Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750)

Colossus of the Baroque, wrote no music for guitar, yet he himself frequently reused his own compositions and freely transcribed pieces originally written for one instrument for others. Guitarists transcribe and perform many of Bach's works, including lute suites, solo violin and cello works, and many others.

The Prelude is the 1st movement from the Suite No. 3 for Lute (BWV995), wbich itself is a setting in Bach's own hand of the 5th Solo Cello suite (BWV1011). This prelude is in the form of a French Ouverture, and is replete with french style characteristics.

Arranged for solo guitar by Mark Basinski.
Recorded June 1992, University of Arizona Recording Studio. Wiley Ross, engineer.

The Corrente and Sarabanda are taken from the Partita No. 2 in D minor for Violin Solo (BWV 1004), and show a definite italian style.

Arranged for solo guitar by Mark Basinski.
Recording of concert performance October 28 1992. Wiley Ross, recording engineer.

The Ouverture in B minor (BWV 1067), also known as "Orchestral Suite No. 2", is scored for four-part srings and flute soloist. This is an arrangement in E minor for guitar quartet of the massive 1st movement (which is the actual Ouverture; there are 6 additional dance suite movements). This piece shows Bach as a master of all the national styles of the baroque: the overall form is that of the French Ouverture, even implying Lully's standard 5-part scoring; the middle section is a full-blown solo concerto, showing Corelli's solo vs ripieni throughout, yet at the same time is a massive and carefully worked out fugue embodying all the polyphonic art of the North German tradition.

Performed by Mark Basinski (soloist) with William Hearn, Michael Harding, and Peter Matthews, guitars.
Recording of concert performance, April 28 1992, Wiley Ross, recording engineer.

Sylvius Leopold Weiss (1686-1750) was a contemporary of J. S. Bach, a prolific composer and one of the last great lutenists of the Baroque.

His Suite XXV "L'Infidéle" (the Unfaithful One) is a fine example of the French stile brisé. This recording features four of the original 6 movements, arranged for guitar by Mark Basinski.

Recorded August 1987, University of Arizona Recording Studio. Wiley Ross, engineer.

Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632-1687) was court composer at Versailles for Louis XIV, and his works have come to define the French Baroque style.

"La Grotte de Versailles" (the Grotto of Versailles) was an opera (actually a ballet dramatique) from the 1660's, and was successfully revived in the early 1680's.

Robert de Visée, one of the best-known performers and composers for the five-course French baroque guitar, was often summoned to play guitar in the evenings in the private chamber of Louis XIV, who suffered from insomnia His intabulation of the opening "Ouverture" was probably made at the time of the later revival of the opera.

The guitar arrangement by Mark Basinski was based on de Visée's intabulation, but is more concerned with a successful realization of the music on the modern guitar rather than a literal transcription of the baroque guitar version.

Recorded May 1993, University of Arizona Recording Studio. Wiley Ross, engineer.

François Couperin (1668-1733) is best known for his many suites or "Ordres" for harpsichord, which epitomise French Baroque keyboard style. The music is heavily ornamented - Couperin provided a detailed table of "agréments" in his published music - and often the individual movements have fanciful names, as seen here.

The 17th Ordre consists of 5 movements, 3 of which are recorded here. Arranged for solo guitar by Mark Basinski. The titles translate as follows:

i - "the Superb One, or the Forqueray" (dedicated to Antoine Forqueray, a contemporary of Couperin)
ii - "the Little Windmills"
v - "the Little Milk-Maids of Bagnolet" (perhaps a reference to Marie-Antoinette and her ladies-in-waiting)

Recorded May 1994, University of Arizona Recording Studio. Wiley Ross, engineer.

Domenico Scarlatti (1650-1757) was born in Naples, son of renowned operatic composer Alessandro Scarlatti, but spent most of his life as court composer in Portuagal and Spain. Scarlatti is best known for his 555 "essercisi" or sonatas for solo harpsichord, written for his pupil, Maria Barbara, daughter of the King of Portugal, and later Queen of Spain.

Recorded May 1993, University of Arizona Recording Studio. Wiley Ross, engineer.

John Dowland (1563-1626) was the greatest lutenist of Elizabethan England, and probably the best-known songwriter at the start of the 17th century.

The "Praeludium" comes from the Margaret Board Lute Book, and is one of a group of pieces found in that source which Diana Spencer attributes to Dowland (though not found in any other sources).

Dowland's song "Flow, My Tears" was an enormous hit, and tremendously well-known. The "Lachrimae Pavan" is an ornamented arrangement of the song for solo six-course lute, and is one of many contemporary instrumental settings.

The "Frog Galliard" is based on the same tune as Dowland's song "Now, O Now I Needs Must Part".

Recorded August 1986, University of Arizona Recording Studio. Wiley Ross, engineer.

Fernando Sor (1778-1839) was a guitarist and composer. Though he wrote many works (including at least one opera), his guitar works embody the elegance of the classical period.

Fantasie, Op. 30 is a theme and variations, with a long last movement that could be a scene from a Rossini comic opera.

Recorded May 1994, University of Arizona Recording Studio. Wiley Ross, engineer.

Isaac Albéniz (1860-1909) Greatest Spanish composer of the 19th century, whose music incorporates the style and spirit of flamenco and other spanish folk music. Many of his piano works have been transcribed for solo guitar.

Zambra Granadina (danza Oriental) evokes the moorish heritage of Granada. Transcribed for guitar by José Tomás.
Recorded January 1987, University of Arizona Recording Studio. Wiley Ross, engineer.

