We get so much sheet music sent to us by various publishers year ’round—literally hundreds of pieces in every setting imaginable (solo guitar, multiple guitars, guitar-flute, guitar-harp, etc.)—but we don’t have the space to write about the great majority of them in our four quarterly issues each year.
So, just as we are now listing new classical guitar CD releases every other Tuesday here, we now use the Tuesdays in between those to announce new print music releases. As with the CDs, these are not reviews (some will be reviewed in the magazine, but frankly most will not), but we think it’s important to at least get the word out about what’s being offered to guitarists out there. Where possible, we’ve linked the titles to the publisher’s website or some other outlet where it can be purchased, and stated the degree of difficulty (if provided by the publisher or it’s obvious). —Blair Jackson
Here is a link to our previous listings from October 25, November 8, November 22, December 6, December 20, and January 3.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Nine Pieces for Solo Guitar
Carl Fischer, 12 pp.
Edited by well-known performer and pedagogue Fred Sokolow, this collection of mainly one-page pieces draws from different movements from Bach’s Cello Suites and Lute Suites and also includes the popular Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring.
Gabriel Fauré
3 mélodies (for high voice and guitar)
Les Productions D’Oz, 12 pp
Here’s a set of three lovely short pieces from the great French Romantic composer Fauré (1845–1924), originally written for soprano and piano, but here arranged for guitar and voice by Mathieu Varnerin. The three works, sung in French, are the moderato En prière (In prayer), an adagio called Le secret, and the alegretto Notre amour (Our love).
Watch below for versions of all three, performed by Duo Varnerin (Mathieu and Stephanie Varnerin):
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Manus Noble
Tremolo: A Guide to Technique
manusnoble.com, 35 pp.
A helpful resource for classical players hoping to learn (or improve) their tremolo, by a fine young British guitarist/composer (who studied with Craig Ogden and Gary Ryan). Noble states on his website that his method “aims to dispel some of the misconceptions about tremolo technique, offering a thorough, detailed explanation of how to perceive, approach and practice tremolo. Also included are my own editions of Un Sueno en la Floresta, Recuerdos de la Alhambra, and Una Limosna por el Amor de Dios, which aim to offer more practical and musical fingerings to help the pieces truly sing, as well as a more helpful way to notate tremolo throughout the pieces.”
This should whet your appetite for tremolo. Jennifer Kim plays Barrios’ Una Limosna por el Amor de Dios:
Jean-Michel Coquery
Spain’s Bossa (for 2 guitars)
Les Productions D’Oz, 4 pp. plus parts
Evidently a short piece from French composer mixing Spanish and Brazilian bossa nova flavors. Intermediate.
Claudio Maccari
Quai 46 (for solo guitar)
Les Productions D’Oz, 24 pp.
Italian guitarist Maccari is best known as half of a duo with fellow countryman Paolo Pugliese, who have travelled the world and recorded numerous discs, with a specialty in 19th century guitar played on period instruments. However, for this contemporary piece aimed at intermediate guitarists, Maccari has written 11 short (one- to two-page) movements in a variety of styles, as evidenced by such titles as “L’Horloge… tic tac” (the clock), “Ennui” (boredom), “Scherzo,” “Pardon, je suis presse” (Pardon, I’m in a hurry), and “Bonne nuit” (good night).
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Paul Coles
A Sunny Day (Un Día Soleado) (solo guitar)
MÚsicas Editions, 4 pp.
This short and engaging intermediate piece is, according to British composer Coles “composed as an homage to the guitarist and composer Augustín Barrios Mangoré. The succinct nature of this piece captures the bright exuberance of a bright, sunny day out.” A version of the work played by guitarist Ian Watt (who recorded an entire CD of Coles’ works, titled Fire Dance) can be heard here. Could be a lovely concert piece.