SKU: PR.GHE0801

We proudly present a new critical edition of the collected guitar works by Fernando Sor. Some titles in this edition may be new to some readers, eg the contents of volume 10. This new edition is the biggest new publishing undertaking for the music of Sor since the 1970s.Our editor Erik Stenstadvold is a noted expert on 19th century guitar music and publishes regularly in leading professional journals such as ‘Soundboard’ and ‘Early Music’. His life-long preoccupation with Sor and his music, both as a performer and researcher, has resulted in an unsurpassed edition in terms of scholarly accuracy and practical usefulness.All relevant early sources have been consulted, often several different printed editions and manuscripts of a particular work. In each case the most dependable source has been chosen as copy text, on the basis of historical evidence and textual reliability.Variances and errors in the original scores are corrected and discussed in the comprehensive critical commentaries. All volumes contain detailed introductory notes that place the individual works in their historical context and discuss particular notation problems. Suggestions for the interpretation of ornaments are also provided. In Volume 1 and 2 (Studies), Sor’s likely purpose of each individual study is discussed in relation to the technique and fingering principles he describes in his 1830 Méthode.The music scores are produced at ‘concert size’ with clear and accurate music engraving and high-quality German printing. Original fingering is retained, but in order to make the music more accessible to players in general, editorial fingering has been judiciously added in works with little or no indications in the original editions. Added fingerings are easily distinguishable from the original ones by their different typefaces.

SKU: DY.DO-1522

ISBN 9782897963026.

Francis Bebey est né à Douala en juillet 1929, dans une grande famille où son père, pasteur, luttait pour nourrir ses enfants. Mais Francis a eu l'opportunité d'aller à l'école. Admirant son frère aîné, Marcel Eyidi Bebey, il s'est éduqué, s'est distingué, et a finalement reçu une bourse pour passer son baccalauréat en France.
Nous approchions de la fin des années 1950 lorsqu'il est arrivé à La Rochelle. Plus que jamais, dans cette France où les Africains étaient regardés avec curiosité, condescendance ou dédain, Francis s'appuyait sur ses ressources intellectuelles. Travailleur assidu, il a obtenu son baccalauréat, puis s'est installé à Paris où il a commencé des études d'anglais à la Sorbonne. Un jour, il a su ce qui l'attirait vraiment : il voulait faire de la radio. Francis a appris son métier en France et aux �tats-Unis.
Après avoir travaillé quelques années comme reporter, il a été embauché en 1961 en tant que fonctionnaire international au Département de l'information de l'UNESCO.
Parallèlement, Francis a toujours été attiré par la création musicale. Son activité diurne très sérieuse ne l'empêchait pas de fréquenter les clubs de jazz le soir. � Paris, le jazz, la musique à la mode à cette époque, mais aussi la rumba et la salsa l'attiraient. Il collectionnait les disques et assistait à de nombreux concerts. Avec son complice Manu Dibango, Francis montait sur scène et jouait de la musique.
Francis aimait la musique classique depuis son enfance. Il avait grandi en écoutant les cantates et les oratorios de Bach ou Handel que son père chantait au temple. Il s'est passionné pour la guitare, impressionné par les maîtres espagnols et sud-américains, et a décidé d'apprendre à jouer de l'instrument lui-même.
Il a commencé à composer des pièces pour guitare, mêlant les diverses influences qui le traversaient avec la musique traditionnelle africaine qu'il portait en lui depuis son enfance. Son approche a captivé le directeur du Centre culturel américain (alors situé dans le quartier de Saint-Germain à Paris), qui lui a offert l'opportunité de se produire devant un public. Francis y a donné son premier récital de guitare (1963) devant un public hypnotisé. Son premier album solo est sorti peu de temps après.
Progressivement, Francis est devenu reconnu comme musicien et compositeur. Plusieurs albums de l'ambassadeur africain de la guitare, comme le décrivait la presse, sont sortis. Il a également écrit des livres, au point que sa carrière artistique est devenue difficile à concilier avec sa carrière de fonctionnaire. En 1974, même s'il était devenu le directeur général chargé de la musique à l'UNESCO, il a fait le saut audacieux et a démissionné de cette prestigieuse institution pour se consacrer aux trois activités qui l'intéressaient : la musique, la littérature et le journalisme.
Il a exploré le patrimoine musical traditionnel du continent africain, notamment à travers le piano à pouce sanza et la musique polyphonique des pygmées d'Afrique centrale, ou en chantant dans sa langue maternelle et en composant des chansons humoristiques en français !
Le succès a suivi. Francis Bebey a parcouru le monde : de la France au Brésil, du Cameroun à la Suède, de l'Allemagne aux Caraïbes, ou du Maroc au Japon... la liste des pays où il a été invité à se produire, à donner des conférences ou à rencontrer des lecteurs est très longue. En plus de la reconnaissance publique, il bénéficiait de la reconnaissance de ses collègues musiciens, tels que le guitariste John Williams ou le Vénézuélien Antonio Lauro, qui l'ont invité à faire partie du jury d'un concours de guitare classique à Caracas.
Sa vie était le voyage d'un pionnier africain, un homme enraciné dans son patrimoine culturel et portant un message de partage et d'espoir pour le monde. Son originalité continue de résonner dans le monde entier depuis son décès à la fin du mois de mai 2001.

