con acento casi humano 
es a veces, tu voz como un lamento. 

Como queja de tu alma solitaria 
en cuya triste y mística plegaria 
florece sin cesar el sentimiento.

My Guitar 
Agustin Barrios Mangoré 

There is a deep mystery in your sonorous 
Garden heart, guitar of mine, 
You enjoy suffering, and in your joy 
Ecstasies of passion, teardrops of crying. 

The sweet Moor gave you your heart, 
The Iberian gave you your untamed soul 
And Virgin America, you might say, 
Put in you, because of its love, all the treasure. 

And so on your supreme strings 
That vibrate with an almost human accent 
There is, at times, your voice, like a lament. 

As a sigh from your lonely heart 
In whose sad and mystical plan 
Sentiment forever flourishes

Recommended reading: Richard Stover’s Six Silver Moonbeams.

Reflections on Manuel de Falla’s Homenaje

(Originally posted Sunday, November 9, 2014)

“Masterpiece” is a term I have heard throughout my career when colleagues mention Manuel de Falla’s Homenaje. Benjamin Britten, after hearing Julian Bream performHomenaje, is reported to have said, “The piece is only seven minutes long but there is twenty minutes of music in it.”  As it turns out, the work is actually more like three minutes in length, which makes Britten’s comment even more remarkable.

What makes Manuel de Falla’s Homenaje a masterpiece? There are too many reasons to mention here in a single essay, but I will try to explain why I love the work so much.

The genesis of Homenaje is to be found in the death of Claude Debussy, when Henri Prunierers ,editor of  the Parisian music journal, Le Revue Musicale, asked numerous composers among them Stravinsky, Satie, Bartok and Falla to compose musical tributes in honor of the late composer. No wonder, then, that, as part of his charge to pay tribute to the French composer, Falla drew inspiration from Debussy’s own music, in particular a piano piece called “La Soirée dans Grenade,” which is the second part of a three-movement work,Estampes, that Debussy wrote for solo piano.

At the top of his score for “La Soirée…” Debussy notes, “Mouvement de Habanera” The habanera is a sung dance created in Cuba (Havana) that became very popular in Europe, South America and the United States during the 19th century. It is an important influence in American jazz and the development of the Tango in Argentina.

This rhythm of the Habanera is the rhythm that Falla employed in his homage — composed, curiously enough, in Granada — to Debussy.

The habanera rhythm is comprised of a dotted eighth note followed by a sixteenth note that skips into the two following eighth notes. Falla adds two sixteenth notes to the sequence which are followed by the dotted eighth and sixteenth-note figure as originally found in the opening measure of the Debussy.

After a seven-measure introduction, Falla introduces the main melody, one of the most memorable and heartfelt melodies in the classical guitar literature.

What is so arresting about the work is how Falla juxtaposes the sexy rhythm of thehabenera with this sad melody. Guitarist Rey de la Torre wonderfully articulates the issue in an interview (now available online here) done in 1976 by Walter Spalding. I urge all who want to perform this work to read this article.

Eight measures from the end of Homenaje, Falla quotes directly from Debussy. The passage is there on page one of the Debussy score in the fourth system, pulled directly from measures 3 and 4 of his “La Soirée…”

The pitches Falla chose for the opening figure in the upper voice are F and E. This interval of a semi tone set in the habanara rhythm produce a musical equivalent of a sigh. It is a haunting and gripping introduction.

I adore the harmonies of the Homenaje. The use of the guitar’s open 5th and 6thstrings E and A on the downbeat of the first measure creates an aura of tonal ambiguity that pervades the piece. For example, on the downbeat of measure 19, a critical moment in the work, the composer sounds the notes from bottom up C, G, D, creating a C 9 chord. That having been said, I don’t think the composer was thinking so much in that manner as he was of the idiomatic chord voicings on the guitar.

For example, the chord in measure 9 is perhaps better thought of as a “stacking” of the intervals of fifths and a forth. This type of chord voicing is heard again in measures 27. I particularly like the haunting shift in mood in measure 24 with the change of color on the recording. Here we have an A major 7th chord but the F# is there as part of the motive and creates an uneasiness. It is the contrasting color of the chord that is so arresting. Returning to the chord in measure 19, it is the only point in this piece that a stacked 4th-5th sonority contains only perfect qualities of these intervals without dissonant tritones seconds, sevenths or ninths.

