Gaspar Sanz

On his "This Is Classical Guitar" website, Bradford Werner is posting lessons on some pieces by Gaspar Sanz. I really like the music, so I thought I'd try working on some of them.

In the 20th century, Joaquin Rodrigo used these pieces of Sanz as the basis for his Fantasia para un Gentilhombre.

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    • Eric
    • 2 yrs ago
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    Fuga al ayre Espanol (Aug 23)

    Rodrigo uses this for the second movement of Fantasia para un Gentilhombre, which he calls Ricercare. I'm not sure if it really is a true fugue in the formal sense, but it certainly has the character of a short fugue. The score is attached.

    Sanz Fuga al Ayre Espanola
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      • Jack_Stewart
      • 2 yrs ago
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      Eric Phillips That was great, Eric, especially after only a couple of  hours! Even though I haven't listened to the Fantasia para un Gentilhombre in years, I recognize the piece, though. I don't think I ever heard the original. It's a very nice piece, much lighter than Bach or even Weiss.

      • joosje
      • 2 yrs ago
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      Eric Phillips I love this piece so much. Very nice playing, Eric. So light and smooth. 

      • Wai_Ng
      • 2 yrs ago
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      Eric Phillips Thanks for sharing, Eric! That was beautiful! I remember the first time I played Sanz music was in one of the monthly challenges and I fell in love with his music immediately. I think his music can be played by lute also, right? I am not sure, but it would be great if you could also play his music on the lute. 😋

      • Eric
      • 2 yrs ago
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      Jack Stewart Thanks, Jack. It's less intimidating than Bach or Weiss as well.

      • Eric
      • 2 yrs ago
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      joosje Thanks, Joosje. I had heard the Rodrigo years ago, but only heard the Sanz original this week. Great intermediate piece for exploring polyphony and experimenting with fingerings. The theme really gets into my head when I play or listen to it.

      • Eric
      • 2 yrs ago
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      Wai Thanks, Wai! I remember how well you played Espanoleta.

      Sanz wrote this for the baroque guitar, but I suppose there would be no reason not to play it on a lute. Maybe I'll give it a try.

    • Eric
    • 2 yrs ago
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    Fuga al ayre Español (Aug 25)

    Here is an update of this piece. It feels fairly secure under the fingers now. I had a dynamic plan, but listening back to myself, I need make it more clear (as usual).

      • BLaflamme
      • 2 yrs ago
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      Eric Phillips great improvement over your initial submission and for sure the secureness of the fingers, movements and positions makes a huge difference. Then there is the «hard» part, the «plan» as you said, that takes some time to figure out, because it evolves, and to execute and ensure others hear the same as you intend to. The overall sounds pretty good with a good tone, I propose you to exaggerate a lot your plan in many aspects (phrases, motives, dynamics, colors, tempo, etc) and then post an update to compare. I do that a lot myself to experiment the edges and find a good ratio. Good work as usual Eric!👍

      • Eric
      • 2 yrs ago
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      Blaise Laflamme Thanks so much, Blaise, for the kind words, encouragement, and coaching! 🙏

      • BLaflamme
      • 2 yrs ago
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      Eric Phillips you're progressing a lot lately, while you have a great sight reading it's clear you're taking more time in each aspects to refine your overall playing and it pays you off!!

      • Eric
      • 2 yrs ago
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      Blaise Laflamme Thank you, Blaise! That's exactly what I am trying to do here. Since they are relatively simple pieces, I am trying to be more attentive to the details.

      • BLaflamme
      • 2 yrs ago
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      Eric Phillips and you're doing well!

    • Eric
    • 2 yrs ago
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    Villanos (Aug 25)

    This short piece is the basis of the first movement of Rodrigo's Fantasia para un Gentilhombre. I posted a quick version of this piece a few months ago during the Music of Spain Challenge. This time, I'd like to work on making it a bit more special. I have added more ornamentation. I have also tried to use more variation in tone color. After a careful listening to this video, I hope to make another one tomorrow with improvements.

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      • Jack_Stewart
      • 2 yrs ago
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      Eric Phillips Another nice one, Eric. You're going to be able to play the entire concerto soon.

      BTW, what happened to the lute? OH NO! You didn't take my suggestion seriously, did you?!!!

      • Eric
      • 2 yrs ago
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      Jack Stewart 

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      • Jack_Stewart
      • 2 yrs ago
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      Eric Phillips I said "...on the dining table" NOT your head!

      • Eric
      • 2 yrs ago
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      Jack Stewart I have bad aim.

    • Eric
    • 2 yrs ago
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    Villanos (Aug 26)

    Here is an updated, and hopefully improved, version.

      • BLaflamme
      • 2 yrs ago
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      Eric Phillips it's an improved one indeed! The plan is more clear than the previous one, the overall playing more secure, but what makes the more noticeable difference for me is how the phrases are better outlined and directed, bravo! 💪

      • Eric
      • 2 yrs ago
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      Blaise Laflamme Thank so much for the careful listening and positive feedback, Blaise!

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      • Jack_Stewart
      • 2 yrs ago
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      @Eric Phillips  This is really sounding good, Eric. I agree completely with Blaise's assessment. The phrasing is very defined and your ornamentation is very good. I think the very last phrase needs a little attention, perhaps an expended trill (I don't have any educated experience here, I just experiment with what I think works - besides Baroque ornamentation varied greatly from region to region and over time)

      • Wai_Ng
      • 2 yrs ago
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      Eric Phillips Wow, that was perfect, Eric! Both the sound balance and the ornamentation were beautifully executed. Is this piece difficult? I would like to learn this one too.😁

      • Eric
      • 2 yrs ago
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      Jack Stewart Thanks, Jack. In general, I did play around a lot with the ornaments, often substituting a trill with an appoggiatura when I couldn’t get the trill to sound good. In the last phrase, I was winging it a bit. Sanz actually wrote no ornament on the last note, but I decided to give it a little appoggiatura. Maybe I should just leave it alone. I also messed up the trill just before it, not playing it cleanly. I was tempted to do another take, but decided not to bother.

      • Eric
      • 2 yrs ago
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      Wai Thanks, Wai. I think you could play it, especially if you leave out or simplify the ornaments (which are not necessary). Bradford Werner has a good lesson on it on his website and on YouTube. You could purchase his score, which I’m sure is great, but I just used Stefan Apke’s score which is available for free on IMSLP.  I changed his fingering in several places.

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