Concert Notes

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) is the most important and prolific composer of the 17th and 18th Centuries. Being a master of counterpoint he brought the Baroque era to its heights. His mature style was an infusion of the predominant European styles and trends. Bach’s most important instrumental works come from the six year period 1717-1723 in Cothen, where he was the conductor of the court orchestra. The most daring work he composed during this period was the Chaconne from the 2nd Violin Partita BWV 1004.

A Chaconne is a continuous theme and variations on a short subject (usually four bars). Bach replaced the gigue, which was usually the concluding movement with this Chaconne, which was a trend practiced in France. This work of genius is one of the highest achievements in the musical world, “no other composer has ever composed such a gigantic masterpiece… it is a triumph of spirit over matter.” Philipp Spitta, Bach scholar.

Segovia shook the world when he pronounced that he will incorporate Bach’s Chaconne in his repertoire. He wanted to show that the guitar could sustain such a monumental work without taking away from its spirit. This was one of his greatest achievements to the guitar. It influenced his followers to arrange a majority of Bach’s cello and violin music, which boosted the instrument’s status. The purists have ceased their initial horrific reactions and arrangements of the Chaconne appear for any instrument (piano, guitar, orchestra and even marimba), which could execute its rich harmony. The Chaconne in D minor stands on its own and is usually performed by itself.

“The Chaconne is the most wonderful, unfathomable pieces of music. On one stave, for a small instrument, the man writes a whole world of the deepest thoughts and most powerful feelings. If I imagined that I could have created, even conceived the piece, I am quite certain that the excess of excitement and earth shattering experience would have driven me out of my mind.” Johannes Brahms

Johann Kaspar Mertz (1806-1856) was born in Bratislava, Slovakia. His contemporaries were Coste and Regondi. This is a dreadful period for the guitar’s history since the instrument’s fame had faded away. Regondi and Coste’s compositions have been almost neglected by modern players since they lack variety in their overall sound. On the other hand Mertz’s compositions are real jewels in the guitar’s nineteenth century repertoire. It reminds us of Liszt’s writings for the piano.

Fantasia Hongroise Op.65-No1 was played by Mertz in the Makaroff competition, but what got him the first prize over Coste was his Concertino. This Fantasy is one of the most effective and loved pieces from the 19th Century guitar repertoire. It incorporates unexpected harmonic surprises and mood changes. The key change from A major to F in the lugubre section reminds us of the Schubertian usage of third relationships. The Allegro Vivace is purely a Hungarian Czardas in its sound, incorporating the short long relationships between the notes. It is virtuosic and challenges the performer’s skills and accurate execution of the Hungarian stylistic demands.

Antonio Jose Martinez Palacios (1902-1936) was born in Burgos, Spain. His love of folk music from his native region influenced most of his work. In 1932, he was awarded the National Music Prize for his collections of Burgosian folk songs.

Jose’s Sonata para guitarra was written in 1933 for Regino Sanz de la Maza, but lay forgotten until 1989, when Angelo Gilardino was informed of an unpublished manuscript by Jose that had been unplayed for some 50 years. The Sonata bears the influence of Ravel, Debussy and Franck as much as that of Spanish folk song.

Ravel apparently referred to Jose as potentially the greatest Spanish composer of the 20th century, but Jose’s life would reach a tragic, early end. Early in the Spanish Civil War he was arrested in Burgos by Falangists, driven to nearby Estepar and shot. He was being accused of being a republican spy, Jewish sympathizer and of inciting the people to revolt. Jose met the same fate as poet Federico Garcia Lorca and international outcry over Lorca’s assassination prompted authorities to bury any trace of the slaughtered composer. Perhaps this in addition to Jose’s decision to drop his surnames accounts for half of century of obscurity.