The most striking dissonant chord happens in measure 34 where we see within the chord a fifth, a fourth and an augmented fourth on the top. If you include the low e before the chord it could be labeled an F major 7th #11 but again it does not function that way in the traditional sense. I believe Falla was thinking more of the guitars sonorities and tying them in with the original notes of the opening motive. The chord lies beautifully on the instrument and is an iconic chord in the guitar’s literature.

This climatic moment is followed by a run that takes us off into an entirely new section of the work both rhythmically and melodically. This section from measures 37 to 42 exploits the open string pedal tone E on the guitar’s first string that provides a sense of flow reminiscent of some of Debussy’s piano compositions.

These harmonies offer a musical instability that gives the work a mournful tone while also propelling the work forward. The main motive and the evocative chords create a modal atmosphere, which is characteristic of traditional Spanish music.

What is particularly beautiful is the chord after the fermata in measure 67. It is an A major chord and the final chord, but the chord is set off balance because of the F which continues on through completing the opening motive. The final two notes reiterate that opening musical sigh —a breathtaking ending marked with perdendosiover the last two measures. As my dear friend and colleague Julian Gray wrote about the ending, “Falla truly creates a moment here as when Hamlet says of death that it is "The undiscovered country from whose bourn no traveler returns."

I have recently been conducting seminars based on the Homenaje, and one of the many issues that come up is the extraordinary amount of musical markings the composer provides throughout the work. I would venture to say that I know of very few works written before this (this particular issue of Le Revue Musicale was published in 1920) that offer so much detail on the printed page. Falla tells you precisely how he wants you to play the piece dynamically and rhythmically.

Falla was clearly a stickler for detail. Right from the opening notes of the piece, he is notating specific dynamic and articulation markings. On the second beat of the measure 1, he writes staccato indications under the bass notes and “x’s” above the upper voice notes (at the bottom of page one it is written in French that the “x”-marked notes should be slightly held). The effect is wonderful, demanding a specific technique often overlooked by many guitarists. I would guide the reader to Alicia de Laroccha's recording of Falla's" Fantasia Baetica". It is very instructive in how to handle this gesture.

These are just a small few of the numerous markings included in the score. I urge students to use a few different highlighters to color the articulation markings, the dynamic markings, the hairpins and all of the musical markings such as theritardandi and affretandi.

Nevertheless, I sometimes question Falla’s (or his editor’s) choices. For example, I have always felt that the metronome marking of a quarter note equaling 60 printed in parentheses was too fast. I tend to play it more around 50 beats per minute — or, perhaps, a touch faster. If the tempo is too slow, one loses the feeling of thehabanera. If it is too fast, it does not sound sad and calm as he suggests in his overall description next to the tempo marking.

To my knowledge there exists three published editions of this work — the one that was originally published in Le Revue Musicale in 1920; the edition edited by the legendary Catalan guitarist Miguel Llobet; then there is the 1986 edition by the English composer and teacher John Duarte. In addition, there is also a manuscript that offers particular insights into Falla’s expression. I urge students to look at not only all three of the guitar editions but the piano score and Falla’s own orchestration of the work.

I have chosen to play from the Llobet version. Miguel Llobet was one the great guitarists in the history of the instrument. He had an uncanny understanding of the instrument. More importantly, he worked with Falla on the score, making his edition the one I most resonate with.

What you hear in the video is my third recording of the Homenaje. My first recording of the work was just too slow. During the recording, I had been absolutely hell bent on a very slow and sad interpretation. After a few listenings, I decided it was horrible and was more a dirge than a habanera.

I then went back into the studio and recorded it at a faster tempo. This time, I was so concerned with the tempo and achieving the habanera feeling throughout that I neglected to do the numerous affretandi with any authenticity.

A month later, I had just taught the piece in a master class on Maui. That same night I checked out my second take. I was horrified at what I heard — I wanted to weep (I think I did!!).

I immediately emailed the recording to my friends John Dearman and Fred Hand for their opinion. The following day, they both urged me to find a way to record it again in Honolulu. The video shoot was only days away. I was freaked! Luckily, Darin Leong came to my rescue and allowed me to record it at the eleventh hour in his studio in Honolulu. This is the version you hear on the video.

Homenaje sur Le Tombeau de Debussy (its full title) is a piece that generates much discussion amongst guitarists and will for generations to come. We can go into great detail talking about issues such as, how long to hold the “x”-marked notes or what the correct tempo — or, for that matter, should one be equally “sad” and “calm” or “calm” and “sad” in interpreting the notes on the page.

