New piece for Guitar
Posted: March 14, 2012 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: composition, Cornwall, Devon, elegy, exeter, guitar solo, spanish guitar 1 Comment »I have recently completed a new piece – Elegy – for guitar solo. I am hoping to record it soon, but if any guitarists would like to try it out, please download the pdf and let me know what you think.
Guitar Music for Weddings
Posted: February 28, 2012 Filed under: Classical Guitar, Entertainment, Spanish Guitar, Uncategorized, Weddings | Tags: carole king, catalan folksongs, Classical Guitar, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, exeter, js bach, music for weddings, ralph towner, romantic guitar music, Somerset, spanish guitar, Weddings Leave a comment »
The selection of music for the guitar can be bewildering, particularly if you don’t have specialist musical knowledge. As a classical guitarist I am often asked to play for wedding ceremonies and I am frequently asked for my recommendations for pieces.
Choosing the right music for a wedding can be daunting, and while many know exactly what they want, a little guidance can be helpful. With that in mind, I thought that I would write a short guide to picking the best guitar music for their day.
The Wedding Ceremony
The wedding ceremony is the focal point of the day, and choosing the right music can add extra magic. You will need to think about what music you would like for:
- Arrival of the guests
- Entrance of the bride (the most important!)
- Signing of the Register
- Recessional
Arrival of Guests
Music for the arrival of the guests should provide a gentle ambience before the beginning of the ceremony. It’s not often that I get asked to play particular requests for this section of the day, (although I am happy to) so usually provide a gentle accompaniment to the arriving guests. To give you an idea of the kind of music that I might play, here are some examples:
- Romance de los Pinos (F. Moreno Torroba)
- El Noi de la Mare (trad. arr. Llobet)
You may already know that religious music cannot be played at civil ceremonies (e.g. at registry office), so you will need to bear this in mind when picking music.
Entrance of the Bride
The music for the arrival of the bride is perhaps the most important of the day, and the choice of music is very personal. Most couples ask for an piece that is special to them (and this might mean a special guitar arrangement of something I’ve not played before!). When picking the music, remember that the walk down the aisle is a lot shorter than you think. It is likely that you would only hear around 30 seconds of music. I have played many different types of pieces, and some well known songs have become particularly popular recently, e.g.:
- You’ve got a friend (Carole King)
- Somewhere over the rainbow (Harold Arlen)
There are many others you could choose. YouTube is a great resource for looking up potential music. I am always happy to play requests, just ask.
Signing of the Register
If the entrance of the bride is shorter than you would expect, then the signing of the register is longer. This part of the ceremony always seems to last about 10 minutes, so two good length pieces provide some gentle background accompaniment during the proceedings. Some examples:
- Prelude in D (JS Bach)
- Balleto (M Ponce)
Recessional
Traditionally a more lively, celebratory piece is played as the bride, groom and the rest of the wedding party leave the ceremony venue. The are hundreds of pieces that would work, but I particularly like these pieces:
- Joyful Departure (Ralph Towner)
- Sound of Bells (Joao Pernambuco)
I hope these examples will help you to pick music to suit the mood of your day. If you would like any extra advice, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Julian Bream – Homage to Andres Segovia
Posted: February 1, 2012 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Andres Segovia, Classical Guitar, Dorset, Falla, Julian Bream, mompou, spanish guitar, suite compostelana, Wardour Chapel Leave a comment »
I wanted to include some of my favourite guitar albums on my site and this Julian Bream recording could well be my favourite recording of all time.
The recording on this album are works that were inspired by Andres Segovia, or where commissioned by him. The recording of pieces by Torroba, Mompou, Falla and Turina (with the addition of Fantasia by Roberto Gerhard) are among the best I can think of. The album, which was recorded at the Wardour chapel in Dorset, represents Bream at his very best – intense, impassioned and sincere. The Jose Ramirez that Bream plays echoes like thunder through the rasguedo passages of The Miller’s Dance and sings through the dissonant beauty of the Coral in Mompou’s Suite Compostelana.
You can come across this recording now for around £5 online, and I suggest that you buy of copy. (If you don’t already have it!).
Simon Ambridge – Guitar Maker
Posted: January 18, 2012 Filed under: Classical Guitar, Guitar Making, Spanish Guitar, Uncategorized | Tags: Classical Guitar, craftsmen, Devon, guitar making, luthiers, spanish guitar 1 Comment »
This weekend I was fortunate enough to be able to meet up with the great guitar maker Simon Ambridge. Simon has been making guitars for over 20 years, and is based in a small workshop in Devon. He generously offered the opportunity for me to play one of his recently completed guitars.
Playing a newly completed guitar is always an interesting experience. The guitar I played was had only been strung the previous day, but the sound was already well balanced with an great sense of separation (i.e. different tones in a multi voice passages kept their ‘separate’ feel). Like a fine wine, guitars mature before they develop their full tone, but there was no doubt that this guitar was of the highest class.
Simon’s guitars are made in the in the Hauser / Torres style and use a traditional fan-strutting system. Many guitar makers are experimenting with a variety of different constructions (e.g. the ‘taut’ strutting system developed by Paul Fischer or the lattice bracing of Greg Smallman), however, the character and depth of tone achieved by the more traditional constructions are, for me, unbeatable.
While writing this post, I was trying to think of way to describe the sound of Simon’s guitar in words, but gave up. However, I did find this video of Simon’s guitar making process with music by Stephen Kenyon. I hope you enjoy it.
M.