Rumores de la Caleta (Malagueñas) reflects the flamenco roots of the Malaga-style (malagueñas). Transcribed for guitar by Roberto García Blasco.
Recorded May 1993, University of Arizona Recording Studio. Wiley Ross, engineer

Joaquin Túrina (1882-1949) was a contemporary of Manuel de Falla, and like him made great use of spanish folk elements in his compositions, including many written for guitar at the request of Andres Segovia.

Ráfaga evokes the fire and energy of flamenco .

Recorded June 1992, University of Arizona Recording Studio. Wiley Ross, engineer

Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959) was the most important Brasilian composer of the 20th century, whose many works for guitar are mainstays of the instrument's repertoire.

Prelude No. 3 is one of a set of five Preludes published in the 40s.
Recorded May 1993, University of Arizona Recording Studio. Wiley Ross, engineer.

Chôros No. 1 was written in the early years of the century, and is reminiscent of the street music Villa-Lobos played in his youth. The word "chôros" means "cries".
Recorded May 1993, University of Arizona Recording Studio. Wiley Ross, engineer.

Etudes 5, 7, 8, & 9, from the "12 Etudes" published in the late 20s.
Recording of concert performance, October 28 1992, Wiley Ross, recording engineer.

Antonio Lauro (1917-1986) was one of Venezuela's most important composers of the 20th century, with works in many genres, but he is particularly well-known for his many compositions for guitar, most written for his virtuoso countryman Alirio Díaz.

The four "Valses Venezolanos" (Venezuelan Waltzes) combine elements of Venezuelan folk music with a modern dissonant harmony.

Recorded August 1986, University of Arizona Recording Studio. Wiley Ross, engineer.

Jorge Morel (b. 1931) was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and now lives and works in New York City.

The 3 movement "Sonatina" was composed for (and dedicated to) guitarist David Russell.

Recorded April 1988 (3rd mvt) & September 1988 (1st & 2nd mvts), University of Arizona Recording Studio. Wiley Ross, engineer.

Leo Brouwer (b. 1939) has composed a number of major works for classical guitar.

This "Canción de Cuna" (lullabye) is an arrangement Brouwer made based on a popular latin-american song by E. Grenêt ("Drume, negrita").

Recorded January 1987, University of Arizona Recording Studio. Wiley Ross, engineer.

Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992) is considered the master of Tango Nuevo, his own label for his updated and sophisticated reworking of Argentina's essential urban folk music. Piazzolla studied classical composition with Alberto Ginastera and Nadia Boulanger, but at the urging of the latter concentrated on tango, and is best known for the compositions performed by his own groups, such as the Quinteto Tango Nuevo.

The "History of the Tango", for guitar and flute, presents 4 movements, each representing a stage in the development of the tango.

Brothel 1900 - The early tango, in the whorehouses of Buenos Aires, has a fresh and even gay element along with energy and sensuality.
Café 1930 - Nostalgia and sadness suffuse this movement, a melancholy milonga, which recalls the great tango singers of the 30s such as Carlos Gardel.
Nightclub 1960 - Now a more modern, dance-driven and jazzy music, this tango reflects the changes of modern life.
Concert Today - Finally the tango is evolved to the concert hall as an independent art form, with all the elements of the past amalgamated in a more free-form way.

Mark Basinski, guitar and Michelle Miller, flute.
Recording of concert performance, April 28 1992. Wiley Ross, recording engineer.

Alberto Ginastera (1916-1983) started his composing career writing pieces inspired by the folk music of his native Argentina, but under the influence of early 20th century composers like Bartók and Berg, moved more and more into his own modern style, mixing atonality, 12-tone and serial techniques, aleatoric passages, all still linked to the folks elements of Argentina.

The Sonata for Guitar, Op. 47 was commissioned by Carlos Barbosa-Lima, and closely follows the structure of Ginastera's earlier Sonata No.1 for solo piano and the String Quartet No 1.

Ginastera's own description of the work:

"The first movement, Esordio, is a solemn prelude, followed by a song which was inspired by Quechua music. The second movement, Scherzo, is an interplay of shadow and light, of nocturnal and magical ambiance, of dynamic contrasts, distant dances, of surrealistic impressions...The third movement, Canto, is lyrical and rhapsodic, expressive and breathless like a love poem. It is connected with the last movement, Finale, a quick, spirited rondeau which recalls the strong, bold rhythms of the pampas."

Recorded May 1994, University of Arizona Recording Studio. Wiley Ross, engineer.

Frank Martin (1890-1974) wrote the "Four Short Pieces" in 1933 for Andres Segovia. Most unfortunately, Segovia's very conservative musical tastes were not at all drawn to the work, and he left it untouched in his guitar case for the next 30 years. It was not until the 60s that Julian Bream popularized these pieces, which he called "a fascinating resumé of musical thought and influence at the time they were written…a persuasive amalgam of neo-classicism, atonality, polytonality, and just for good measure, tonality." Martin even makes use of 12-tone techniques in several of the movements, but without the restrictive approach of the later serialists.

Recording of concert performance, October 28 1992. Wiley Ross, engineer.

Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) 20th-century English composer, strongly influenced by Mahler, Stravinsky, and Berg, best known for his many operas.

The "Noctural, Op. 70, after John Dowland" was composed for Julian Bream, and inspired by Britten's earlier variations on Dowland's "Lachrimae" for piano and viola. The Nocturnal is a set of variations on the melody from Dowland's song "Come, Heavy Sleep" (1597), which is quoted, not at the beginning, but at the very end of the piece.

    Come, heavy sleep, the image of true death,
    And close up these my weary weeping eyes,
    Whose spring of tears doth stop my vital breath,
    And tears my heart with Sorrow's sigh-swoll'n cries.

    Come and possess my tired thought-worn soul,
    That living dies, till thou on me be stole.

Recording of concert performance, March 3, 1987. Wiley Ross, recording engineer.