Still, even with all of Manuel de Falla’s markings, the piece offers the performer a remarkable level of flexibility in its interpretation. The choices one makes under such circumstances may seem sometimes arbitrary, the music is so beautiful that it demands of the player decisions of an almost spiritual nature.

The Homenaje is a work I have come to admire at every level of perspective, from every point of perception. I hope that what you hear in the video reflects the always changing, ever-growing admiration and love I have for this masterpiece.

Suggested Reading: Sacred Passions: The Life and Music of Manuel de Falla by Carol A. Hess (Oxford University Press, 2004)

Special thanks to Jackson Braider, Simon Powis and Julian Gray.

Reflections on Isaac Albeiz’s Cordoba

Before performing it two years ago I studied the piano score and changed a few things. Prior to recording it in June 2014, I was inspired by Julian Bream’s arrangement and employed some of his ideas.

In the 1100s, Cordoba was a cultural capitol of the world. It was a city where at one time Jews, Christians and Muslims lived in peace. Great philosophers like Maimonides and Avverroes lived there. The society of the time advanced science, medicine and astronomy.

The work commences with a still, reflective, almost Renaissance-like introduction. The passage culminates with a cadence in the dominant and a fermata after which point the familiar and hypnotizing descending two-bar figuring begins, leading us into a melody only a master could write. The key change from minor to major back to minor is a compositional technique employed often by Albéniz. Because he does this so convincingly and musically I never tire of it. One could say the summit of the work is its double forte passage in the D major section of the work.  It is often played with the rasqueado technique — a tip of the hat to the world of Flamenco music so vital in Cordoba. I love how Albéniz restates the famous tow bar “intro” before the main melody after the last fermata at the end of the piece.

The original piano score contains several ritardandi, ralentandi, and dynamics. I believe they are essential for the interpreter to observe. Even with these numerous indications the piece allows the performer a tremendous amount of elasticity.

Cordoba exploits the guitar to its extreme. There are wonderfully varied textures, tessitura and timbral qualities throughout. The guitarist is asked to make triple pianissimos as well as double fortes. Its octave passages, particularly in the D major section, are among most expressive and emotional we have in the repertoire.

It is a piece that one can find new truths throughout different periods of one’s career. In short, it is an honor to play. It was also an honor to be a small part of such a unique guitar festival in one of the most astounding cities the world has known. I shall always be indebted to Paco for inviting me year after year.

Below is Albéniz’s statement about Cordoba from the opening page of his piano score.

In the silence of the night,
interrupted by the whispering
aromatic breeze of jasmines, the
Guzulas accompany the Serenatas
And their fervent melodies, which
Diffuse in the air notes as sweet as the
Sound of the palms swaying in the
Sky above.

Canción del jinete

Córdoba.Lejana y sola.
Jaca negra, luna grande,
y aceitunas en mi alforja.
Aunque sepa los caminos,
yo nunca llegaré a Córdoba.
Por el llano, por el viento,
jaca negra, luna roja.
La muerte me está mirando
desde las torres de Córdoba.
¡Ay que camino tan largo!
¡Ay mi jaca valerosa!
¡Ay que la muerte me espera,
antes de llegar a Córdoba!
Córdoba.
Lejana y sola.
- Federico García Lorca

Horseman's Song

Cordoba.
Distant and alone.
A black nag, the giant moon,
and olives in my saddlebag.
Even if I know the way,
I never will reach Cordoba.
Over the plain, through the wind,
A black nag, the bloody moon.
The Reaper is watching me
From the tall towers of Cordoba.
Oh, such a long road!
Oh, my valiant nag!
Oh, the Reaper awaits me
before I ever reach Cordoba!
Cordoba.
Distant and alone.
- Translation, Charles W. Johnson

Recommended Reading:

Shangri La Series

Aloha Friends,

I hope this finds you in great spirits and health!

I am writing to inform you that soon I will be posting a series of videos of three pieces that are dear to me. Two of the three are compositions by legendary Spanish composers and the other by a legendary South American Guitarist-Composer. With that much information I will let them be surprises as we progress through the series.

How this came about was to some degree haphazard and organic. In June of this year I had the urge to record these pieces. I asked my great friend John Kiehl if I could come down to his studio and record. He, in his endless generosity, complied and we had a wonderful time recording.

I then thought that perhaps I should make guitar-video “art pieces” in which the guitar would be featured but in some exquisite location.

