Elogio de la Danza, part 2

Continuing on from last time, page two of this outstanding example of modern guitar repertoire. I have just been re-learning this piece after not having played it for decades. The amenability of guitar repertoire to memorization varies widely so a number of years ago I adopted the policy of only playing those pieces from memory that are well-suited to it. The Segovia repertoire of largely Spanish composers of the 20th century is ideal for performance from memory, as is the Latin American repertoire and a great deal of the 20th century repertoire from other countries. To this we can add the 19th century repertoire from Sor, Giuliani, Mertz, Tarrega and others. As you move outside this window, on either side, memorization becomes more problematic.

For example, some of the most avant-garde pieces are extremely difficult to memorize and others should not be memorized. Examples would include moment-form pieces like the one for alto flute and guitar I posted a few days ago, Night Rain by Anthony Genge. This is written in the form of "moments" or small cells for each instrument. For each movement you play each cell once. This is a piece that has to be read fresh for each performance. You should not play a fixed, memorized version. Another example is the Klavierstück XI by Stockhausen (or pieces by Morton Feldman and Earle Brown) in which a number of fragments or moments are distributed on a single page and the performer selects which one to play next so they can be heard in any order. Much early music is also difficult to memorize and it was usually played from tablature, not memorized.

I bring this up because I found the Elogio tricky to memorize in a couple of ways. First of all, the cellular structure makes it possible for you to interchange two very similar cells inadvertently. This is rectified just by more work, of course. A subtler problem is the meter. More and more I have the feeling that a lot of Elogio was composed on the instrument, improvised and then written down. I say this because I get the sense that the notated meter was imposed afterwards. Incidentally, when I saw Leo Brouwer perform this piece in a concert in Montreal in, I think it was, 1977, he played it from the music!

My first example is mm. 23 and 24 at the top of page 2:

Here we have the repeat of the cluster motif followed by a transitional measure that sets up the following section in a new tempo and with new material. M. 24 is an odd sort of measure, certainly not in 3/4 meter. He could have likely notated it as a measure of 1/4, rest, followed by a measure of 2/4. On the previous page there are a couple of 1/4 measures with rests.

Then we have the Allegro moderato that Brouwer plays with the dotted quarter equal to 96 though this is not marked in the score.

The notation uses some shorthand. The first measure, m. 25, is actually eighth notes which is indicated by the slash in the stem. Each note is played staccato, indicated by the staccato dots underneath the notehead. The next measure changes meter to 12/8. This whole section alternates between 9/8, 12/8 and 6/8 which I found a bit tricky to keep straight when I was memorizing it. The section is a variation on the opening of the piece with the repeated open Es and the arpeggiated chord. That is one of the hardest passages in the piece:

This is almost the same chord as at the beginning, but with the addition of an open G. This takes a LOT of slow practice to get clean, especially at a quick tempo. I think a slower tempo with more clarity is better than a quick tempo that is messy. Notice that he is asking for little crescendos along with everything else. This is one of my favorite passages:

Again, a variation on the basic material. I love the quadruplets going into the quintuplet followed by the plain eighths which are the equivalent of triplets as these are all divisions of the dotted quarter pulse. The last beat of the 9/8 measure is a really difficult (at this tempo) slur passage. You have to keep up the eight note subdivision while subdividing it into triplets meaning that this dotted quarter contains nine notes. I saw something rather comical at a guitar competition once. In one of the qualifying rounds a Japanese guitarist was playing the Elogio and when he got to the Allegro moderato he took a tempo that was so fast that one of the jury (who shall remain anonymous) stopped him and said, "this section is not possible at that tempo!" He looked at her quizzically and then played the passage in slurs flawlessly at the tempo. Guitar technique is always progressing and what was impossible for the juror's generation was not a problem for the young Japanese guitarist. Awkward moment, though. The solution here is, as always, slow careful practice. And never try to play faster than you can control.

This section incrementally becomes fragmented and then returns to the original tempo and material with variations. One thing you have to watch is the dynamics. A lot of guitarists ignore some of the dynamics, but they are all important and integral to the music. In m. 42, you should play sul tasto as well as piano and più lento:

And that's pretty much it for the first movement of the piece. The second movement, titled "Obstinato," we will take up next time.

Here is a good performance by Mexican guitarist Pablo Garibay that is very sensitive to timbral contrasts: