Blog #2 Guitar Composers
Guitar Composers
Fernando Sor
Leo Brouwer
Clarice Assad
Guitar Composers
There are a lot of composer who wrote for guitar, but some who are especially known for writing guitar music. It's a shame they are not more famous because they wrote really wonderful music...but only guitarists know who they are.
Here's a list of guitar composers. Choose one, and comment below - tell me something about him/her, why he/she is great, and link a YouTube video for one of their works. Write at least 2 responses to others' comments. (I'll put a sample comment below).
- John Dowland (Renaissance)
- J S Bach (Baroque)
- Silvius Leopold Weiss (Baroque)
- Fernando Sor (Classical)
- Emilia Giuliani-Guglielmi (Classical)
- Mauro Giuliani (Classical)
- Francisco Tarrega (Classical) <---DON'T USE HIM. See my comment below. :)
- Isaac Albeniz (Classical)
- Heitor Villa-Lobos (Modern)
- Manuel Ponce (Modern)
- Leo Brouwer (Modern)
- Clarice Assad (Modern)
SAMPLE COMMENT: I love Francisco Tárrega! He was born in Spain in 1852 and died in 1909, and his music is very evocative. It just transports me to Spain. Though he wrote for "classical" guitar, he was a romantic era composer. He wrote a lot of music that is extremely difficult, but also some pieces that a novice guitarist could learn.
ReplyDeleteHere is a video of a short thing he wrote called "Gran Vals." It's so cheery! It makes me think of a laid back party in Spain.
https://youtu.be/uSQzUx3QW2Y
Clarice Assad is a modern composer from Brazil who works on guitar, piano, and vocals. She has also received Grammy nominations. Assad created VOXploration, which is a music course created for everybody, using interactive body & voice techniques to create music.
ReplyDeleteFun video of Clarice Assad singing “Black Bird” with a guitar quartet.
https://youtu.be/VrsGZMcZw2g
Clarice Assad was commissioned by NYC Guitar Orchestra
https://youtu.be/pqOpm13o-K4
I listened to some of her music as well and she is very talented. She uses alot of cool tricks like tapping on the body of the guitar.
DeleteI really liked the NYC Guitar Orchestra piece. It's neat to see a larger group of people play together on guitar.
DeleteIsaac Albeniz was a great composer. He was a pianist and never actually composed music for guitar, but his music was transcribed to guitar. His music is very entertaining and is quite captivating on guitar.
ReplyDeleteHere is Asturias, one of his most famous guitar pieces:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEfFbuT3I6A
I'm pretty sure one of our pieces in guitar tech was composed by albeniz but I might be mistaken.
DeleteSo the first artist music I listened to was clarisse Assad. It was a quarter of guitarist and kind of reminded me of like funk and jazzy music which is something I wasn't expecting to find in a classical guitar composition.
ReplyDeletehttps://youtu.be/Zw0SXjR8N4k
The second composer I listened to was Jon Dowland. This piece sound like a hymn to me. Very lyrical and beautiful. Traditional guitar music.
https://youtu.be/h8LEvYca7Rw
The Jon Dowland piece reminded me a lot of flute solos I have played in the past. It does remind me of a hymn!
DeleteI love John Dowland's music! Very old fashioned, though. He was renaissance - the guitar didn't even exist back then! He wrote for lute, but a lot of guitarists play his music.
DeleteHere's Sting (from The Police) singing a Dowland song with a luteninst. These two recorded a whole album of Downland's music and it's awesome.
https://youtu.be/C7juR1wV2d0
Manuel Ponce was a Hispanic composer and music educator who was active in the 20th century. Most of his compositions are heavy and strong that are influenced by traditional songs. Along with his various guitar pieces, he has also composed a variety of piano pieces.
ReplyDeletei like when people dont stick to what there known for and play different things just as well.
DeleteClarice Assad is a Brazilian-American composer who is currently creating all sorts of music such as jazz, samba, and others. Most of her compositions are very Jazz influenced, however, she really mixes all sorts of genres together in all sorts of cool ways. I really enjoyed her use of body percussion in her compositions. It was mind blowing to she how many cool sounds we can make just by using our body's. She's defiantly going on my playlist.
ReplyDeletei enjoy when people do somthing different and do it so well
DeleteAfter listening to her play for a little bit I can hear the different mixes of styles and I very much enjoy it.
