Novello - Guitar

(Part - Guitar)-Acallam na Senórach by Tarik O'Regan was co-commissioned by the National Chamber Choir of Ireland The DeBartolo Performing Arts Center at University of Notre Dame Indiana and Peak Performances at Montclair State University Montclair New Jersey.First performed on 25 November 2010 at St Ann’s Church Dublin by the National Chamber Choir of Irelandwith Stewart French (Guitar) directed by Paul Hillier.The Guitar part was edited by Stewart French.Tarik O'Regan on the music:In writing this musical setting of Acallam na Senórach I was drawn to the evenness of the dialogue. Instead of St Patricksimply converting the pagan warriors he is encouraged to listen to Ca lte’s stories and poems of an earlier time in which the saint delights.This secular/sacred osmosis is maintained unwaveringly throughout the entire text. By the end of the narrative one has witnessed not only the arrival of a new religion in Ireland but also a richly-recounted secular narrative map of the entire island: the peaceful and enriching shaking of two great hands.In preparing the libretto (the sung text) I have focused on only a few of the shorter constituent tales. This decision was born of the practical constraints of duration. I have however kept the skeleton albeit smaller of the overall frame in place. Finally for the sake of simplicity Ois n is removed from the primary narrative.The characters are not assigned specific voices. The narrative as a whole is carried by a persistently changing combination of voices and guitar. The one exception is Cas Corach the musician of the s d (underworld) who is most closely embodied throughout this setting in the solo interludes for guitar.The music itself is not ethnographically inclined; that is I have not attempted to reconstruct theories on Irish music of the period from which Acallam stems. However the score generally and especially in the guitar writing is imbued with an air

John W. Duarte (1919-2004) was a British guitarist composer and music journalist. Having received a degree in Chemistry his fascination with the endless possibilities of the Guitar caused him to abandon science in favour of music. Despite having never formally studied music he is regarded as one of the foremost composers for Guitar of the 20th century.Duarte’s Foundation Studies In Classic Guitar Technique is a stalwart of the genre. It contains exercises covering Scale movement Legato Broken chords and is a must for any classical guitarist!

Variations On A Catalan Folksong (Op. 25) were written by John W. Duarte for solo Guitar. They were based on the Spanish folk melody Canco Del Llabre one of the most popular Catalan folk tunes to have survived to this day.John W. Duarte (1919-2004) was a British guitarist composer and music journalist. Having received a degree in Chemistry his fascination with the endless possibilities of the Guitar caused him to abandon science in favour of music. Despite having never formally studied music he is regarded as one of the foremost composers for Guitar of the 20th century.

It is ironic that the creator of this uncompromising book for Guitarists was himself almost entirely self-taught. Duarte originally earned a degree in chemistry and worked as an industrial chemist for year before abandoning that life to devote himself to music. His life as a Guitarist composer teacher and writer was long and fulfilling. He composed 150 works mainly for Guitar ranging widely over many styles including various national styles. Duarte had high standards for Guitarists. ???The object of this primer is simple. It is to help Guitar players to become musicians from the outset and through this to serve Music.??? The book begins at the beginning: ???Musicconsists of both sounds and silences.??? From there the text covers every aspect of time pitch notation accents abbreviations ornamentation scales harmony and more. There are several useful glossaries as well.

The six pieces in this book are drawn from the Pieces de Clavecin (the Bauyn manuscript) lodged in the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris. They should be accessbile to guitarists at some time in their third year of study and make some small acknowledgement of the curious neglect of the Couperin family by guitar arrangers.

A set of three traditional English folk songs arranged by John Duarte for the classical guitar.

Work for Guitar commissioned by Carlos Bonell and premiered at the Wigmore Hall November 1979.