SKU: MB.30983

ISBN 9781513471433. 8.75x11.75 inches.

Oâ??Carolan for Classical Guitar is the fourth and final volume of Guido Bögerâ??s classical guitar arrangements of the 214 compositions of the itinerant blind Irish harper, Turlough O'Carolan (1670â??1738). This last collection includes 58 solo pieces, including Oâ??Carolanâ??s variations on two Scottish airs.

These settings are generally intermediate in difficulty and reflect the beauty and lyricism of the original melodies, most of which are tribute tunes named for Oâ??Carolanâ??s patrons: Colonel Oâ??Hara, John Oâ??Connor, Mrs. Oâ??Connor, Lady Wrixon, General Wynne, Captain Oâ??Neil, The Landlady, etc. The works are meticulously written in standard notation and are ideal for sight-reading practice, personal enjoyment, or concert performance. Moderate left-hand fingering and string numbering are provided in these well-crafted arrangements.

Along with his previous Mel Bay editions, Turlough O'Carolan Irish Harp Pieces for Classical Guitar, O'Carolan Favorites and O'Carolan Airs, this book completes Guido Böger's comprehensive O'Carolan series. The set of four books would make a great gift, particularly for an Irish guitarist.

SKU: IS.G6764EM

ISBN 9790365067640.

This sonata (WeissSW No. 23, London) is one of a new series of eight sonatas by Silvius Leopold Weiss arranged for the first time for guitar and published by Metropolis Music. Sonata XVII comes from Weissâ??s middle â??productiveâ?? period, thought to have taken place between 1719 and 1725. The original tablature manuscript is in the British Library (London Ms. Add. 30387). It is the only London Sonata with a title: Divertimento à solo. The Sonata has ten separate movements: Prelude (PrÇ£lude), Entrée, Bourée I and II, Gavotte I and II, Sarabande, Menuet I and II, and Saltarella. The Entrée is nothing more than an Allemande. The Saltarella resembles the Scottish Gigue. The pairs of the middle â??dancesâ?? are intended to be played side by side, as one coherent movement in which the second part complements the musical notion of the first part. There are concordant copies of the first parts of the Bourée, Gavotte and Menuet in the Sächsisches Landesbibliothek in Dresden (Suite XXVI). Bourée I can also be found in the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek in München, although it is quite different from the London version. Originally, the Sonata is written in B flat major, a key often used by Weiss as it is appropriate for playing the lute, but rather awkward with the guitar. For ease and effectiveness of playing, I have transposed the Sonata a minor third lower to G major. To create more concordance with the baroque tuning of the lute, the G string is lowered by a semitone to F sharp. I suggest using a capodastro to achieve the original pitch. Based on the present standard of A at 440 Hertz, the capo should be placed at the 3rd fret. However, during Weissâ??s lifetime, it was more common in many parts of Germany to use a standard of A at 415 Hertz -â? a semitone lower. So, to hear the pitch heard by Weiss and his contemporaries, the capo should then be positioned at the 2nd fret.