Francis Bebey was born in Douala in July 1929, into a large family where his father, a pastor, struggled to feed his children. But Francis had the opportunity to go to school. Admiring his elder brother, Marcel Eyidi Bebey, he educated himself, distinguished himself, and eventually received a scholarship to go and take his baccalaureate in France.
We approached the end of the 1950s when he arrived in La Rochelle. More than ever, in this France where Africans were looked at with curiosity, condescension, or disdain, Francis relied on his intellectual resources. A diligent worker, he obtained his Baccalaureate, then moved to Paris where he started English studies at the Sorbonne. One day, he knew what truly attracted him: he wanted to do radio. Francis learned his craft in France and in the USA.
After working for a few years as a reporter, he was hired in 1961 as an international civil servant in the UNESCO Information Department.
In parallel, Francis had always been drawn to musical creation. His very serious daytime activity didnâ??t prevent him from frequenting jazz clubs in the evenings. In Paris, the Jazz, the trendy music of that time, but also rumba and salsa attracted him. He collected records and attended numerous concerts. With his accomplice Manu Dibango, Francis took the stage and played music.
Francis liked classical music since his childhood. He grew up listening to the cantatas and oratorios of Bach or Handel that his father had sung in the temple. He became passionate about the guitar, impressed by the Spanish and South American masters, and decided to learn to strum the instrument himself.
He started composing guitar pieces, blending the various influences that flow through him with the traditional African music he had carried within since childhood. His approach captivated the director of the American Cultural Center (then located in the Saint-Germain neighborhood of Paris), who offered him the opportunity to perform in front of an audience. Francis gave his first guitar recital there (1963) in front of a mesmerized audience. His first solo album was released shortly thereafter.
Gradually, Francis became recognized as a musician and composer. Several albums of the African guitar ambassador, as described by the press, were released. He also wrote books, to the point that his artistic career became challenging to reconcile with his career as a civil servant. In 1974, even though he had become the General Manager in charge of music at UNESCO, he took the bold leap and resigned from this prestigious institution to dedicated himself to the three activities that interested him: music, literature, and journalism.
He explored the traditional musical heritage of the African continent, notably through the thumb piano sanza, and the polyphonic music of the Central African pygmies, or singing in his native language and composing humoristic songs in French!
Success followed. Francis Bebey traveled the world: from France to Brazil, Cameroon to Sweden, Germany to the Carribean, or Morocco to Japan... the list of countries where he was invited to perform, gives lectures, or meets readers is very long. In addition to public recognition, he enjoyed the recognition of his fellow musicians, such as guitarist John Williams or Venezuelan Antonio Lauro, who invited him to be a part of the jury for a classical guitar competition in Caracas.
His life was the journey of an African pioneer, a man rooted in his cultural heritage and carrying a message of sharing and hope for the world. His originality continues to vibrate around the world since his passing at the end of May 2001.

