Guitar

SKU: FG.55011-611-5

3 kitaralle (sov. Lauri Manninen). Composed by Leevi Madetoja. Fennica Gehrman #55011-611-5. Published by Fennica Gehrman (FG.55011-611-5).

ISBN 9790550116115.

Six delightful miniatures from Leevi Madetoja (1887-1947), one of the most significant Finnish contemporaries of Sibelius, are now available as new guitar arrangements by Lauri Manninen. The Miniatures suite (1914) consists of five movements: The Evening Star, Valsette, Nocturne, The Game and The Children's March. The Legend from Suite Pastorale (1916) was also originally composed for piano.

120 Songs for Easy Guitar. By Various. Easy Guitar (Simplified arrangements for guitar). Size 9x12 inches. 111 pages. Published by Hal Leonard.

Guitar solo

SKU: GH.GE-11464

Composed by Benjamin Staern. Duration 15 minutes. Gehrmans Musikforlag #GE 11464. Published by Gehrmans Musikforlag (GH.GE-11464).

ISBN 979-0-070-11464-6. A4 inches.

Work note by the composer:

When I received the news of this commission, I had no idea what it would lead to. Writing for guitar solo is not the same as composing for orchestra where you have forty voices where you can easily mask an entire section. Here you are very naked to the bone.
The starting point for this work was from J.S. Bach's Chaconne in D-minor that Johannes had performed in concert, originally written for violin but there is a version transcribed for guitar and piano made by Ferruccio Busoni. When I went to Cortona (in Tuscany, Italy) completed the southern mentality of this work.
Arpalineais actually a merged word in Italian language. Arpa means harp, however in a musical context it's more or less resembled with the word arpeggio, which means broken chords. Lineameans line.

The work is divided in three parts.
I. Arpeggio: It starts with an opening chaconne-like sequence and is marked with a certain depth in which the chords starts to separate from the organum note in the bass and it culminates into a section called with rhythmical focus. These sections alternates, variates which each other.
The middle section has a playful and childish atmosphere where the guitarist knocks on the body of the guitar resembling a Spanish folk instrument cajon. This is leading to a section which tends more to a very aggressive fusion-like riff that loses control and reaches its climax at the end.

II. Linea: The static rhytmical pulse is now disintegrated and it forms more or less sort of a free, improvisational state in a rubatolike tempo. The character is described as a very hot day with temperatures rising above 37! C (or 100! F) where you can hardly do anything just sitting dozed off and pespiring because of the extreme heat watching a huge fog coming up in the evening that spreads around the Tuscan atmosphere.

III. Finale: It starts off with fast one-note ostinati then more and more notes pop up like a gradual rain storm with thunder strikes! And eventually it leads to that is a large flood through the streets of an medieval Southern town. The work ends with a short circuit slapped strings along with extremely fast tremolos that reaches higher and louder as possible!

Benjamin Staern

Guitar - Intermediate

SKU: DY.DO-1522

Composed by Francis Bebey. Arranged by Ingrid Riollot. Score. Les Editions Doberman-Yppan #DO 1522. Published by Les Editions Doberman-Yppan (DY.DO-1522).

ISBN 9782897963026.

Fran cis 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.
Parallèle ment, 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.
Progressivem ent, 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.

Old Time, Wire bound. Sacred. Book and online audio. 184 pages. Mel Bay Publications, Inc #WBM67M. Published by Mel Bay Publications, Inc

Guitar

SKU: HL.14030951

For Guitar. Composed by Bent Sorensen. Music Sales America. Classical. Book [Softcover]. 2 pages. Edition Wilhelm Hansen #KP00857. Published by Edition Wilhelm Hansen (HL.14030951).

ISBN 9788759851937. 10.5x14.5x0.423 inches. English.

Work for Guitar. The composer writes: 'The title of this tiny little piece came to me out of my fascination of a picture by the French painter Jean-Francois Millet, entitled L'ANGELUS It features two praying people listening to the evening bells. My Angelus-Bells were later on squeezed into a waltz-like rhythm. The piece was written by request of and is dedicated to David Starobin.'.