SKU: A0.985333

This work was premiered at the Seattle Composers Salon on May 5, 2017 at the Chapel of the Good Shepherd. I composed Guitar Sonata No. 6 in A major as an homage to Scott Joplin for the centennial of his death. It is a fully traditional sonata form but composed entirely from original ragtime themes. The piece may be played with or without swing and has a few places where the performer can improvise or compose interludes or vary the first theme within the first structural repeat of the sonata. Performance time is roughly 7 minutes (give or take cadenzas, etc) and is five pages long.

SKU: A0.1334770

SKU: HX.504977

SKU: A0.594506

An arrangement of the Flamenco Soleares style (palo) for the dance (baile). The musical material for the arrangement is taken from standard traditional themes for the Soleares style of Flamenco. The arrangement is meant for guitarists and students of guitar that are new to Flamenco and want to learn the basics for one of the most important palos in Flamenco. The arrangement can be used to accompany a solo dance, customary in serious (jondo) Flamenco, often performed by a woman dancer. The Soleares rhythm consists of a repetition of a twelve beat phrase the Flamencos refer to as a compás where accents fall on the third, sixth, eight, tenth, and twelfth beats of the phrase (1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12). I notate the compás as a series of five measures that comprises two 3/4 measures followed by three 2/4 measures. Throughout the notation there is, therefore, a fluctuating between two measures in 3/4 and three measures in 2/4 time. The first beat of the compás falls on the second beat of the first 3/4 measure in the series and the first accented beat falls on the first beat of the second 3/4 measure. The sixth, eight, and tenth accented beats fall on the first beats of the 2/4 measures in the series. The twelfth beat falls on the first beat of the next series beginning with a 3/4 measure. Notating the compás in this manner allows the guitarist a total grasp of the underlying structure of the music, something that is often lost in other notations I have studied for Soleares. A command of the compás is essential for the guitarist to be able to work with Flamenco singers and dancers. The Soleares is a stately dance that moves at a moderate pace, but often ends in a finale (macho por Bulerías) that is more than twice as fast as the first sections of the dance. The finale also contains a key change from the Phrygian mode of the llamadas and corridas to the key of E major. The arrangement contains essential basic techniques for Flamenco guitar, the rasqueado, the legato with hammering on, the four finger tremolo that rips at the strings before a full chord with the thumb, alzapúa where the thumb strikes in triplets down, up, down in rapid succession, etc. Students should dedicate themselves to a close and careful study of the notation to gain full mastery of these techniques. The arrangement consists of several sections, the llamadas which are calls to the dancer to take the stage, corridas where the dancer moves in a circle executing various heel and toe steps together with hand, arm, and body gestures, and the macho where the dance ends in a storm of stamping and a fit of wild abandon. The corrida sections consist of melodies Flamencos call “falsetas�. One of these is simply a series of broken chords while another is a melody taken from a song called “Caña� that is a member of the Soleares family. The notation ends, as is prescribed for the dance, on the tenth beat of the last compás (the first beat of the last 2/4 measure in the last five measure series). The Soleares was the first palo my maestro Juan González “Triguito� introduced me to in my studies with him in Madrid in the late 1960’s and is considered to be the “mother� of true forms of Flamenco. The title of the arrangement is in celebration of the beautiful patios of Córdoba, home of the Flamenco palo Soleares.

SKU: A0.1327548

FROM THE PREFACE

The fourth volume of Renaissance music for classical guitar contains twenty mostly well-known and a few more rare intermediate Renaissance pieces taken mainly from lute and vihuela sources.
I have tried to keep the upper level of technical difficulty to the contemporary grade VI level of the A.B.R.S.M. which takes the student to the advanced level (grades VII-VIII).

The pieces are given in two versions, first as decorated pages in ordinary notation, and then the same pieces are again given in undecorated pages of notation and tablature. Therefore each volume contains two books in one and the choice is left to the user whether to keep the volume as presented, or to construct his own book by inclusion or deletion of unwanted pages, blank pages, etc, for use either as a printed or a tablet-screen book version. The addition of tablature of course results in increasing the number of pages needed for the presentation of the pieces, therefore the staff sizes are here reduced to an appropriate degree which can maintain the two-page view principle of any piece without need for automatic or manual page turners, foot pedals etc.

THEMATIC INDEX OF THIS VOLUME  & NAVIGATION BY ACTIVE LINKS

The thematic index following the cover page of this volume contains active links to the decorated pages of the pieces.
The titles of the pieces are also active links interconnecting decorated and tablature pages of the same piece.
The header in pages containing  the title of a piece is an active link bringing back to the thematic index.
The YOUTUBE logo icons in the thematic index are external links to particular performances of these pieces by various artists.

Socrates Arvanitakis
London 2023

CONTENTS

Pavana 1 Luys Milan
Pavana 2 L. Milan
Pavana 3 L. Milan
Pavana 4 L. Milan
Pavana 5 L. Milan
Pavana 6 L. Milan
Gallarda - Alonso de Mudarra
Guardame las Vacas I - Luis de Narvaez
Guárdame las vacas II - Luis de Narvaez
Dance Of The Washerwomen - Hans Neusidler
Tedesca - Anonymous
Almain - Richard Allison
Greensleeves 1-traditional/Anonymous
Greensleeves 2- Francis Cutting
Alman in Am - Robert Johnson
The Round Battle Galliard - John Dowland
The King of Danemark's Galliard - John Dowland
The Night Watch - Anthony Holborne
The Cobbler - Anonymous
Go From My Window - Anonymous.

