MARTIN JUAN ANDALUCIAN SUITE NO. 1 LIBRO CD TABLATURE CHITARRA SPARTITI FLAMENCO BULERIAS

ANDALUCIAN SUITE No.1 THE FOUR SOLOS

These four solos are played as a sequence (or suite) to provide an interestingly varied group of pieces which show a range of flamenco guitar styles. Each solo stands as a complete composition which can be played by itself or in any chosen order. La Feria is particularly featured as a much-requested and popular solo.

EVOCACION DE LA INVASION ARABE AD 711

The opening movement of the suite recalls the Moorish invasion of Spain, when a small army arrived from North Mrica in the year 711 A.D. and landed at Gibraltar. The leader of the Moors was Jabal Tariq - 'he of the rock' - from whose name Gibraltar is derived. This small but efficient army, which arrived in Andalucia with its now famous Arab horses and brilliant horsemanship, took over much of Spain, a conquest which was to last nearly eight centuries. Cordoba and, larer, Granada were to become the Islamic capitals, dominating Spain until 1492. The music is based on the form of the Zambra Mora, flamenco's most Moorish dance form. It evokes that original menacing invasion and also reflects the beauty of the Moors' legacy in their art and architecture, with palaces such as the Alhambra in Granada and the great mosque at Cordoba.

Playing Notes

The 6th string is tuned to 0 for this piece, and no cejilfa (flamenco capo) is used. It starts wirh a free form (toque libre) cadenza in the style of the Moorish oud (a lute-shaped instrument with unfretted neck) with passages of ligado in which the nores are sounded by the left hand. The profusion of notes on the page may look daunting at first, bur the music lies quite easily under the fingers. In such a free and expressive passage without a definite rhythmic metre, the timing of the written notes has to be somewhar approximate. Listening to the CD will help to convey rhe correcr phrasing and emphasis. On the second page, the music changes to a regular 2/4 rhythm, which persists to the end of the piece, with later passages of rasgueo (strumming) and alzapua (a rapid three-srroke technique using down- and up-strokes of the thumb). Playets of classical guitars which are not fitted with golpeadores (tapping-plates) can omit the golpe taps. The solo concludes with a passage of continuous rasgueo (see Key to Symbols, following). The golpe on the penultimate beat is made with the middle finger striking the golpeador on the near side of the strings before the finger travels on to sound the strings with a down-stroke. The transcription is dedicated to the distinguished classical guitarist Eleftheria Kotzia, who incorporated the piece into her concert repertoire, as was heard in her virtuoso performance at London's South Bank Centre.

LA FERIA

In the same year, 1492, that Ferdinand and Isabella forced the Moors to leave Spain, Cristobal Colon (Christopher Columbus) sailed from the small port of Palos on the west coast of Andalucia on his voyage of discovery to Ametica. That voyage forged a cultural link with the Americas which has its effect within flamenco music. South American rhythms have returned to Spain with soldiers and musicians and have been absorbed into flamenco, undergoing a change in identity yet retaining an obvious Latin-American aire (atmosphere and feeling). It is clearly evident in this Rumba, an immensely popular style today. The solo is named The Fair, a time of uninhibited celebration.

Playing notes

The 6th string of the guitar is tuned to E. The cejilfa is placed at the second fret. The Rumba starrs with rhythmic strumming, using the characteristic slapping rechniques (see Key). For the first 8 bars the strings are damped with the fingers of the left hand so that they provide a percussive sound without musical vibration. The approximate positions of the left hand fingers as they damp the strings are shown in the music and cifra (flamenco tablature), initially in a chord shape over the lower frets and then over higher frets. The notes of the chord are not sounded, but the change in hand position alters the pitch of the percussive sound made by the damped strings. The piece also includes passages of alzapua, left and right hand apagado damping to cut short the sound of chords and, at the end, a repeated three-stroke rasgueo of thumb up-stroke followed by middle finger and thumb down-strokes. middle finger golpes on the near-side golpeador are used before a final up-stroke with the thumb ends the solo.