That led to me asking the great folks at Honolulu’s Shangri La if I could do a video shoot there.  The Shangri La was the home of the great Philanthropist Doris Duke who was a passionate collector of Islamic Art. It is unlike any pace I have ever been and is a renowned museum. Much to my surprise and utter delight the  wonderful people at the Shangri LA said yes!

At this point, I just needed a videographer. “Wait a minute…” I says to meself. My daughter just graduated from Carnegie Mellon with a BFA, maybe she will be up to the task of working with her father? Yikes, not easy for anyone!!! She said yes and the journey began. We had a blast doing the shoot at such an extraordinary location. Anyone who has visited the Shangri La after a few minutes starts to wonder “hmm…how can I live here?” It is that magical.

I want to make it clear that these are Mitsuko’s creations visually with some executive help from her older brother John. My brother Don will be posting on the various platforms with some much appreciated outside assistance.

We have now arrived at the final stage of the journey. Accompanying each video will be a short article about each of the pieces you will find on my web site under Ben’s Deep Thoughts.

In closing, I want to say what an honor it was to record these pieces and to shoot them at the Shangri La. I’m extending a huge mahalo to all who helped them come to fruition, and you know who you are.

Aloha,
Ben

Accompanying Hermann Prey

I thought I'd share something from the archives - a remembrance of Hermann Prey and my experience performing with this legendary bass-baritone artist.

"Accompanying Hermann Prey" 
from The Depot Beat - Autumn 1998, vol. V

This July the world lost one of its greatest baritones in Hermann Prey. Hermann had just become a friend and the news of his death brought great sadness to me, as I am certain it did for many.

In 1994 I received a call from Trudy Miller at the 92nd Street Y in New York City, asking me if I would like to participate in the Schubertiade accompanying Hermann Prey. Little did I know how life-altering the experience would be; I did know how inarguably lucky I was and would be always.

Having prepared three songs – Heidenröslein, Nachstück and Der Schiffer – I arrived at the 92nd St Y early, and I was nervous. “You’re playing with Hermann Prey?” my friends said. “You’d better practice.” I had worked myself into a frenzy. He entered the room, took off his coat, and, after a brief hello, said, “Let’s go.” The first two songs went wonderfully (he kept saying “Wunderbar!”). Most of Schubert’s songs were arranged for the guitar during his lifetime. Der Schiffer was less guitaristic than the first two, making it more difficult. I began my intro and I could tell he was worried. he said, “It’s difficult, yes?” Not being a quitter, he continued, “Why don’t you strum it? Make it flamenco-like.” When I improvised a new accompaniment sounding like Pete Townsend-meets Schubert-meets Paco Peña, he loved it! “Yes, that is it. Strum the whole thing!” I went home and arranged the song in this new style.

The next day at the dress rehearsal hours before the concert, he said, “Maybe you could do both – strum some, and pluck other sections.” So I went into the dressing room and rearranged it again. Hermann’s enthusiasm and love for the music made you do anything. I thought that his attitude and approach would be one of a purist. However, he was anything but a purist, and would do anything to serve what he felt the song was really about, even if it meant strumming like a wild man.

A year later at a rehearsal for our second concert together, he asked me to improvise a little introduction for another Schubert song, exclaiming, “Go ahead – I don’t care what the critics say!” This was a great teaching.

In 1997, during several rehearsals in Cologne for the second concert – the entire Die Schöne Müllerin at the Schubert festival in Bad Urach – we really got to know each other. I shall never forget the profound discussions we had over meals – topics ranging from the various pianists that had accompanied him to what it was like being a boy in Germany during the Second World War. “Hermann, you really should write an autobiography”, I said. To which he replied, “I have, it’s called First Night Fever.”

In any case, he had recorded Die Schöne Müllerin three times and said to me at the first rehearsal that he had just realized the key to the song cycle. He had really just discovered how it should be sung. He felt each song should, within reason, resemble the tempo of the first song, which is about the stream. The rhythm of the stream is the thread that holds the whole cycle together. He was thrilled with how beautifully the sound of the guitar fit the music. We would change color and even register of phrases in each rehearsal just to get closer to what he felt the song meant. It was inspiring to see such a champion of this work constantly seeking a new meaning to the songs.

But when we began the eleventh song in rehearsal, he looked at me in horror, and I asked, “What’s wrong?” “The key,” he said, “I can’t possibly do it in that key.” This was a huge problem, as changing keys in the middle means a whole new arrangement on my part. He realized this and looked at me with pity and exclaimed, “Shitissimo!” It will always be one of my favorite expressions. Off we went to buy some music paper in a nearby shop so I could get busy arranging it in the proper key.

