SKU: UT.CH-387

ISBN 9790215328235. 9 x 12 inches.

Opus 114 is certainly one of Carulliâ??s most important didactic works, so much so that the author himself made a point of writing in the second edition of his famous Method op. 27 (1819): The student, when moving on to the second part, must continue to practise on the easy pieces which are to be found in opus nos. 50, 15, 35, 36, 93, 7 and above all in opus 114. He maintained this indication also in later editions of the Method itself, unlike what he did with other collections of studies which were no longer recommended.
The purpose of op. 114, in particular of the preludes, is clearly explained by the author himself in the preface of op. 265: I have already offered preludes in my opus nos. 71 and 114 to people, but they serve to study and learn to play all sorts of difficult passages, to practise modulating, and learn to improvise on the guitar. Carulli seems to want to provide his students with a large handbook of formulas typical of his musical writing and he does so by making use of the keys which, in his opinion, are most congenial to the guitar. In his Method he points out: Each instrument has its favourite keys: the guitar can be played in all keys, but the best ones are: A major and minor, D major and minor, E major and minor, C, G, F. The others are difficult; [â?¦]. However, some of the difficult ones are included but only in the fourth part. Of course, the easiness of a key essentially depends on the possibility of extensive use of the open strings, especially in the low notes, ensuring the accompaniment on the main degrees.
This edition has some unique features. First of all, it is the first complete modern edition of Carulliâ??s op. 114; it presents an important critical apparatus in which the Carullian technique is presented and analysed; finally, Carulli's original fingering is indicated in the score (including that of the thumb of the left hand) and the missing one was obtained from the comparison of his other fingerings present in other works. All this allows an easy and complete reading both for those who perform the pieces following the nineteenth-century performance practice with a historical instrument, and for those who play a modern instrument.

SKU: PE.EP68585

ISBN 9790300759852. 232 x 303mm inches.

Piano Music Arranged for Guitar features five early and mid-career compositions by John Cage, dating from 1933 through 1948, all arranged for solo guitar by Aaron Larget-Caplan. The compositions required little adjustment from the originals, mainly in the form of register modifications, and fit very well on the guitar. All phrase and dynamic markings follow the published originals. Very few left and right hand fingerings are included in the publication to allow the performers their own realizations. All of the works retain their original keys and are presented in chronological order:

Three Easy Pieces (Round, Duo, Infinite Cannon)

A Room

Chess Pieces

Dream

In A Landscape

Cage’s exploration of contrapuntal music and simple forms are found early on in works for two voices and the use of unusual phrases lengths. The later works explore modes, resonance, and begin to show influences of Far East aesthetics in their spaciousness and dealings with time.

The collection is only the second work in the Cage Oeuvre to be published featuring the guitar, the first being Larget-Caplan’s arrangement of ‘Six Melodies’ for violin & guitar issued in 2015.

A recording dedicated to John Cage on guitar will be released in 2018 on Stone Records Limited (UK).

SKU: FG.55011-324-4

ISBN 9790550113244.

Quadri Morandi (2014) ties together two essential themes of Kai Niminen's (b. 1953) compositional style: guitar and a subject inspired by Italy. The strong presence of the guitar in his works is natural since he is in an actively performing guitarist himself, and guitar works indeed play a significant role in his oeuvre. Moreover, he has written plenty of orchestral music; for instance two symphonies, numerous concertos, and chamber music. In the field of Finnish music he is a composer who can be characterized as free from any specific school or style. In his musical language, free tonal in essence, one can detect traces of Impressionism, Neoromanticism and even Expressionism at times, but he is also willing to employ more recent 20th-century stylistic devices. Nieminen has mentioned that he finds himself very similar to Japanese Toru Takemitsu both musically and in thought.

Mediterannean culture and Italy especially have been close to Nieminen's heart ever since he first visited the country and appeared in the jury of the international Fernando Sor guitar competition in 1981. He has composed a great number of works which refer to Italian landscapes or artists. The work Quadri Morandi (Morandi's pictures) is written in four movements. It has at its centre the painter Giorgio Morandi (1890-1964), who is known as a master of still lifes and landscapes painted in a plain manner and is subdued colours. Their atmosphere typically reflects a calm spirit. This is the third guitar work that nieminen has written for Kleemola.

It is easy to find a counterpart for the encaptivating realm of Morandi's art in Nieminen's clear and pure expression. The titles and expression markings also include several references to Morandi. For example, in the opening movement Prelude the words la Natura morta (still life) appear as an additional note on the chord sequence following the freely flowing opening section. At the end of the movement one can hear rhythmic motif coloured with flageolets that repeats the syllables of the painter's name: Gior-gio Moran-di. A similar motif can be heard at the end of the second movement Quasi cadenza. The tranquilly breathing third movement Paesaggio (landscape) creates an illusion of landscape by imitating the echo of monastery bells (come campane del monastero) and at the same time refers to il monaco (the monk), the name by which Morandi was often called. The final movement Ritratto (Portrait) is the most extensive of all the movements and can be seen, with its recurring motifs, as a reflection of the stable yet subtly varying elements of Morandi's art. The work ends with the rhythmic motif that once more echoes Morandi's name, like signature.