Matanya Ophee's Journal
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| Sunday, March 4th, 2012 | | 10:05 am |
WIP — Mambo for MO by Carlos Barrientos
The composer says: Several musical threads led to my writing this piece of music to celebrate my friend Matanya Ophee’s (AKA MO) 80th birthday - a life lived with the guitar. Jelly Roll Morton once asserted: “In fact, if you can't manage to put tinges of Spanish in your tunes, you will never be able to get the right seasoning; I call it, for jazz.” Over the last couple of years I moved back to Jelly Roll Morton’s city: New Orleans, home of my adolescence and reacquainted myself with the tinges of Spanish in its rich musical heritage. One of these pieces was the Mardi Gras Mambo, an iconic song frequently played during Mardi Gras and, in David Newman’s reworking of the lyrics, at the New Orleans Saints football games as the Super Bowl Mambo. Uncited sources on both Wikipedia and Essortment say the word Mambo means “conversation with the gods” in Kikongo, the language spoken by Central African slaves taken to Cuba where it became the name for a musical form and a dance style that developed originally in Cuba in the able hands of Cachao’s (Bassist Orestes Lopez) tune: Danzon Mambo. This rhythmic style became famous in the 1950’s following its use in dance bands in Mexico and through New Orleans to the United States. The infectiousness of the New Orleans re-interpretation of the Mambo’s ostinato bass line and the reaction of people who are readily moved to dance when they hear it spoke to me of dance and celebration. This led me to choose some of this piece’s characteristics and title for this piece: Mambo for MO. As we have progressed on the instrument, some of us may have encountered the four-chord descending minor chord progression known as the Andalusian cadence: i - VII - VI - V in many different genres and guises. After all, it appears in Ray Charles’ Hit the Road, Jack, the verse on Good Vibrations by The Beach Boys, Walk, Don’t Run by The Ventures, Runaway by Del Shannon and in that great work arranged and embraced by the Guitar: J.S. Bach’s Chaconne from the Partita in D minor for solo violin, BWV 1004. This bass line derived from a Latin American musical style as reinterpreted in New Orleans, a chord progression that evokes the Flamenco Music of Spain, and my impressions of the sinuous lines of people dancing the Second Line in the streets of New Orleans at Mardi Gras led me to this synthesis as a tribute to a man who has contributed so much in his lifelong efforts for the guitar, its history and lore on the occasion of his birthday! Happy Birthday, Matanya!
And the theme is: 
| | Tuesday, February 14th, 2012 | | 5:22 am |
WIP — Andrey Sychra — Grand Fantasia, on motives from der Freischütz For the seven-string guitar
This one had taken more than its fair share of proof-reading. I have to thank Oleg Timofeyev and Marc L. Greenberg for catching some, and Margarita Mazo for doing to my preface what she does for her students' term-papers. Last corrections-changes were made by me this morning, just before uploading this to the printers' web site.  Here is what this is all about: Andrey Osipovich Sychra was born in Vilno (today Vilnius, Lithuania) in 1773. The family originated in Bohemia, and already in the seventeenth century moved to the western provinces of the Russian empire, which at the time included Poland and Lithuania. Andrey’s father Joseph, was a harpist and music teacher by profession and served in the houses of the local nobility. He is credited with the earliest known Polish source for the polonaise, a 1772 manuscript collection containing 62 polonaises. Naturally, Andrey’s first instrument was the harp, on which he was reputed to have been a great virtuoso, appearing in public in Vilno and its environs. He is also reported to have played the six-string guitar, and eventually settled on the seven- string guitar as the instrument to which he dedicated his life. Sychra arrived in Moscow at the beginning of 1801. He began a long and productive career as a composer and teacher of the seven-string guitar. He became the dominant figure in the field and created for himself a huge following.In 1812, perhaps because of the chaos caused by Napoleon’s campaign in Russia and the famous Moscow fire of that year, Sychra moved to the Russian capital St. Petersburg, where he was to remain for the rest of his life. Sychra rarely appeared in concert, preferring to present his students to the public, with the occasional active participation by himself. As reported by some of his students, he was a formidable performer in his own right. The number of his students was considerable and as evident from the dedications to them on many published works by Sychra, they were often members of St. Petersburg’s high society and the Imperial Court. Some of his students became well known as performers and composers, who also contributed to the culture of the guitar in Russia. The better known among them were Semion Aksionov, Vasilii Svintsov, Fiodor Zimmermann, Vasilii Sarenko, Vladimir Morkov, Nikolai Aleksandrov, Pavel Beloshein, and Osip Petrov. Sychra died in St. Petersburg in 1850 in abject poverty.
