Week 3: Discovering Hidden Gems
Welcome to the "Around the World in 80 Strings Challenge"! This month, we'll embark on a global musical journey, exploring classical guitar compositions from various countries. The only rule: Don’t play a composer from your home country. Let’s make this a truly international experience!
CHALLENGE TIMELINE
- Challenge Start: Kick-Off on May 15th
- Duration: May 15th - June 24th
- Watch Party: June 24th
ACTIVITIES
- Choose Your Piece: Select a new piece of music to work on. Share your choice in the thread below and inspire your fellow musicians!
- Video Submission: Submit a video of your practice this week. Highlight your favorite passage from the piece that showcases the origin of this piece!
GET INVOLVED
Let’s kick things off with enthusiasm! Share your progress, encourage others, and explore new musical horizons together. Can’t wait to see what everyone chooses!
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Alexandre Tansman, born in Poland, wrote this Suite in Modo Polonico, for Segovia. I had he score but never really got to work on it.
This challenge brought it back in my mind, and I decided to take it with me in my holiday collection for practice. The first Kolysanka seemed a nice piece to start with. It features some interesting harmonies. Slurs and secure timing present quite a challenge though….
I hope to continue work on it next week, but first prepare my ‘exam’ next Monday with two other pieces: Barrios (Aconquija) and Kruisbrink (Ahimsa).
so here is a first recording of Kolysanka No.1 Berceuse d’ Orient. Apologise for poor video and sound quality - background noise from garden (birds and traffic.
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joosje Very beautiful!
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Andre Bernier Eric Phillips Dale Needles thank you!
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Jack Stewart thank you Jack. Indeed this suite is not so often performed. Very short pieces, most of them, but such nice rhythms and harmonies. I like to discover them from time to time. Yet I never had the energy and patience to learn all of them... this challenge triggered me to choose a few..
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joosje Cool piece. I like the odd walkdown bit with the drone/pedal not. Sort of a surprising section (to my ears, anyway). Thank you!
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joosje Beautiful Joosje! I'm very familiar with this suite by Tansman, mainly from recordings and performances by Segovia. Your captured the mood of the piece and utilized nice dynamics and tone color. I enjoyed it very much!!
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Ravel: Trois Beaux Oiseaux du Paradis
This is perhaps a bit closer, though I still have several annoying blips and stumbles. The dynamics are a bit better but it seems too staid. I think I am going to move on for the time being and come back to it later in the challenge.
I am also reposting the re - revised score w/ fingerings and corrections that Joosje posted out previously.
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Jack Stewart This continues to sound better and better, Jack!
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Eric Phillips Thanks Eric.
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Jack Stewart I agree with Eric, this is sounding better and I look forward to your next posting.
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Jack Stewart the birds are spreading their wings. Beautiful, Jack
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Here is my first recording for this challenge. I don't have a lot of opportunities to record because there is a lot of work and noise outside and inside the building during the day and regular summer evening activities outside. But tonight it was calm outside
Few notes for this recording
- I am using the Alaska picks
- It is getting there but I need to increase the speed
- I did use some effects on the audio track .... probably too much
I will definitively make another recording early next week.
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Andre Bernier Your improvement is really impressive, Andre. That sounded great, very smooth with good phrasing. The Alaska picks are sounding good as well.
BTW I hope the screen behind you is suggesting a fireplace (in June!?) and not a live feed from a local forest fire.
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Andre Bernier Great work, Andre! The picks sound very good. I don't think the recording has too much effect added (reverb I assume?). I do think the recording needs more volume. I had everything turned up to 100% on my laptop, but I could barely hear you.
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Jack Stewart Thanks Jack for the comments. This is not really the season for a fireplace but I did not find anything yet that provides that warm light and ambiance for the video
Eric Phillips Thanks also for your comments and suggestions. I did listen to the video from my laptop and effectively the volume is low. I normally work with my laptop using a monitor with speakers or with my headphones. In these cases, the volume is good. Anyway, here is an updated version with some boost on the volume. Let me know if the volume is OK
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Andre Bernier very good, Andre. I like the sound. You keep the flow. Well done!
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Looks like the Week 4 thread is open: https://guitar-community.tonebase.co/t/q6y6v19/week-4-celebrating-global-connections
