Sor Op 60 No 23
I'm continuing to work my way through Sor's Opus 60, and I'd like to stop at this wonderful piece for a bit. Although I had heard this one before, I don't remember ever playing it. Once I could finally play the first phrase decently, I fell in love with it.
As I see it, there are four distinct sections to this short piece:
- Measures 1-9a: A lilting melody in A major. It has an odd rhythm to it that gives the phrase a nice element of unconventionality.
- Measures 9b-17a: An eight-measure section in E major that is a bit like Lagrima under the fingers, but has some nice passing chromaticism.
- Measures 17b-25a: An eight-measure section in A minor that is darker and more dramatic.
- Measures 25b-33: The melody in A major returns very sweetly and gently.
It's a short piece, but it really takes you on quite a ride.. My main goal with this one will be to find ways to bring out all the contrasts I outlined above.
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November 20, 2021
Here is a first take after working out the fingerings.
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Coming along beautifully Eric.
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Rick Lord Thanks, Rick. I love it when a new piece surprises me with its simple beauty. It’s such a gift.
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November 22, 2021
Here is an update after a couple days of practice. I really love this piece!
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Eric Phillips That was great Eric. Up to your excellent standards. That is a nice etude.
There is a series of descending 10ths (I believe) that have a 'folk guitar' riff early on. The 29.17 etude (Segovia 20) also has a similar passage that took me a while to get past that context.
Great work!
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Jack Stewart Thanks, Jack. I think you might mean the chromatically descending sixths in bar 3? Yes, it reminds me of a cliche blues riff. Sor was really ahead of his time!
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Eric Phillips very well played Eric. You bring out the melody and the accompaniment with a wonderful tone. I have a set of CDs of the complete Sor studies by Enea Leone. The way you are going I could have saved my money. Really enjoyed listening to this.
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Derek That made me laugh, Derek! I'm sure it was money well spent. Thank you for the kind words.
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Eric Phillips Sounds good, Eric. I've read through this study once or twice myself, but have never been able to make good sense of it. You're really managing to bring out the 'music'. On Youtube, someone has posted a performance of the piece by David Starobin, adding in the description that it is similar in 'character and purpose' to Barrios' "Ultima Cancion'. Frankly, I don't see the connection, but maybe I'm missing something. Just curious to know if you can make sense of the comparison. Thanks.
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David Krupka Thanks, David. I saw the Starobin video of it (which is great), but I did not read that description. I see no clear connection to the Barrios either, other than they are both beautiful pieces of guitar music.
That opening phrase is a little unusual and disorienting. If I wrote it, I'd probably say that it was just badly written, but since it was Sor, I'm gonna say that it's brilliant!
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November 26, 2021
Here's another update. I just put new strings on last night (which is pretty rare for me), and I'm enjoying the tone.
End of the Year Challenge: Finish Strong!