SKU: A0.982523

This is a full transcription of Bach’s second violin partita for classical guitar, including the Allemanda, Corrente, Sarabanda, Giga, and the Ciaccona. 

The transcription is authentic to the original has been made strictly to the original violin manuscript. The partita has been arranged in D-tuning to take advantage of the resonance of the guitar, though the lower D on the guitar is never played since it is below the dynamic range of the violin, (taking into account the octave difference).

 

Bach’s Ciaccona, or Chaconne, in d-minor for solo violin from the second partita is well known on the guitar thanks to Segovia’s arrangement. However, Segovia’s version takes a number of liberties in his arrangement that have the effect of blurring the contrapuntal voices through his decision to harmonise the chords into 6-strings wherever possible. This current arrangement takes the contrary position that it is better to clearly retain the different voices.

 

The working dynamic range of the classical guitar and violin are similar, albeit with an octave difference in pitch. The fact that the classical guitar notation is written an octave higher than it is in relation to the notation for other instruments makes transcribing the violin work for guitar relatively straightforward.  Consequently, I have made no changes to the violin version. This transcription is exact, in the sense that the manuscript for the violin has been used as a basis for the transcription.

 

The articulation of the arpeggios is suggested at the beginning of these sections, which are arranged to be idiomatic to the violin. These realisations can also be adopted on the guitar, though I have not written these out and leave it to the performer to interpret these passages.

 

 

 

SKU: A0.924177

The beloved Away in a Manger, known to children from two years of age and up. In the key of D (major,) a simple and well known melody. Note: Although I do consider this a simple little song, any thought that this is an unusually easy guitar arrangement would be a mistake. This is, in fact, a rather challenging arrangement, especially the way I have tabbed it. Measures 6 - 9 are particularly difficult. If you can find an easier way to finger it, more power to you. Some contradictory information has been found regarding the attribution of the opus. Some have suggested it was from Martin Luther (himself,) but others have said it was written for his 400th anniversary. But the hymn book I found it in (to copy the lyrics) attributes it to a James R. Murray, so I have also given him credit. It was first published in 1884, in any event.

SKU: A0.1187094

Kriyā is a Sanskrit word meaning to do, make, perform, accomplish, cause, effect, prepare, undertake� toward something specific. We often live our lives hiding from ourselves, usually because of an artificial sense of fear, embarassment, shame or guilt that we may have acquired because of social pressures. This is why we many people have a mid-life crisis and suddenly change the way they have lived their lives into how they wished to live all along. 

This piece represents the unraveling of previously held ideals into one which is synchronous with the world around us, beginning with a vision reminding us of mortality, progressing through the difficulties and cognitive dissonances which occur when we must change our lives to find happiness. 

Kriya began originally as a tremolo etude on the 2nd and 3rd strings, but quickly evolved into a musical composition. Practicing Tremolo on strings other than the first develops control and discipline in the right hand, which was my original intention in writing it- but I felt as if the material that was generated required more and more variation and contrast- and quite quickly I realized that I had to complete it with the intention of performing it as a piece of music rather than simply a technical exercise.

**This version is for 10-string guitar. There is a 6-string guitar version available also.

SKU: A0.1254575

PREFACE & Editorial Notes
The Dodici Monferrine op.12  by Mauro Giuliani are in general of a lower moderate difficulty and are written as twelve small entertaining pieces in 6/8 rhythm all following the same uniform structure consisting of four phrases: A1, A2 – [B1, A2]*2 which is used extensively  by Giuliani as the basic structure for many of his more elaborate variation sets. Due consideration is also given to a carefully thought out tonal scheme for all twelve pieces as follows: E, A, D, G, C, F, Dm, D, A, D, G, C.
For these given structural reasons op. 12 may be considered as a very good introduction to Giuliani’s later output of more complex and difficult works. 

Notes
1 Dynamics have all been copied from the first “Artaria� edition of Vienna.
2 Metronome marks are editorial suggestions and should not be taken too literally.
3 This volume is offered  with decorated and undecorated pages (as two books in one) so that the user can chose which version he prefers and construct his printed or digital book accordingly. Blank pages have been added to be used or omitted for the arrangement of left and right hand pages.
4 A live performance of all twelve pieces selected at random in Youtube

Navigating the Thematic Index

1 click on the photo of the theme: Go to undecorated page
2 click header of any titled  page: Return to the index
3 click on the title of any piece: Interchange between decorated/undecorated pages.

SKU: A0.1236980

This is the finale of my 'Eyeworth Suite' for the classical guitar, and it describes a tranquil, sunny afternoon by Eyeworth Pond in the New Forest, Hampshire, UK, and is written as a response to a seasonal cycle of four poems by my friend, the poet, David Dayson.
The work is gentle and reflective but demands a high level of technique as a lot of it takes place around and above the twelfth fret. There will be no 'dusty bits' on your guitar after playing this one! :-)

The whole suite is available either as single movements or as a complete work. The complete work is also available with tab. and consists of 'Prelude', 'Autumn', 'Winter', 'Spring' and this movement, the 'Summer Idyll' and intersperses two episocdic, lively movements between the two rhapsodic outer movements, with the doleful Winter in the middle - this does however, have a lively Yule Dance in 6/4 at its heart.

SKU: A0.1217218

Hymn for Peace is the second of nine guitar solos that make up the St. Croix RIver Sketches. With the Hymn of Peace ther river excursion begins and the canoe takes us downstream to Stillwater, MN where we look up over the skyline to see St. Michael’s Church steeple towering over the valley. The Holy Spirit guides our souls in meditation, and we rest, reflecting on the scenic beauty and serenity of the surroundings.