Richibi’s Weblog

          “The Spanish Guitarist” (1897)

                            ____________

 

just as I was about to relegate the trill

to Mozart and the Classical Period, I

inadvertently came upon something

wonderful by Joaquín Rodrigo, a

Spanish composer, 1901 – 1999, a

concerto for guitar

the trill had been decorative, meant to

appeal to aristocrats frequenting

salons

 

then the French Revolution happened,

and the growth of the Middle Class,

and consequently popular avenues

of entertainment for the liberated,

concert halls, for instance, looked

for a more emotionally powerful

experience, arpeggios took care of

that

the trill died

 

but in 1939, nearly two centuries

later, Rodrigo wrote his Concierto

de Aranjuez, a descendent pays

homage to an elder, trills abound

 

it should be stated that a guitar can

play only one note at a time, it might

be that trills lend themselves better

to such an instrument than an

arpeggio would

 

then again, I’ve found that Spanish

music, the tango, the tarantella, for 

instance, see above, has held more

rigidly to the imperatives of Western 

music I’ve spoken of here before,

tempo, tonality, repetition, it is not 

Debussy, Ravel, it is not even

Chopin, it is peripheral, maybe, to

the cultural establishment, but

potent, steeped in blood and

tradition

 

here’s Rodrigo giving you Mozart

 

enjoy

 

 

R ! chard