Sychra’s preoccupation with operatic transcriptions was commented upon by Mikhail Stakhovich in his famous history of the Russian seven string guitar, pointing out in particular this very composition as a “successful” fantasia in which the composer’s depiction of the orchestra on the guitar was “the perfections itself.” Andrey Sychra made several arrangements and potpourris on themes from der Freischütz. He also arranged and published arrangements of material drawn from all the major operas of his time, such as works by Rossini, Bellini, Meyerbeer, Herold, Boildieu, Glinka, Verstovsky et al. But his Grand Fantasia on themes from der Freischütz stands out as one of his major compositions for the seven-string guitar. In considering the work as a guitar composition, we can easily agree with Stakhovich’s characterization of it as “the perfection itself.” Although the Grand Fantasia is based on motives from der Freischütz, in essence a potpourri, as a composition for the guitar it is an accomplished invention, which results in a truly idiomatic virtuoso masterpiece. This edition, the first edition of this work outside Russia, is based on a nineteenth century autograph manuscript. | | Tuesday, January 10th, 2012 | | 1:40 pm |
Here is what I need:
A complete directory of Russian music publishers. There isn't one that I know of. The French, Italian, German, Spanish, English, American all have their respective directories of music publishers. Some of these are better than others, some have glaring mistakes and lacunae, but all provide the historical researcher with a more or less reliable means of dating a given musical composition. All that exists in regard to Russian music publishers is this: ( Read more... ) | | Tuesday, November 1st, 2011 | | 8:57 am |
A free day in Madrid.
No, I am not about to go traipsing around town. Today, is a Spanish national holiday, and Madrid looks like they rolled up the sidewalks for the day. The reason I am here at all, two days ahead of the Boccherini conference that starts tomorrow, is that I wanted to be sure to be here. Traveling on a free ticket, space available basis, is always risky. Coming to think of it, the cost of two nights in this fancy hotel would probably equal the price of a full fair ticket, but then, I now have a chance of getting over the cursed jet-lag before I have to read this lecture the day after tomorrow.... Anyway, my friend Luis gave me as a present the complete run of all issues of the Spanish guitar magazine called Roseta. I knew about this magazine, tried to get a subscription to it, hoped to be able to send them review copies of my editions, but so far, all my attempts failed. They never answered my inquiries, or, most probably, I wrote to the wrong person. Now that I have all the issues, 5 of them so far, I must say that I am very impressed. Technically speaking, this is one of the best executed guitar publication. Excellent graphics, first class professional typography, and high level editorial control. As for the contents: my brief perusal of some of the articles published, particularly those where my name is mentioned, showed me that I am not as clever as I thought I was. Some ideas that I expressed in recent writing and in lectures, were already discussed by others, without my knowledge of them, and probably without their knowledge of me. Then there is also the case of people writing on subjects on which I published extensive material, without even a footnote referring to my 25 year old writings on the same subject (the article on guitar notation for example). Not the first time this happened, and I am sure not the last time either. Nevertheless, this type of missing credits always gets my goat... Then there is the question of reviews of my editions. Since I was never able to establish contact with this magazine, I never sent them any review copies. That has not prevented them from publishing extensive reviews of some of my editions, particularly those with some historical reference, i.e., de Fossa, Regondi etc. Reading such reviews, it is always interesting to read what other people think of my work, and the very fact that they consider it at all, is always welcome news. Then there is the case of their critical remarks of my work. When a Spanish reviewer catches my misprint of a Spanish name, then it is of course a good thing, and his hopes that the mistake will be corrected in the next printing is of course a good thing as well, but I am afraid that some of these editions will never see a reprint. So it goes. The difficulty I have is with critical comments that are completely off the wall, exhibiting the writer's total ignorance regarding the mechanics of music publication. In the past, when a magazine was unable to control such deleterious comments on the part of their reviewers, Classical Guitar magazine for example, I demonstratively stopped sending them review copies, and demonstratively they retaliated by stopping to send me their magazine for free, as they did from their very first issue in 1982. But in this case, my actions are limited. Roseta never sent me anything, and I never sent them anything either. So now I have to consider what would be the correct forum in which to express my displeasure with such incompetence. I will have to cogitate about this, and perhaps discuss the matter with some of my Spanish colleagues. | | Friday, October 21st, 2011 | | 3:47 pm |
Spilling the serendipitous beans...
