WEEK 4: Homenaje a la Guitarra 
Welcome to the Main Thread for the fourth week of our musical Journey to Spain!! This is the place to share submissions of the fourth week! 
- Make sure you've read the guidelines before replying (<- click)
- Watch the kickoff livestream for help with the first section!
If you want to describe your process (optional), feel free to use the following template.
- Things you found easy:
- Things you found difficult:
- (Optional): a video of you performing it!
- (Optional:) questions
↓ HAPPY PRACTICING, HAPPY SHARING ↓
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Federico Moreno Torroba – Arada
This piece is the second movement of the three-movement Suite Castellana. As seems to be the case very often, I find the second movement to be the best. The only meaning of the word Arada I can find is plowing, and I have no idea why it might bear that title. Maybe it is meant to evoke images and feelings of rural Spain? Does anyone have any insight about this? Regardless, it is beautiful music.
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Eric Phillips wow this is of all the videos I heard from you in this challenge one of my favourites. So so beautiful! Arada... strange, means ploughed like a land ploughed. So maybe as he is a representative of spanish nationalism in music this was a way to portray a peasant traditional Spanish scene of the ploughing, romanticizing these traditions through the music. Maybe...
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Emma Thanks, Emma. That’s the best I can think of too. It’s maybe like a romanticized view of rural Spain and the peasant farmers, and the music is intended to evoke that image. Perhaps it is a similar title to Rodrigo’s En los Trigales that Jack is working on.
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A piece by Llobet - La Filla del Marxant. This has a number of problems, not only the harmonics but trying to get a good balance between melody and accompaniment and trying to get a decent sound in the bass melody in the second section. Apart from a hesitation in the first section I didn't think it was too bad so didn't push my luck by doing the repeat. This was the first take so about 17 less than usual!
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Derek Well done, Derek. The harmonics sound so good. I had never heard that before.
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Derek That was really nice, Derek. You have a great start on this. This is a new piece to me. And that was your first take? Boy am I envious. I had to buy a new iPad just for my recordings because my iPhone wouldn't hold enough recordings to get a good one.
I'm not exactly sure how Marx ant would work, "Power to the workers! Down with the Queen Ant!
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Derek I agree with Jack, one take!!! that is wonderful. Your harmonics sound beautiful. I find Llobet is never easy.... It is a beautiful piece. Bravo!!
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F.M. Torroba – Montemayor and Sigüenza
These are two pieces from Torroba’s Castles of Spain. Montemayor always sounds like Renaissance music to me, but with a more modern color. Sigüenza is not heard as often, but is one of my favorites from the collection. As usual, the second name of the piece is more descriptive of its character (La Infanta Duerme; it means “The Princess Sleeps”). It has a gentle rocking quality to it, but there are a few moments of disturbed sleep as well for this troubled child.
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Eric Phillips Another two beautiful pieces Eric - I don't know how you do it!
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Derek It’s actually my stunt double playing. I’m just there for my good looks!
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Eric Phillips Very nice Eric. I'm with Derek - I don't know how you, and your stunt double, do it.
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Jack Stewart It's all camera trickery! I have bamboozled all of you!
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Eric Phillips Small accomplishment Eric -
I wake up bamboozled
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Eric Phillips La infanta duerme... new to me and so different to other pieces of Moreno Torroba. Very beautiful and your sound has the sweet and smooth tone perfect for this piece. Beautiful. La romanza de los pinos, the melody is so familiar to me, but never heard on the guitar before, beautiful too. I wonder if you have the list of spanish pieces that you have played for this challenge in a document..., to share . So many, so new
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Emma I don’t have a document with a list, but I do have them in a YouTube playlist that I could share below. I’ll put it in my post for today (which I’ll do a little later, it’s still 5am here right now).
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Eric Phillips , no words... Thanks for sharing!
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Berceuse, Antón Garcia Abril
Mi second (and last, obviously) contribution to this incredible group exercise. The piece is "Berceuse", from Antón Garcia Abril (1933 - 2021). I had a great time with all of you. Thanks.
The score was in an iPad, in a stand, with the camera. You will note some "earthquakes" in the pages turn... 
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Moyses Lopes I loved that, Moyses! I am completely unfamiliar with this composer. It looks like he is mostly known for his film music. Where did you find it? Is it written for guitar or is it a transcription? It's very beautiful, and you played it so well.
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Moyses Lopes Very nice piece Moyses, and beautifully played. I have heard of Abril but don't know his music. Thanks for presenting this.
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Eric Phillips
You're right, Eric, he is most known for his film music. I was looking for contemporary spanish composers and read a message in a forum by Raúl de Frutos. He was answering exactly about that, and put a list with some names like Vicente ASENCIO, Luis de PABLO, Cristóbal HALFFTER, Joaquim HOMS, Josep Maria MESTRES-QUADRENY, Josep SOLER , Joan GUINJOAN, Leonardo BALADA, Xavier BENGUEREL, Antón GARCÍA ABRIL, José María SÁNCHEZ-VERDÚ…
I started to look for one by one and that's it. The idea was just to bring some "unknown" composer, or at least not well known. "Berceuse" is a piece from a book called "Vademecum", with 12 pieces originally writen for guitar. Thank you for listening!
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Jack Stewart , Thank you!
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Moyses Lopes never heard of the composer before - sound very interesting - like film music ?!
Eric Phillips Maybe Eric has a twin brother ? How is it possible to practice so much pieces every day ???
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Moyses Lopes Thanks, Moyses, I just found the music. I'll have to look through those pieces a bit tonight. Great stuff!
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Moyses Lopes Wow, firstly that was a very beautiful interpretation of a piece I've never heard of! And the list you've gathered is an incredible resource (Sanchez-Verdu is a professor for compostion in my university, so I came across a few of his pieces). Going in and invest the time in a piece is always an adventure in itself!
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Martin !!! I was provoked by David Russell in "Preparing Difficult Passages". He says "Working on repertoire that has no performance background can be a daunting task”.
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Moyses Lopes Parabens, such a beautiful piece in your hands, and thank you for letting me know of these pieces. He was well known in Spain (I think he has died very recently) but never heard any of his guitar pieces... thank you for posting!
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End of the Year Challenge: Finish Strong!
