ISBN 9781513455099. 8.75 x 11.75 inches.

LES REFLETS DE L'OBSCURITE is an original collection of four pieces for solo guitar, ranging from intermediate to advanced skill and of a total duration of approximately fifteen minutes. Secrets dune ombre, Ecume orange, Parfums declipse and Sables stellaires tell the story of a journey in a suspended and colorful universe, projecting the listener into a soundscape of many horizons. The combination of traditional music writing and an impressionistic language allows the musician expressive freedom, while guiding them in the interpretation of their playing. This collection was performed and recorded by Johan Smith, winner of the renowned GFA guitar contest (37th Guitar Foundation of America, Rose Augustine Grand Prize 2019). LES REFLETS DE LOBSCURITE est un recueil original de quatre pieces pour guitare seule, de niveau intermediaire a avance et dune duree totale denviron quinze minutes. Secrets dune ombre, Ecume orange, Parfums declipse et Sables stellaires racontent ainsi une progression dans un univers suspendu et colore, vous projetant dans un paysage sonore aux horizons multiples. Lecriture traditionnelle liee a un langage impressionniste permet une liberte expressive au musicien, tout en le guidant dans linterpretation de son jeu. Ce recueil est interprete et enregistre par Johan Smith, laureat du celebre concours de guitare GFA (37th Guitar Foundation of America, Rose Augustine Grand Prize 2019).

Ernesto García de León's 20 Studies, Op. 50 is an ingenious collection thataddresses fundamental questions about how to develop and maintain guitar technique. It is designed toserve guitar teachers and students as well as performers and concert audiences. Since it explores notjust the technique of our instrument, but its musicaland expressive aspects as well, it makes daily technical work enjoyable, not tedious?even for someone only beginning to study the guitar.

For guitar teachers and students, 20 Studies canserve as a basic curriculum or it can complementother methods or other sets of studies. For performers, it provides a complete overview and tune-up ofthe guitar technique in one graded set of daily studies that can be played in less than half an hour. Thiswarm-up then provides the player delicious concertrepertoire?as the complete set, or in smaller groups,or in combinations with other music by ErnestoGarcía de León.

These musical exercises are also useful to rectify,reform or rehabilitate the guitar technique.

The materials out of which the twenty studies aredeveloped are first idiomatic patterns of the guitarand then the variety of musical styles so appealing toand characteristic of Ernesto García de León. For example, classic examples of the music of theCaribbean coastal basin in general and thecomposer's native state Veracruz in particular appearunvarnished in #12 (a rumba veracruzana) and #20(a son). The other studies blend elements of Mexicanmusic in general?songs of the revolution, nativedances, boleros, children's songs, and so forth?withelements of European classical music, Beatles, NewAge music, jazz and other musical styles, in a wayintended to appeal to the player and to the listener.

As the summary on pages 34 and 35 illustrates,the first sixteen studies explore basic formulas for theright hand. At the same time, they also address thefull range of left hand techniques?including balanceand positioning, independence of the fingers, longitudinal and transversal movements, shifts by substitution, by displacement, by jump, and by positions,barring, stretches and contractions, damping, pivoting, crossed movements, and movements with fixedfingers. The last four studies concern the slur.

Though each of the basic right- and left-hand formulas explored in the twenty studies is relativelysimple in itself, each is a building block of a solidtechnique. Mastery of the complete set of twentystudies?less than half an hour of music?integratesall the formulas and develops the technique to a levelat which an enormous range of the guitar repertoirebecomes available.