Miguel Llobet: La Nit de Nadal
Dear guitar lovers,
If last week's livestream topic was broader in reach, for this one we are narrowing down on one and a half minutes of pure joy – Llobet's La Nit de Nadal. What it may lack in length it makes up for in its variety of character. We are compelled to pull out all the stops to make it shine.
See you there!
Emmanuel
Miguel Llobet was one of the most important Spanish guitarists of his time. A student of Francisco Tárrega, he is perhaps most famous for his arrangements of Catalan folksongs as well as his arrangements of Spanish piano music for the guitar.
If perhaps one of Llobet's shortest arrangements, La Nit de Nadal is filled with so many contrasts of character, speed, articulation, and colour, that we are invited to have a complete awareness of our musical intentions and technical control to achieve them. Join Emmanuel Sowicz as he shares his insights on bringing Llobet's music to life.
Find the start time in your time zone by clicking the photo or following this event link:
https://app.tonebase.co/guitar/live/player/miguel-llobet-la-nit-de-nadal
We are going to be using this thread to gather suggestions and questions!
- What questions do you have on this topic?
- Any particular area you would like me to focus on?
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Great choice, Emmanuel! I'll be there with bells on!
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Eric I'll bring the gingerbread cookies. Christmas is early this year!
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Emmanuel Yes! I have no idea what the words to this melody are, but it just sounds like Christmas, doesn't it!?
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Greatly looking forward to this one!
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That looks like Andres Segovia in his early 20's observing Llobet. Great photo!
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Barney I would be a bit worried if someone is as close to me when I play
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Me too! Good point Blaise
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Great lesson, thanks! Can you put on here the notes with you fingerings, too. You made me wanting to try to play the piece, but even if I do not I got much more understanding of HOW to make music articulate and let the colors been heard in any music.
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Mervi Tirkkonen Hi Mervi, feel free to send me an email if you're still looking for this (emmanuel at tonebase.co). Best wishes!! Emmanuel
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Thanks to everyone for joining today. See you again soon!
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Emmanuel Another superb lesson, Emmanuel. The way you explain what makes for good fingering is so eye-opening. Prior to your lesson, I was having such a hard time just figuring out the notes and fingerings in the score. But after your presentation, the piece seems so much more logical and possible for my hands to accomplish. I'm slowly discovering that good technique is not only about the hands, but also about the mind. Just understanding the fingering is a major step in being able to execute it.
I confess that my right hand technique is not strong enough yet to be able to do the articulation properly in the scherzando sections. I'll just have to do the best I can with that for now.
As always, thank you so much for all you do!
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Eric Phillips Thank you for your thoughts. Really glad you enjoyed the session! Also, I completely agree – as you say, good technique is not only about the hands, but also about the mind. If musical ideas live in our minds, and mechanics are how our body works, technique is the bridge that connects both, allowing us to make the best use of our body in order to convey our musical ideas to the fullest.
Right-hand preparation for precise articulation can take a while to get used to, but it's time well spent in gaining greater control over our music-making.
It's a huge pleasure to share these topics and pieces with you and, as always, thanks for sharing your impressions. It's always great to hear from you!!
All best,
Emmanuel
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Hello Emmanuel, that was a pleasant surprise to learn a charming piece. It was the last piece in a compilation of Catalan compositions by Llobet I had in my
library. I never played through it before yesterday. I am glad you brought it to life. The lines within the harmonic movement are most interesting.
Your guidance and interpretation are very helpful. Thanks
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Michael Carlson very glad you enjoyed the session and found it useful! I hope you'll have a great time playing Llobet's music:)
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It was the last piece in a Llobet collection I had. If it weren’t for your live presentation I wouldn’t have played this charming piece. Thank You
