Merengue and Preludio Brasileño are from the Suite Caribeño. These are a suite of solo guitar pieces that I composed using the unique Afro-Latin music of the Caribbean and the northeast coast of Brazil. The three ensemble pieces, La Pobrecita, De Nada de Nadie and Dolores are portraits of people dear to me. The first two are Brazilian Jazz sambas. Dolores is a bossa nova dedicated to the memory of my mother.
The other solo guitar pieces are from a diverse group of distinguished composers and musical genres. Piccola Arietta no. 1 by Hawaiian composer Byron Yasui is a short, poignant lyrical piece emulating an aria. It contains, among other things, a rare use of double harmonics on the guitar. Doina, by Amy Dunker uses a Jewish klezmer musical form, and has a quasi-improvisational feel. Rapsodía by William Ortiz paints an urban soundscape reflecting Ortíz’ upbringing as a Puerto Rican living in NYC.

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This recording presents little known guitar worksof several Latin American composers, including Leo Brouwer, Juan Campos, Jaime Guiscafre, Manuel Ponce, A. Yupanqui, Ernesto Grenet and Julio Sagreras, ranging from Cuba, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Brazil and Argentina.

Julio Salvador Sagreras (1887-1942) is known chiefly for his six volume set of graded etudes, Lecciones de Guitarra, which are internationally acclaimed for their sophistication and beauty. Sagreras's short pieces incorporate diverse musical influences from Latin America and Europe, including European historical styles and Argentine musical forms such as the zamba, estilo and vals.

Leo Brouwer's (1933-) First Suite for Guitar (unpublished) is a three movemnet work of contrasting moods and tempos. The Prelude begins with an undulating bass line with rich harmony accompanying a simple melody. Allegro Burlesco is perhaps more evocative of a mid-twentieth century European neo-romantic idiom while being an exciting virtuosic piece for guitar. The suite concludes with an Adagio Finale, a return to a Cuban-influenced lullaby along with a recapitulation to the first movement Prelude.

Manuel M. Ponce (1882-1948) was among the first Mexican composers to achieve international acclaim during the twentieth century. His tightly composed Thème Varié et Finale is a set of lyrical and rhythmic variations based on a short theme which culminates in the finale, cleverly comprised of all the previous variations. The Puerto Rican Danza is derived from the Cuban contra-danza habanera at the beginning of the nineteenth century. The Puerto Rican form developed by the 1850s. The Danza is comprised of two sections: a paseo, or short introduction of varying mood, then a merengue or primary section which goes to a trio and recapitulates to the merengue.

Juan Morel Campos (1857-1896) was a major composer during the late 1800s in Puerto Rico. He composed many Danzas for the piano. Two of these, Un Diálogo and Elvira were transcribed by guitarist Leonardo Egurbida.

Danza de Paloma Enarmorada is an Argentine chacarera composed by Atahualpa Yupanqui (1926- ). Despite its brevity it displays quite an array of guitaristic effects. A set of variations composed by Guiscafré based on the chacarera rhythm follows the danza on guitar and the bombo legüero (Andean double-membraned drum).

Guaracha Habanera is a fusion of two Afro-Caribbean song forms, the Guaracha and the Habanera. Guiscafré combined the two forms by setting the theme to a Habanera rhythm while the accompaniment supports the melody in a Guaracha rhythm. The bongós embellish the guitar and Cabrera plays a short bongó solo during the middle section.

Guiscafré’s Iluminación is a two part piece for violin, guitar and percussion. The first section is a Brazilian Samba in allegro tempo which concludes with rapid scales played in unison by the violin and guitar. The last section is a Bossa Nova, featuring a languid violin solo with a syncopated guitar accompaniment. The ending is a return to the original chord progression, yet it is masked with a slow tempo and a descending bass line.

Duerme Negrito, composed by Ernesto Grenet of Cuba, is based on traditional Afro-Cuban lullabies. Leo Brouwer arranged it for solo guitar, creatively using pizzicato effects on the low strings of the instrument, mimicking the sound of pitched drums.

This CD was dedicated to the memory of Juan Mercadal
Produced by Jaime Guiscafré