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Microestudios No.17
Taking a break from the monthly challenge this month, I decided to continue my journey of micro-studios. This time it is #17, a beautiful piece but a bit abstract for me to find the right sound of it. Although I didn't play it very well, I still hope to capture the mood of this piece. (I will definitely revisit it some other time)
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Wai Very nice, Wai. This is one of my favorite Microestudios. You play it very well. There is a certain etheral quality to this piece which requires a light otherworldly sound and a variety of tonal color. In any case, keep that in mind as you continue to practice this piece. You will find this piece grows on you. Also, in case you are interested, Alfredo Escande's bio of Carlevaro was just published in English in an electronic format. Well worth the read. Here is the link:
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Dale Needles Thanks Dale! Your comments are one of the most valuable things I got in Tonebase, "variety of tonal color" is something I need to work on, I will keep that in mind when I practice. The book you mentioned I am quite interested in, let me see if it can be read on Kindle, thanks!
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Here is the second movement of Carlevaro's sonata, Cronomias, entitled Intermezzo. I have been working on it since mid-January and am pretty pleased with the progress to date, although it still needs to mature over time. Carlevaro definitely pushes the boundaries with his use of tonal language and color in this movement. Hope you all enjoy. Blaise Laflamme Moyses Lopes Jack Stewart Wai Stefanie Mosburger-Dalz Barney joosje
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thank you so much! great work, it makes me feel time drip second for second, feeling different each moment: dense, slow, complex, light, heavy, and I did not know that he was so modern! You reveal so much to us, and I am grateful for that!
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Dale Needles Bravo Dale, what an accomplishment! You create such a mood and your use of colors and dynamics serve very well the «not so easy» musical material. While we're at a totally different place I can definitely see some patterns and musical concepts similar to what's in the Preludios Americano.
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Dale Needles Wow! Dale, this is amazing. I was captured by your convincing performance which contains so many technical and musical elements. It held my interest with its mood till the very end. Bravo!!
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Dale Needles Wow! This was amazing, Dale. You have done a great job of presenting this really challenging piece and making sense of its difficult musical language.
And just in time for your vacation! Have a great time.
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Jack Stewart Barney Blaise Laflamme Stefanie Mosburger-Dalz Thanks for your kind words and so glad you all like Carlevaro's Intermezzo. It was a lot of fun to learn and so much going on in the music. And, yes Blaise, I agree there are some patterns reminiscent of Preludios Americanos. I can definitely see a phrase in the middle that echos a similar phrase in Tamboriles. However, as you would agree, Intermezzo and Cronomias as a whole are much more adventurous. I was glad to get this posted before I head out of town for a month. I leave for France on Tuesday and will be returning on April 27th. While I will be checking in periodically on Tonebase, I am taking the month off from playing and looking forward to enjoying the sites of Paris, Brittany and the Dordogne Valley.
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Dale Needles Have a great trip Dale!!
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Dale Needles absolutely this work is far more challenging musically! I wish you a great trip and enjoy as much as you can, see you when you're back!
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Dale Needles Have a good time in my beloved France!!!...they have Kleynjans ;-)
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Dale Needles I finally dived into this presentation which really deserved to be digested with full concentration. It’s an impressive performance, so rich with colour and intense playing. I was not fully aware of the innovative compositional language of maestro Carlevaro. Thank your for bringing this to our attention and in such a convincing way. It is very demanding material and you have to find a way to bring it to life . You did that, with great expressiveness and attention to every detail. Wonderful!
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joosje Thanks, Joosje. I really appreciate your kind words. Yes, Carlevaro's compositional style is very modern at times, influenced by such composers as Maurice Ohana, Camargo Guarnieri, and Alberto Ginastera.
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Microestudios No.18
Spent some time on this one, but still couldn't get the feel of it. This one focuses on slurs and horizontal movements, a busy left hand means easier to make mistakes. I listened to Carlevro's recording and found that his playing was full of subtle changes in tempo (in a musical way). When I practiced, I found it quite difficult to capture the mood of this piece (not to mention the technical difficulty). I will keep practicing and start learning No. 19, hoping to post a better version next time.
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Wai Excellent job with this difficult Microestudio. A few things I would suggest and point out. Maestro Carlevaro has a very unique approach to doing slurs where he places emphasis more on the movement of the left arm than on the fingers themselves. My suggestion would be to practice very slowly and emphasize the left arm movement when pulling off as well as putting down the fingers on the strings. Even consider exaggerating the movement a little to get the feel for the movement. Also, watch the left-hand string noise and remember to lift off the strings with the help of the left arm before changing positions. In any case, you are doing so well with these Microestudios and I am very impressed with your dedication to completing this series. Keep up the great work!
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Dale Needles Thanks, Dale! After reading your comment, I checked the text of "School of Guitar", it said that ascending slurs (hammer on) are performed by finger movement, but descending slurs (pull-off) should be performed by hand movement, am I right?
As for the string noise, this piece has a lot of left hand movement, it's really hard to reduce all the noises, but I will keep practicing and take care of this problem. Thank you for always taking the time to share your insights with me, I really appreciate it. -
Wai So glad you went to the source in Carlevaro's "School of Guitar" book. You are correct that normally ascending slurs use "a percussive stroke of the finger, free of rigidity and without fixation. Nevertheless, when greater velocity or force is desired, the assistance of more powerful muscles would be required." This is when the arm would be used by fijacion.
For descending slurs, "The slur is effected by direct action of the finger when this is the easiest solution." But for velocity and intensity, "The finger, with its phalanges in fijacion, delegates to the arm and hand jointly the task of performing the slur-slur by fijacion."
With all that being said, it is clear Carlevaro performs slurs using his fingers but when velocity or intensity are required, he shifts to slurs by fijation and employs the arm/hand mechanism. This is a subtle shift that the performer must decide when to employ. I hope that helps.
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Here are two Milongas by Carlevaro which I posted in the Latin American Challenge last month. I am posting them together so that you can see the contrast between Carlevaro's earliest compositions and one of his latest. The first, Aires de Milonga, is a simple milonga that Carlevaro wrote for his students sometime in the 1960s. It is pretty straightforward, showcasing the milonga rhythm of Uruguay. The second is Roelar which is dedicated to his brother Augustin. The name combines "Ro" which is short for Rocho, his brother's nickname), "el" which is "the" in Spanish and "ar" which is short for architect (Agustin was an architect by profession). Roelar was one of the last pieces Carlevaro wrote in the late 1990s.
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So here are all three movements of Carlevaro guitar sonata, Cronomias. While I hope to be able to someday play it in its entirety without breaks, the following posting is the combination of three separate recordings of the three movements. Nevertheless, I do hope you can see how the whole piece fits together and flows. Would love to hear your comments on both my interpretation as well as on the composition itself. In my opinion, this is one of Carlevaro's most important works for solo guitar. Also, to let you all know, I will be in Portugal and Spain over the next two months, returning on December 7th. I hope to check in periodically but will not be posting anything until my return.
End of the Year Challenge: Finish Strong!
