18 Contrapuntal Pieces for Guitar

The guitar studies of Fernando Sor (1778-1839) have long been valued highly among the indispensable elements of a guitarist's training. A number of prominent virtuosi attribute a large portion of their development to the diligentstudy of these works. Sor's studies address an impressive array of technical and musical topics including proper left-hand fingering training of the right hand interval and chord formations scales arpeggios repeated notes ligados barring natural harmonics control of note duration balance of melody versus accompaniment and the handling of contrapuntal voices. A careful study of these pieces will lay the groundwork for a solid technique andallow the guitarist to build the control necessary for the expression of his or her musical concepts. In preparing this edition David Grimes worked with Sor's original publications but incorporated some alterations that appear inthose studies that Napoleon Coste chose to include in his Methode complete pour la Guitarre par Ferdinand Sor. Furthermore Mr. Grimes has corrected misprints modernized the notation and rectified some inconsistencies. Finally some developments in technique since Sor's day have been incorporated in this edition.

Traduction Doc Rossi Compositeur : Damiani Andrea Instrumentation : Luth Publication Date: 1999 Series: Teoria e Didattica della Musica (Theoretical and Educational Texts) Pages: pp. 208 CONTENTS * Preface * Introduction * CHAPTER 1. TUNING AND TABLATURE Tuning - Tablature (French tablature - Italian tablature - Rhythm symbols - Fingering and other symbols) - Stringing and doubling - Tuning practice (Practical advice on tuning - Tuning problems) - Strings * CHAPTER 2. BASIC TECHNIQUES Posture and position of the lute - Right-hand position - Right-hand functions - Sound production (Positioning p - Forearm movement - Attack - Positioning i) - Alternating p and i - Finger articulation for polyphonic passages (Positioning p - Positioning i) - Preparatory exercises - Differences from guitar technique - Body control * CHAPTER 3. THE RIGHT HAND Forearm and accentuation - Fingering * CHAPTER 4. THE LEFT HAND General principals - Preparatory exercises - Avoiding stiffness - Differences from guitar technique - Hand coordination * CHAPTER 5. SCALES Right-hand scale technique (Forearm movement - Finger articulation - Integrating the two techniques) * CHAPTER 6. EXERCISES FOR TWO LUTES Exercises on a ground bass - Contrapuntal exercises - Articulation - Dances and ground basses * CHAPTER 7. SHIFTING LEFT-HAND POSITIONS Fundamental principals - Position changes using the same finger - Position changes by substitution - Position changes by jump * CHAPTER 8. EXERCISES FOR TWO LUTES WITH POSITION CHANGES * CHAPTER 9. RIGHT-HAND TECHNIQUE IN POLYPHONIC MUSIC p-i articulation - Positioning m - Rest stroke with p - Left-hand positions and movement - m-i articulation - Combining p, i and m - Easy pieces in two voices - Two-voice scales * CHAPTER 10. COUNTERPOINT Voice progression and intervals - The species - Florid counterpoint - Imitation - Syncopation - Suspension * CHAPTER 11. CONTRAPUNTAL PIECES IN TWO VOICES * CHAPTER 12. THREE VOICES The right hand - Combining chords and single notes - Repeated chords and monophonic passages - Arpeggios - Chords and counterpoint * CHAPTER 13. CONTRAPUNTAL PIECES IN THREE VOICES Technical aspects: three-voice scales, the barre - Contrapuntal pieces in three voices * CHAPTER 14. CHORDS OF FOUR OR MORE NOTES The ring finger (a) - Five- and six-note chords - Chords played with p * CHAPTER 15. IDIOMATIC LUTE COMPOSITIONS Chords and divisions - Characteristics of lute composition * CHAPTER 16. TRANSFORMATION OF LUTE TECHNIQUE DURING THE 16th CENTURY Evolution of right-hand position - Exercises for m-i alternation * CHAPTER 17. TECHNIQUE Scales (Full-length scales in all keys - Scales with divisions) - Speed - Left-hand legato and ornamentation - The barre (Preparatory exercises - Barre exercises) - Scales in two and more voices (Two-voice scales - Three-voice scales) - Polyphonic patterns - Right-hand exercises * CHAPTER 18. RENAISSANCE PERFORMANCE PRACTICE Interpretation (Rhetoric - Sound quality - Rhythmic inequality) - Ornamentation (16th-century sources - The first half of the 16th century - The second half of the 16th century - The first half of the 17th century - The Elizabethans) * CHAPTER 19. TEMPERAMENT Meantone temperament - Equal temperament

A Gaelic Blessing is a simple and catchy piece by Craig McLeish. This piece will be particularly useful for school, junior and community choirs, and a tuneful introduction to singing simple contrapuntal lines. The second soprano part repeats the tune at bar 33 and should dominate here - the first sopranos and altos should support appropriately. Ease and beauty of tone should be of paramount importance throughout. An inspiring selection of new works from a range of contemporary composers, the Novello New Choral Series offers pieces for all types of choirs, including sacred and secular works from simple, four-part settings to more expansive, yet accessible, repertoire in an exciting variety of styles. Craig McLeish began his musical life as a chorister at St Paul's Cathedral under Barry Rose. He began composing at the age of ten and his preces and responses for four trebles are still in the repertoire. After a degree at York University he returned to London to study at the Guildhall and sang again at St Paul's as a tenor. At the time he also arranged and copied music for West End shows such as Les Miserables and Miss Saigon, and played bass guitar for various groups. This led to a spell in the cult pop band 'Fat and Frantic', who shaved the top 100 twice with the whimsical anthem Last night my wife hoovered my head. He also worked as musical assistant for David Heneker (Half a Sixpence) and David Fanshawe (African Sanctus). In 1992 Craig became director of the Methodist Association of Youth Clubs Orchestra and Singers, performing concerts throughout the UK and becoming involved in a number of recordings and BBC broadcasts. During this time he arranged more than 250 orchestral scores ranging from Queen to Calamity Jane, Stravinsky and Stevie Wonder. Alongside this he began arranging and writing songs for children's collections (Big Blue Planet, Love Shone Down) and producing recordings and string arrangements for various artists (Sheila Walsh, Kim Hill, Matt Redman). He is also well known as a conductor and arranger for Songs of Praise. Recently Craig has collaborated with composer Tolga Kashif writing orchestrations for the RPO's Seo Taiji Symphony, the Classic FM chart-topping CD by saxophonist Tyler Rix, and the Genesis Suite which was premiered at the Barbican. He has been musical director of Young Voices UK for 13 years, bringing large school choirs together to play with a live band and solo artists, and currently conducts the Milton Keynes Community Choir, Hart and Soul Community Choir and the Milton Keynes Youth Choir. / Choeur SSA