SKU: DY.DO-1538

ISBN 9782897963187.

When guitarist John Olson and soprano Gioia De Cari commissioned me to write a piece for them, I envi- sioned writing something theatrical that might especially suit Gioia, who is both a singer and an actress. Eventually, I thought of Mark Twain. The great American writer and humorist of substance wrote a short, little-known book called The Diary of Adam and Eve, which is, of course, about the first days of human life on this earth, in Twain’s witty, but touching take on the Bible story. Adam and Eve each write diary entries. I chose several passages from Eve’s diary that convey the sense of constant wonder that she felt because absolutely everything in her world was new.

Setting prose, rather than poetry, is a challenge for a composer because it has neither the innate rhythm nor the lyricism of poetry. On some intuitive level, this challenge led me to a process that allowed the music to evolve mostly from the guitar part. Whereas normally the vocal melody might emerge first, motivated by the text and with the accompaniment then added for support, here the guitar part was the prime mover. An example of this is the last song, which is a passacaglia played by the guitar, providing the ground over which the vocal line can soar. Eve’s Diary was composed in 2015.

Lorsque le guitariste John Olson et la soprano Gioia De Cari m'ont commandé une pièce pour eux, j'ai imaginé écrire quelque chose de théâtral qui pourrait particulièrement convenir à Gioia, qui est à la fois chanteuse et actrice. Finalement, j'ai pensé à Mark Twain. Le grand écrivain et humoriste américain a écrit un petit livre peu connu intitulé Le Journal d'Adam et Ève, qui raconte les premiers jours de la vie humaine sur terre selon l'interprétation spirituelle et espiègle de Twain de l'histoire biblique. Adam et Ève tiennent chacun un journal. J'ai choisi plusieurs passages du journal d'Ève qui expriment ce sentiment d'émerveillement constant qu'elle ressentait, car absolument tout dans son monde était nouveau.

Mettre en musique de la prose, plutôt que de la poésie, est un défi pour un compositeur car elle n'a ni le rythme inné ni le lyrisme de la poésie. Intuitivement, ce défi m'a conduit à un processus qui a permis à la musique d'évoluer principalement à partir de la partie de guitare. Alors que normalement la mélodie vocale pourrait émerger en premier, motivée par le texte et avec l'accompagnement ajouté ensuite pour le soutien, ici la partie de guitare était le moteur principal. Un exemple en est la dernière chanson, qui est une passacaille jouée à la guitare, fournissant le fond sur lequel la ligne vocale peut s'élever. Le Journal d'Ève a été composé en 2015.

SKU: UT.CH-397

ISBN 9790215328501. 9 x 12 inches.

Blumenlied; Freude der Kinderjahre; Frühlingslied; Der liebliche Stern; Nachtviolen; Nähe des Geliebten; Trauer der Liebe; Die Herbstnacht (Die Wehmut); Du bist die Ruh; Tischlied

In the early 1960s the Venezuelan guitarist, Alirio Diaz, suggested to Duarte that, because the existing arrangements of Schubert lieder for voice and guitar were so poor, he should make some new arrangements. 20 songs were initially arranged, from 1966 onwards, and only nine of them were published by Edizioni Musicali Bèrben in 1973.
The songs in the present volume selected themselves for their vocal range and only one song, Der Schatzgräber D 256, had to be excluded. I am very grateful to Amanda Cook who took on the task of adding fingerings to most of these 55-year old arrangements. There is a small ossia part in Freude der Kinderjahre, a vocal ossia in Tischlied and also one or two places where chord progressions have been changed for easier performance. Transpositions from the original keys are noted in the musical text and dynamics have been inserted where they can be corroborated. I have refrained from including an English, or any other language, translation. Singers and guitarists will have their own resources and knowledge for translating the meaning of the texts into their own language, an essential tool for the interpretation of these wonderful songs.

(Christopher Duarte).