SKU: UT.CH-157

ISBN 9790215320369. 9 x 12 inches.

Vals d'la Masca; Il racconto della Montagna; Sequenze sotterranee

The Alpinia Suite was commissioned and composed for the festival <> and is dedicated to my friend and colleague Elio Galvagno. It was performed for the first time on August 30, 2011, in the Church of San Giovanni in Saluzzo, by an ensemble of professional and student guitarists from all over Europe. This piece was written to commemorate the first ascent of mount Monviso, by William Mathews, Frederick Jacomb, Jean Baptiste Croz and Michel Croz, exactly 150 years before, on August 30, 1861.
The first movement is a small Waltz. I imagined a Masca (a sort of alpine pixie, a teasing sprite), dancing all around the house and playing tricks, mostly harmless and funny. The Masca is a legendary and very important character in the folklore of my valleys, and all rationally inexplicable events of everyday life are ascribed to her - such as objects that cannot be found anymore, holes in flour sacks, salt in sugar bowls...
The next two movements are a homage to the Mountains. The Tale is a sort of journal, a bright and peaceful chronicle of a hike uphill, in which the beauty of the place is highlighted by an easy harmony and a sweet melody. After this, Underground sequences evokes that same world in a darker and nocturnal way; the faster pace and the choice of repeated and varying patterns are meant to show the transformation of the former environment into something more complex and tormented. Here mountains are a metaphor of human life, warts and all: their sundrenched slopes and their green pasture grasslands, but also their icy and dangerous northern sides, which demand calm, training and caution.
(G. Signorile).

SKU: UT.LB-27

ISBN 9788881094974. 5.51 x 8.26 inches.

La pubblicazione di questo doppio carteggio trova la sua ragion d’essere nel voler rappresentare il grande interesse di Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco verso il mondo della chitarra, così come si presentava negli anni ’50 e ’60 del secolo scorso.
Esso si articola in due sezioni: la prima comprende nove lettere a Mario Gangi e la seconda altrettante a Carlo Carfagna, integrate dalla riedizione della serie di scritti commemorativi apparsi su Chitarra e Musica (supplemento mensile della rivista Strumenti e Musica) subito dopo la morte del Maestro, avvenuta il 16 marzo 1968.
L’arco temporale di tale corrispondenza copre quattordici anni; dall’aprile 1954 al luglio 1965 quella di Mario Gangi e dal luglio 1964 al gennaio 1968 quella di Carlo Carfagna. La maggior parte delle lettere sono spedite dalla residenza statunitense di Castelnuovo-Tedesco a Beverly Hills, due dalla sua casa fiorentina di via dei Bardi.
Dagli scritti di Castelnuovo-Tedesco emerge l’aspetto professionale, mai autocelebrativo, in cui egli elenca affettuosamente la quasi totalità delle sue opere per chitarra. Contemporaneamente, ci fornisce uno spaccato del mondo musicale e chitarristico di quel periodo, senza risparmiare maliziose osservazioni su Stravinsky e Segovia.
D’altro canto ne fanno da contrappunto gli aspetti umani e personali, dove addirittura egli si lascia andare all’autoironia e alla manifestazione delle proprie intime emozioni.
Fa parte del carteggio con il giovane Carfagna anche la celebre prefazione al Profilo Storico della Chitarra, in cui il Maestro fiorentino ha lasciato intendere gran parte della propria poetica chitarristica.
Brevi ma esaurienti annotazioni accompagnano il lettore.