Classical Guitar

Interviews

Here are some of the interviews I was lucky enough to be able do through the years when I was writing for GI and CG:

Carlos Barbosa-Lima (1984)

Manuel Barrueco (1983)

William Coulter (2002), with his arrangement of Carolan’s Cap

Eduardo Fernández (1984)

John Gilbert (luthier) (1986)

Alexandre Lagoya (1981)

The Los Angeles Guitar Quartet (1987)

Wulfin Lieske (1985), with his arrangement of a Schubert Menuetto, D 894

Vladimir Mikulka (1983)

David Russell (2003)

David Tanenbaum (1987)

Benjamin Verdery (1984)

Benjamin Verdery (2002)

John Williams (1983) (also available in Spanish))

Arrangements

Bizet: Habanera from Carmen (2 guitars)

The impetus for this arrangement was hearing a version by two flamenco guitarists that I thought was rather unadventurous. This one is perhaps a bit more challenging.

Couperin: Les barricades mystérieuses (2 guitars)

I did this after hearing Christopher Parkening’s excellent solo version on Parkening plays Bach…. His arrangement is in his book Parkening and the Guitar, Vol. 2, where it appears in C. The recording is in D; but his secretary confirmed (in 2003) that he does, on occasion, use a capo.

My arrangement is also in C, but has the 5^th string to G and the 6^th string to C. This puts it up just a tone from the B♭ original; I only had to change one bass note to get it all within the compass of the guitars.

Transcriptions

For music from before 1650, see the Early tab.

Bach: Prelude from the 1st ’Cello Suite, BWV 1007

The Prelude has of course been a staple of the classical guitar repertory for decades—since, in fact, the days of Segovia. But Segovia’s version featured an added bass-line by Manuel Ponce that made Bach purists froth at the mouth (you can find Segovia’s version on Andrés Segovia: The Paris Film (1954), on YouTube, at 7'53" in).

Christopher Parkening (a pupil, of course, of Segovia’s) also recorded the Ponce version, with (I believe) a few of the extra notes removed; and, pace the purists, I like his recording.

As far as I’m aware, the Ponce transcription has never been published. But I liked the Parkening version so much that I transcribed it. Here it is. (The transcription was done long before I saw Christopher’s YouTube performance, so the fingering—for now, at least—is my own.)

Tárrega: Lágrima (3^rd part)

Not many people seem to know that Francisco Tárrega wrote a 3^rd part to Lágrima. I found it decades ago, and I don’t now remember where: it was most likely in the old B.M.G. (Banjo-Mandolin-Guitar) magazine, recently revived by Clem Vickery.

Here it is.