WEEK 1: Vamos, Compañeros 
Welcome to the Main Thread for the first week of our musical Journey to Spain!! This is the place to share submissions of the first 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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I am happy to join the challenge. Here is an audio of performance of the Pavana by Gaspar Sanz adapted for the classical guitar by Abel Carlevaro. It was published in 1974 by Barry Publications from Buenas Aires under the title of Abel Carlevaro, Suite de Antiquas Danza Españolas para guitarra sobre textos y temas de Gaspar Sanz.
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Dale Needles Thank you, Dale. I love discovering new music (new to me, that is).
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Dale Needles Really beautiful Dale…I really like this piece and you did a very nice job with it.
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Dale Needles That is beautiful, Dale. I am familiar with some of Sanz's work but I have not heard this. Thanks.
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Dale Needles wow, that's hauntingly beautiful!
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Dale Needles Really great job Dale. I've never heard this arrangement before. I really like it, and you nailed it. And your guitar tone is amazing! Would love to see you playing! Don't be shy!
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Dale Needles Hello Dale, nice interpretation
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Santiago de Murcia - La Guastala
Here's another selection by de Murcia. I'd say it has some of the qualities that we often associate with Spanish music. I do think this one would sound much better on the baroque guitar with its "strummy" quality. I speak a bit of Spanish, but I have no idea what the title means.
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Beautiful again, Eric. Very lively and bright. Thanks for posting all this wonderful music.
<Il Ducato di Guastalla fu un antico stato italiano preunitario…> -
joosje Thanks, Joosje. Yes, I saw that Guastalla is a town in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, and was one of the Italian city-states prior to Italian unification. I'm not sure, though, if that has any relation to the name of this piece. Maybe de Murcia knew a woman from Guastalla and named this piece after her?
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Eric Phillips another nice piece. Are these de Murcia pieces part of a set, or a suite? Nicely played Eric.
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Paul Kennedy Not to my knowledge. I just found them listed at IMSLP. If someone knows better than I, please let us know.
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Eric Phillips That was nice Eric. There is so m much presented I n this challenge that I am not familiar with. It is quite an education.
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Jack Stewart Thanks, Jack. I really think my greatest musical joy comes from discovering music I didn't know about. To me it's like finding treasure.
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Eric Phillips great finding Eric, thanks for sharing your take on it!
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Blaise Laflamme Thanks, Blaise!
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Eric Phillips I looked into it and what I found is that La Guastala was originally published in 1714 in Madrid as part of collection works under the title of "Resumen de acompañar la parte con la guitarra". There are more than 100 pieces or movements in the original publication.
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Dale Needles Thanks Dale, Yes, I think at the beginning of the collection is a system de Murcia used to indicate chords, a bit like modern chord charts do for songs today. I'm still wondering why this piece is called "La Guastala" specifically.
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Eric Phillips I suspect you are right in thinking that the name refers to a woman of the town of Guastalla. I doubt it is referring to a particular individual. The fashion among French musicians of the era (which Murcia seems to follow) was to give rather fanciful titles to their pieces. (Among my favourites from the lute repertoire is Gaultier's 'La belle homocide' which I take to be a feminized analogue of the English expression 'ladykiller'.)
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Dale Here's the original for anyone interested. (Not so easy to read - the top line corresponds to the lowest course of the baroque guitar, and the chord symbols refer to shape, not function.) It is quite instructive to see the kinds of changes that are necessary to make the music suitable for the modern guitar.
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David Krupka You are like a walking music encyclopedia, David! Thanks so much for your thoughts.
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David Krupka Thanks for sharing and very cool to see the original and agree that it is instructive.
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Eric Phillips Sounds great Eric! I definitely feel the Spain in it! It's great to hear your playing again. Looking forward to what you have to contribute to this challenge.
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Eric Phillips Hello Eric, wow - you are busy. Thank you for the great music
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Olli Thanks. I gotta be me!
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Eric Phillips Great little piece Eric - I want to play it!
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End of the Year Challenge: Finish Strong!