Just before we began the performance at Bad Urach, he shot me a glance, as if to say, “I’ll see you at the end.” He waved his hand in tempo, and I began the first song, and, like an actor who goes into character, Hermann became the miller. How deeply this man felt each phrase and mood, both of the music and of the character. We did the entire cycle without a break. At the end of the last song (there are twenty in total, the piece takes fifty minutes to perform) he slowly came out of character. The audience began their applause, and he took my hand in his and said, “What a journey – what a journey.”

The Gift of Giving

One of the great joys about making a recording is how it develops a life of its own. Musicians often use recordings as promotional tools and I certainly have done that, but the greatest rewards have come when I simply give them away with no expectations. 

That is not to say that I’m completely free of wanting a favorable response – The making of a recording is no little matter. Recordings are our musical paintings. They document what we are feeling at a given point in our lives. Whether it is an interpretation of J.S. Bach or music of our own, recordings reflect our deepest being.

Back in 1984, I had the honor of giving the actor Dustin Hoffman my newest recording.

It was 8:00 am on a Sunday morning, and my wife Rie and I were living on West 72nd Street, three floors above guitar maker Thomas Humphrey. Rie went out to buy cat food for our high-spirited cat Yuki. “You are not going to believe who is at Cake Masters right now!” “Who?” “Dustin Hoffman!” 

 Cake Masters was a shop next door to us. Dustin lived in the neighborhood. In a crazed state, I grab my recording of Bach Transcriptions for Guitar. I put on the closest footwear near me (clogs!!!), run down the stairs, and walk in to the very narrow bakery. Less than a room away at the end of the store is His Greatness. As my daughter Mitsuko used to say, “OMG!” Next thing, my knees shake.

I was so paralyzed by nerves that I was literally stuttering. I couldn’t get his name out. There I stood in front of my hero, unable to produce a full sentence. “I,IIII ammmmm noooottttt an acccctor” – you get the idea! – “I’m a musician and you have been a great inspiration. This is my new recording that I wanted you to have.”

He looks up at me and replies, “Thanks.” I turn and begin my exit. As I reach the door, Dustin shouts out after looking at the cover of the cassette, “Hey, so you’re Benjamin Verdery?” “Yeah, that’s me.” “You in the book?”

I walk back to my building. As the day passed, I thought he would most likely dump the cassette in the garbage. So be it. I met him and it was an encounter I will never forget.

But the next day, when I get home, Rie greets me, asking, “Guess who called you today?”

I immediately turn on the answering machine and hear this man’s voice saying, “Hello, Mr. Verdery, this is Richard from Punch Productions regarding your meeting with Dustin Hoffman. Would you please call us at your earliest convenience?”

I call the next day and Richard tells me that Dustin liked my cassette very much and wanted to offer me two tickets to the show he was in at the moment, Death of a Sales Man. If I were to come on a Wednesday, please come to the matinee as he didn’t feel he always did his best in the evening performance. He said Dustin insisted on meeting me. I stood there, gaping at the answering machine.

Rie and I went to the Wednesday matinee – a memorable performance, to say the least. After the curtain fell, we both were so taken emotionally  drained we could  barely move. Then began the journey back stage to meet Mr. Hoffman. Perhaps a hundred people were hovering around the back stage door waiting for the stars to emerge. Somehow, we managed to get ourselves close enough to holler my name at the guard who found Verdery on the guest list and let us in.

From there we walked through a series of checkpoints manned by fellows speaking through walky-talkies. Finally, we reached the Great One’s dressing room.  It was tiny. There he was, lying back on a sofa like couch, looking exhausted. He looked at me and with out missing a beat exclaimed, “Ben, Come on in, your tape is great, my wife and I make love it to it all the time!” This is the review I probably should have put at the tops of my clippings a long, long time.

Failure

I am not sure if there really is any such thing as failure – in music or in life. With any given performance, you have an opportunity to learn, to improve and move forward. Whether you think you have crashed and burned or had the artistic triumph of the century, you can always learn from it and improve. The key, as the great Zen Master Suzuki said, is to maintain a beginner's mind. Music, like life, always flows forward.

You can be your best teacher

Through the years, playing the guitar has become for me a great spiritual practice. In the course of this journey, I began to notice how my practicing mirrored my emotional state of being. When I find myself rushing a phrase, for example, I realize that I am feeling a lack of patience. Simply by noticing such things in your playing, you can make a little adjustment and be your own best teacher!