Isaac Albéniz - Mallorca (Barcarolla) Op 202
This is a piece I have always loved and wanted to play, so I'm giving it a shot.
There are a lot of arrangements of this piece, with very significant differences between them. After experimenting, I decided to use Stanley Yates' arrangement as my main guide, but I have altered it in several places, reflecting some of my own personal choices.
I do wonder if growing a mustache like Isaac has in the picture above might help me to play this better.
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January 11
I have been practicing it for four days now. I more-or-less have it memorized, but I am still using the score a little here.
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Wow, Eric that's a fantastic first post of that. That's probably my favorite Albeniz piece. It's so moody and covers such an emotional range.
I struggle keeping it together for for my 90 second recordings so this is especially impressive to me now that I'm learning about the process
Really nice work.
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Steve Price Thanks, Steve. It’s my favorite Albeniz piece as well. It is pretty darn long, isn’t it? I should probably play it a bit quicker, but that will come with more practice, hopefully.
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Jan 12
It's slowly getting into my fingers. I am playing completely without a score now. I didn't really set out to memorize it, so that has been a pleasant surprise. Still plenty that needs work just at the technical level, let alone musicality.
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Jan 14
Inch-by-inch it is feeling more secure. I focus on the problem areas, and seem to improve them, but then when I go to record ... well, we all know that feeling!
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Eric Phillips I wanted to wait until I could sit and really listen all the way through. That's coming together so nicely. Love the tempos you chose and love the contrast between the a and b sections. The solo lines sound really good too. This is above my grade for now but you've got me adding it to my future list. I think I even have the book of Yates' transcriptions of Albeniz somewhere.
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Steve Price Thanks, Steve. I always thought it was beyond me too, but here I am playing (albeit very imperfectly). I appreciate your thoughts and kind words!
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Jan 19
I took a little break from this for a few days, but came back to it today. I thought maybe I might not remember some parts after a five day break, but I didn't seem to have any memory lapses.
End of the Year Challenge: Finish Strong!
