The Women Composers Challenge Week One
Welcome to our latest community-driven challenge! In this challenge, you are invited to work on music by women composers. Whether it be a historical composer like Catharina Josepha Pratten, or a contemporary composer like our very own Ashley Lucero, let's take a dive into this music which certainly deserves more attention in the guitar community.
So, the goal is to choose a piece (or several pieces), and to work on it throughout the course of the challenge, posting videos or audio files of your progress along the way.
Or maybe you are a woman composer, and you would like to take this opportunity to share some of your work with the community.
We have never discussed how long these community-driven challenges should last, but it seems to me that our usual four weeks is fitting. That would mean the challenge will end on Saturday, May 3rd. I will post a new discussion for each week of the challenge.
If you are looking for a place to start your search and pique your interest, Candice Mowbray has an excellent website on the subject. Here is a link.
If any beginners would like some suggestions for your playing level, feel free to ask the community by posting a message here. If you prefer to ask me personally, just use the TB messaging system.
79 replies
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Song for Maria - take 2
I managed to work on it some more. More or less decided on the fingerings, (to be fair, there wasn't much to do as Laura Snowden indicated hers in the score and they are excellent already).
Need to work on tempo and tone of my a finger.
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Etude XIII from Annette Kruisbrink. Ornaments have always been hard for me so getting all these mordents clean while letting strings ring is a work in progress, but happy so far.
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A first take of De Tardecita (1928) by the Argentine guitarist and composer, Elba Rodríguez Arenas (ca 1900-1941).
Annette Kruisbrink has a number of books and albums out featuring women's compositions, and I found this in her material on 19/20th-century salon music. I thought it was an interesting piece since it switches between different parts labelled "Guitarra" and "Canto" and adds a waltz interlude.
It conveniently went into the public domain last year, so the score is available.
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Pratten - Elfins Revels Apr 9
Here is my second recording of this piece, this time without me giving Pratten's directions for the different sections. The short tremolo part, as well as some of my arpeggios, still need work.
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Eric Phillips That's some serious frolicking that the gnomes are doing with such sombre beats. But i can visualize the playful fairies coming in to dance. Beautifully done!
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don Thanks, Don!
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Eric Phillips I agree with Don - the gnomes are sounding much friskier now! And the fairies are dancing up a storm. About the tremolo, it's interesting that Pratten uses the same triplet figure that one finds in Sor and other early 19th guitarists. (Perhaps she preferred this to the more familiar four note pattern that was, I think, already in use in her day?) Have you had any further thought about the narration? I rather liked it - but I can see it would be difficult (if not impossible) to recite it effectively while playing. (Maybe you need to enlist an assistant!)
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David Krupka Thanks, David. I know that Sor did not use the ring finger much, so maybe Pratten had the same approach. I do find it easier than pami.
As for adding the narration, I don't envision myself doing it while playing. I can't even chew gum while I play. My wife and kids would just roll their eyes for about 20 minutes if I asked them to do something this nerdy. Maybe I could add it as text on the screen to a final video I make. I do think it would be fun to work up an animated short film for this, but I have no knowledge or ability in that area.
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Eric Phillips Yes, I can see that recruiting a narrator could be a bit of a problem. (Just imagine rehearsals!) But overlay of the text onto the video might be an effective substitute to actual narration. As for producing something animated, well, that's a great idea, but I suspect it would involve some highly specialized skills. But I can definitely imagine something in the classic Disney style. (Look out, Stokowski - there's a new kid in town!)
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Eric Phillips I've never heard this piece before, and then coincidentally, it popped up on the Reddit classical guitar sub today. Mary Jedynak just played it as part of her senior recital from Eastman. She has some background on the composer and the piece in the video description. Might all be stuff you're aware of, but it's pretty interesting.
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Steve Price Thanks, Steve. I enjoyed that very much and wrote her a comment.
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