It goes like this: some 20 years ago, my friend and mentor John M. Ward told me about a manuscript of a Boccherini guitar quintet that was mentioned by a student of his, Dr. Craig Wright, in a catalog of manuscripts housed at the Houghton library at Harvard University in Cambridge, MA. The catalog was published in the X (1970) issue of Current Musicology under the title "Rare Music Manuscripts at Harvard" (p. 25-33). Curiously, the existence of this manuscript is not mentioned in Yves Gérard's 1969 thematic catalog of Boccherini, published one year earlier. Of course I got myself a microfilm of the manuscript, had it engraved, and announced my publication of it in my 1993 catalog, a publication that was sent free to some 8000 guitarists on my mailing list at the time. I kept rather secretive on the whereabouts of this manuscript, assuming that if I knew about Dr. Wright's catalog, the information would also be available to others, if they were assiduous enough in looking for it. Moreover, the existence of this manuscript was also listed in Barbara Wolff's book, Music Manuscripts At Harvard, published in 1992. No big secret, right? ( Unknown Fernando Sor under the cut.. ) | | Tuesday, September 27th, 2011 | | 2:11 pm |
On the risks of answering inquiries
As I noted in this page, I am usually not inclined to answer unsolicited inquiries from people I do not know. But once in a while get hooked on, particularly when the subject matter is something I published. At the beginning of the year, I got this inquiry from someone whose name I have never encountered before. ( Read more... ) | | Sunday, September 25th, 2011 | | 1:37 pm |
WIP — Tango Errante by Máximo Diego Pujol
Barring last minute delays, this new work by Máximo Diego Pujol goes to the printers next week. The title Tango Errante is an oblique reference to the rootless roving of modern life. Front cover illustration is by Cecilia Balagué de Pujol, collection of the artist. Used by permission. | | Friday, September 16th, 2011 | | 6:23 pm |
My monthly LJ post...
Here is what I recall: Some 10-15 years ago, I bought from a woman in Kansas (or Missouri) an 19th century American guitar method that was completely in TAB. I paid $50.- for it, and put it where I always keep old guitar methods. Now, I need to look at it, and it is nowhere to be found. I spent the last two days going through my entire collection with zilch results. I do not recall the woman's name, do not even recall the author's name, but I know for sure that I am not dreaming about this. Now, there are several possibilities: 1. it was stolen. 2. I put it someplace else where I would not normally put such things. (It is not in the refrigerator...) 3. Somebody else who was here, misplaced it and put it God knows where. 4. I am actually imagining all of this and it never really happened. Now, I know no one can find it for me without coming here and going through the stuff. But, would anybody recall if such a method did really exist? | | Thursday, July 7th, 2011 | | 1:22 pm |
Never say never, but then...