Deletethe single most significant creative figure in 20th-century Brazilian art music, Heitor Villa-Lobos. after listening to a few of his songs i can see why his playing style is reflected in every one of his arrangements on all instruments and i really enjoy the way everything comes together in his song
ReplyDeletehttps://open.spotify.com/track/7tAC8WznLhmXmnOm5V0aPu?si=b914e1427ffe49e5
DeleteOh Man, do I love Villa-Lobos! I originally found him listening to KPR one day, and he is what originally inspired my love of nylon strings. Now that I have some insight into how classical guitar is played, I have a new respect for his music and the ability of classical guitarists! Just listening to the first two minutes of this video, I cannot believe the complexity of even just his first etude in E minor. The multiple different rhythms and amount of notes played at once... It's insane how complex you can get with the classical guitar! I'm posting the first link so ya'll can watch someone perform his works... I am also posting a second link for if anyone is possibly interested and wants to hear more. I like to throw this on when I am studying often.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nc0xmzB-wPY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huzXwAn8cMo
I agree after listening to the first link. This music sounds like it would take a lot of time and effort to master but it comes together very nicely.
DeleteWhile I view this music as extremely beautiful - as is all music! Similar to your situation with my choice, I don't really enjoy this music. I think watching him play is cool and the musicality is extremely impressive! BUT for me most time the absence of sound is what i enjoy, and the first piece (especially) always has sound. I also think I have come to just enjoy more of a modern approach to classical guitar! Personal Opinions aside! The piece is still cool and I'm glad you love him so much!
DeleteLeo Brouwer is Cuban classical guitar player. I liked his music because it was fast paced and reminded me of video game music. I enjoyed the quickness of how he plucked the strings and how effortless it sounded. His music sets up a sort of soundscape that is easy to get lost in. His use of harmonics is very impressive to me because he was able to switch up quickly from just playing to hitting harmonics.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4IWz-AgqL8
I can see your comparison to video game music. He does put together some interesting soundscapes, and I can see why maybe modern classical guitar isn't necessarily for everyone. Some people might not necessarily enjoy the type of more emotionally intense style that Brouwer seems to produce.
DeleteI don't really see the video game music connection (maybe we just aren't playing the same video games). BUT I do totally understand the fact that his music transports you into a soundscape! I would defiantly lose track of time listening to his music.
DeleteBrouwer really knows when harmonics will elevate the piece, I really enjoyed the aspect of his writing. For me I felt if the music was 8-bit remixed it could totally be slide into a video game from the NES era. It just has the quirky yet meaningful depth to it.
DeleteI look into a lot of the composers, but the mix of quirky playfulness, traditional Hispanic folk songs, and more calming pieces of Manuel Ponce drew me in! He was a 20th century pianist/music historian, a music educator, and composer for a lot of things including guitar. His music was mainly to draw a connection between old Hispanic folk lore/song that has been forgotten and his concert scene. Listening to his music just makes me feel things man, whether it be a checky grin or serious emotions. I also like his use of harmonies, most of them are strange to my ear/eyes but yet they sound so nice and add so much to the music for me personally. I also like the fact that he met a guitarist (Andres Segovia) and began writing for him, someone else inspired him to write for another instrument. He also has been named the the "Creator of Modern Mexican Music" by the country and musicians in the realm of Hispanic composition.
ReplyDeleteHere is one of my fav pieces I have found so far: the first section reminds me of SpongeBob - this one is one of the more comedic ones. (Sonata Mexicana for Guitar)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FAUF_PbOVo&ab_channel=BC
Here is another piece. This is a bit more of a serious feeling, and I also think shows his playful ness in that manner - I also think that it showcases his chord/harmony usage! (Thème varié et Finale for Guitar)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWzvPh4_QFo&ab_channel=BC
I hate to admit it... I chuckled at your SpongeBob comment, but I can definitely hear it there... Like you said, it just has that kind of beachy, playful vibe to it. I'm not sure I'm the biggest fan of this style as it feels a little disconnected to me, but I did enjoy the second piece! It's so interesting to hear all the different styles these composers come up with!
DeleteGoing in with a blank slate on the Sonata, I didnt really think it was going to remind me of SpongeBob too much, but after about 3 seconds I was like "I really am living in a pineapple under the sea". For real though, this also gives of a distinctly Mexican style to me in all honest. Like I can totally hear this song while walking through Mexico City,
DeleteEmilia Giuliani-Guglielm was the daughter of the great italian guitarist Mauro Giuliani and a mistress he had. Emma began playing the guitar at at a young age with help from her father, ultimately performing with him on a piece when she was 15 shortly before his death. Later she met and married her husband Luigi Guglielm, an opera composer, and did many works with him. She did this until her young death at 37 years old. Emma's most famous works are her 6 Preludes. However, a completely library off all her newly discovered works was published in 2013.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEcEMIAJMu8
I really enjoyed this selection of music. In all honesty It kind of changed what I though was possible on guitar. I really wasn't expecting the cereal box amount of notes in this great composition.