An arrangement of traditional themes of the Flamenco style (palo) Alegrias de Baile (Alegrias for dance) that I acquired during my years of study with Juan González ?Triguito? in Madrid in the late 1960s. The title of the piece that contains bright and happy passages in A major and slower more somber passages in A minor is taken from the name of a popular alcoholic drink that is a mixture of clear anisette (sol) and cognac (sombra). The composition is meant to resemble an Alegrias played in accompaniment to the dance, often performed by a solo woman dancer (bailaora) in a beautifully coloured long flowing dress. The piece finishes with a Macho por Bulerías (finale) that is almost twice as fast as the passages in the introduction and middle parts. There is a long beautiful tremolo passage that rounds off the middle part before the jump into the finale. The piece is recommended for students of Flamenco guitar at the intermediate to advanced intermediate levels.

An arrangement of traditional themes for the Flamenco style Siguiriyas for solo Flamenco guitar based on material I gathered in my studies in Flamenco guitar in Madrid in the late 1960s. I call the piece Llamas Negras (Black Flames) as the dance for Siguiriyas is often performed by a woman dancer (bailaora) dressed in a long flowing black dress, her hands twirling above her head likes flames. Such were the performances I witnessed at the Flamenco tablao La Zambra where my guitar maestro Juan González ?Triguito? played. Siguiriyas is the most tragic of all the serious (jondo) styles of Flamenco for guitar. The piece moves therefore at a moderately slow pace, although there are passages where the tempo increases for dramatic effect. The piece is in the Phrygian modal of D minor and notated in standard 6/8 time. Siguiriyas embodies par excellence what Manuel de Falla called the ?sonidos negros? or black sounds in Flamenco!