After the three financially disastrous GFA vendor's fairs, the one in San Francisco in 2008, (I missed the Ithaca event in 2009, taking care of my prostate cancer at the MPRI in Bloomington, IN, using the two months treatment to finish the translation of the Sor method), the one in Austin TX in 2010, and the one that just took place in Columbus GA, I will never waste time and money, not to mention the physical energy required, to exhibit in GFA vendors fairs in the future. Basta. ( Read more... ) | | Wednesday, May 11th, 2011 | | 4:03 pm |
WIP-Mark Delpriora's Variations on a Theme by Sor.
The composer says: In the tradition of Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s “Variations à travers les siècles.” Astor Piazzola’s “Histoire du Tango” and Argento’s song cycle “Letters from Composers,” I have taken an historical view of composition for my “Variations on a Theme by Sor.” This new set of variations follows Sor’s little Menuet in c minor op. 24 N° 1 as it makes its epic journey across time and space through the nineteenth century and into the early years of the twentieth century. During its travels, the theme meets and pays its respects to the godfathers of nineteenth century music and as a result is irrevocably transformed. Variations 12 and 14 from this composition, served as the set-piece for the 2011 GFA International Concert Artists Competition (ICAC). | | Tuesday, April 5th, 2011 | | 4:41 am |
It's been awhile...
since I last posted here. The attraction of quick ripostes in FB, and even while avoiding the twitable tweets, does take away from the pleasure of keeping this blog active. I do not have a new edition to present, and I am quite away, away from home, sitting in my friend's home in Heidelberg, Germany, waiting for the annual pilgrimage to the Frankfurter MusikMesse to begin tomorrow. So what's on my mind? The Lake Konstanz guitar research meeting which ended a couple of days ago. ( Read more... ) | | Thursday, December 30th, 2010 | | 12:21 pm |
A cliff hanger! WIP- Richard Pick School of Guitar
Rushing to finish EOY accounting, I also just about finished everything to do with the Richard Pick School of Guitar. I can send it to the printers right now, but..... Got to go through one more time. There are almost a thousand exercises, drills and examples, all fully fingered. It goes without saying, there will be some misprints in there, but I'll try to minimize them, if possible. In the mean time, here is the cover: Nothing fancy and no extraneous graphic flights of fancy, just plain description of what's inside. Anyway, I will bring this project to a final conclusion sometimes early next year... | | Wednesday, November 10th, 2010 | | 9:19 pm |
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WIP-de Fossa La Tyrolienne Variée Op.1
The selected works of François de Fossa, first published in 1990, was an anthology containing the five compositions by the French-Catalan master I knew back then. That anthology has gone out of print, and has now been replaced with five stand alone editions, completely re-engraved in Score (by Jan de Kloe), and reedited and fully fingered. These five works were sent to the printers, and should be available in a few weeks. I will now show you the five title pages, one at a time. These images were a series of water colors by François de Fossa (1861-1935?), the composer’s grandson. They were published as illustrations to an article titled “Le Marechal aux Champs” ( l’Illustration, 20/11/1926, N° 4368) describing the residence of Marshal Ferdinand Foch at Trefeunteuniou, near Morlaix in Brittany. I am indebted to Marielle Olive for copies of these water-colors. Here is the first one, La Tyrolienne Variée Op.1: | | Saturday, November 6th, 2010 | | 1:01 pm |
WIP-Alexei Agibalov
With the help of Jan de Kloe, I finalized the preparation of the Sonata N° 1 for the Russian seven-string guitar by Alexei Agibalov. It goes to the printers first thing Monday morning. ( Read more... ) | | Tuesday, November 2nd, 2010 | | 10:41 pm |
| | Friday, October 15th, 2010 | | 1:05 pm |
Recently discovered? In Defence of Arthur J. Ness
I have been writing, and complaining, and bitching, and just plain going bonkers ever since David Leisner pretended to have "discovered" the music of Johann Kaspar Mertz, forgetting to specify that he discovered it, for himself so to speak, in the private library of one Matanya Ophee. Now there is a new "discoverer" making his way through the halls of questionable fame. This is none other than my fellow Ohioan from Columbus, the lutenist Paul O'Dette. ( Read more... ) |
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