The Woodburn Foundation

presents

The Golden Polyphemus

El Polifemo de Oro

Guitar recital

by

The Poet of the Guitar

    FRANCESC DE PAULA SOLER

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Born in the heart of a Spanish artistic familly, he has received numerous prizes and awards, including the conferring of the Honorary Citizen of Dallas (1988); the Medal of St. Vladimir from the Russian Orthodox Church (1988); the Plaque of the Catalan Catholic Church Council (1995); Member of the Royal Order of Christopher Columbus (1999); given the Golden Key and made Honorary Citizen of the city of Corpus Christi, Texas (2000); Medal and Diploma of the US Military Academy of West Point and Tribute to Francesc de Paula Soler of the US House of Representatives (2001), in recognition for his artistic merits.

He has recorded the C.D. "Guitar Collection of Francesc de Paula SOLER" for MEL BAY Publications of USA, and nowadays he is preparing a CD recording dedicated to the Spanish music for vihuela and guitar and which will be entitled "El Polifemo de Oro".  He’s Founder of the “Escola Catalana de Guitarra” and of the "Catedra de Guitarra Ferran Sors" from the Montserrat's Monastery (Spain).  Regarding his wide international activity as a performer, the critics--calling him "The Poet of the Guitar"--have hailed SOLER as the most notable name of the new Spanish guitar.  GHS Strings Corporation, has chosen him for its international promotion.

About the Program

This recital is divided into two parts: the first, gives the audience a panoramic view of the Spanish music for guitar, from the Baroque to contemporary music. Mixing different styles, the performer presents the second, like a rainbow of the guitar.
 
The program begins with Gaspar Sanz (1640-1710), the true representative of the Baroque Spanish guitar; we will hear a selection of popular Cervantes’s dances from his “Suite Española”, followed by Ferran Sors’s (1778-1839), “Variaciones Opus 9”, which draws its inspiration from the aria “O Cara Armonia” from Mozart’s Magic Flute. In the next piece, “Sueño” (Dream), Francisco Tárrega (1852-1909), uses the difficult trémolo technique. This composition is one of the best examples of Tárrega’s Romantic aesthetics. The program continues with two dances: the “Dance # 1” by Antonio Ruiz-Pipó and “Muñeira” (a dance from Galicia) by the pianist and composer Frederic Mompou (1893-1987); this piece come from his “Suite Compostelana”, inspired on Santiago de Compostela and dedicated to Andrés Segovia, was the only composition he devoted to the guitar. We will end this first part with a piece by Francesc de Paula Soler, Lady M, Little Rolling Stone in which the composer mixes classical themes with themes taken from the Blues and Rock music.
The second part opens with a jazz-like composition, “Sua Cosa”, written in the Wes Montgomery style by the English composer John William Duarte, immediately followed by a piece by the Italian composer Giovanni Unterberger brings forth the be-bob style in his “Mill Grove Farm”. The Polish-French composer Alexander Tansman (1897-1986), closes this part with his Baroque style “Pompous Dance.”  We continue with “Scherzino Mexicano” by Manuel Mª Ponce (1882-1948), and the salla, “Huayno”, a popular dance from the Altiplano with genuine charango effects followed by the rhythmic and festive “Batucada” by the Uruguayan Isaías Savio.  Then, the Soler’s transcriptions for guitar of two tangos: “Adiós Nonino”, originally written for the Argentinian Quinteto Astor Piazzolla founded by Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992), and dedicated to his father “Nonino”; and “Brejeiro”, by Ernesto Nazareth’s (1863-1934), brazilian tango with “taste” of samba.
Closes the recital the Venezuelan Antonio Lauro’s (1917-1986), “Seis por Derecho” (Joropo) one of his many valses, and by the Paraguayan Pablo Escobar his very popular dance “Chopí” from his dance collection “Las Tres Palomas” with effects of the harp of his country.

PANORAMA OF THE SPANISH MUSIC FOR GUITAR


"SUITE DE DANZAS CERVANTINAS" (*)...........................Gaspar SANZ
"Ricercare"
"Gallarda"
"Villano"
"Rujero"
"Paradetas"
"Fanfarria de la Caballería de Nápoles"
"La miñona de Cataluña""Canarios"
"VARIACIONES OP. 9".............................................................Ferran SORS
                                                   (On a Mozart's theme from The Magic Flute)
"SUEÑO" (Dream).......................................................Francisco TARREGA

TWO DANCES:

“DANZA” (**) (From the “Canción y Danza nº 1”).....…........Antonio RUIZ-PIPÓ
“MUÑEIRA” (From the "Suite Compostelana")........….….......Frederic MOMPOU
LADY M, LITTLE ROLLING STONE………….Francesc de Paula SOLER
Lady M
Little Rolling Stone


Intermission 

  RAINBOW  FOR  THE  GUITAR

Diferent musical colours

"SUA COSA" (**)......................……...………..John W. DUARTE (England)
(In memoriam Wes Montgomery)
MILL GROVE FARM (**).…..……...…...Giovanni UNTERBERGER (Italy)
“DANZA POMPOSA”.......……….....Alexander TANSMAN (Poland-France)


Prelude and Dances

"SCHERZINO MEXICANO" (**).....................Manuel M. PONCE (Mexico)
HUAYNO (**)........................................................................Popular (Bolivia)
BATUCADA...............................................................Isaías SAVIO (Uruguay)

Two Tango colours

“ADIÓS NONINO” (**).................................Astor PIAZZOLLA (Argentina)
BREJEIRO (**)..................................................Ernesto NAZARETH (Brazil)

Joropo and Final

"SEIS POR DERECHO” (**)............................Antonio LAURO (Venezuela)
CHOPÍ (**).........................................................Pablo ESCOBAR (Paraguay)

* Transcription, ** Revision, by: Francesc de Paula SOLER
Guitar: Ignacio FLETA "La Bomba"

Strings: G.H.S. (Vanguard & 2390)
Riddle of the guitar

In the round
crossroads,
Six maidens
are dancing.
Three of flesh
and three of silver.
Yesterday´s dreams
are searching for them
But a golden Polyphemus
is embracing them.
The Guitar!
 

Adivinanza de la Guitarra

En la redonda
encrucijada
seis doncellas
bailan.
Tres de carne
y tres de plata.
Los sueños de ayer las buscan,
pero las tiene abrazadas
un Polifemo de Oro.
¡La guitarra!


Federico García Lorca

Co-sponsored by: The Cultural Office of the Spanish Embassy