Music of Spain
& South America for Flute Book/CD

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Once you listen to "Si Tuvieramos Aceite" you will know that you made the right decision in buying this book. These are some of the sounds you have always wanted to play but did not have the music for. They are Spanish and South American melodies which are unforgettable. I'm betting that when you listen to this CD, you will grab the book and look for one of the tunes you are listening to thinking "I just have to play that." Perhaps the piece that first captures you is the Flamenco dance "Sevillanas" or one of my favorites "A la mar fui por naranxes." Whichever one snares you first, there will be plenty more which will have you coming back again and again to play them. This is great music.

The accompanying CD is a recording of all of the tunes in the same order in which they appear in the book. Wendy Norman is playing the flute and Allan Alexander is playing the guitar providing a harmonic tapestry over which the melodies float. Every piece in the book is suitable to be played by flute alone; I chose to record the pieces with guitar in order to present the music with a chordal background and to create an enjoyable CD.

 

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I am always looking for music that I can't stop playing. At first I thought it was music from a particular period or country that I liked, but with time I have realized that great pieces like these exist all over the world and people have been writing and collecting them for hundreds of years. I have been attracted to Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque music, music of Ireland and Scotland and Balkan music. All of these have their own character, but there are a special number of pieces that are just so perfect that we are continually fascinated by them. That is what I believe you will find in every one of our collections. These pieces from Spain and South America are no exception. In these editions I think you will find rhythms and melodies you have not yet played that will attract and fascinate you as they have me. I hope you have as much fun with them as I have.

1. Siway Azucena - The rhythm of this piece is a lot of fun. It's a little complicated by the fact that each measure doesn't always have the same number of beats. You may have to count this out slowly at first. I would just give one beat to a sixteenth note and two for an eighth note, so in a 2/8 measure, a measure will have four beats, a 3/8 measure would have six. You can give a beat to any kind of note when you count or use the metronome.
2. El Noy de la Mar - There are many Catalonian songs that are truly beautiful. This one is very well known and one of my favorites. It is a classic. The title means "Joy of the Mother." Although it's a Christmas song, you can play it anytime of year as most people wouldn't recognize it as being seasonal.
3. Urubamba - I have found the music of Bolivia to be very attractive. It has a particular feel that I can't seem to get enough of. The rhythmic figure in the first measure of this piece is the same as Siway: Sixteenth, eighth, sixteenth. You will find this syncopation often in the music in this collection. Listening to the CD will help you learn these pieces.
4. Brazilian Lullaby - This is a fairly well known piece from Brazil. I have seen it arranged for many different instruments, but never with a variation and never for the flute. The accompanying CD is a great aid to learning all of these pieces. The more you listen to the CD, the easier pieces will become to play.
5. Linda Amiga - This is a lovely tune from Spain. It can sound like a lullaby. It doesn't have the rhythmic complexity of some of the other pieces, but it's a lovely piece with a charm all its own.
6. Chula - This is a piece from the Andes. I don't know too much about it, which gives me the opportunity to explain something. The title or book is just an excuse for me. It's a way to present what I believe are great pieces to someone in a way that makes sense. I suppose I could just have a book which said "Great Pieces for the Flute" but it has little charisma, and what would I do when I got to a second book, or a fifth? The point is that what I want to present to you are pieces that you can't stop playing. No filler, just great pieces that you will want to come back to again and again. So whether it's a Medieval piece, a Celtic jig or a syncopated tune from Spain or South America, it's all the same to me. It's just great music.
7. Zorongo - I love this piece. I first arranged it for the guitar, then made a flute and guitar version and one also for the mandolin. This piece is a blast to play with the CD and it's probably the most challenging piece in the book.
8. El Rio - The Music of the Andes has a similar feel, no matter which country it is from. El Rio is a good example of this phenomenon. On the CD, I usually I have two measures of introduction, but on a few pieces I doesn't seem like enough so sometimes I add more.
9. Navidava Puri Nihua - Keep in mind while you are playing these pieces that as you learn the piece, you can alter the balance on your stereo and make the flute part disappear and play along with just the guitar. This piece has triplets which can be difficult to play accurately. The best way to approach playing triplets is to sit with a metronome. Play three to a click until you can do it smoothly, then once you can do that, switch to two notes per click. It might take you a while to be able to switch smoothly back and forth. This tune is challenging to play in time, but well worth the effort.
10. Canto Para Cosechar la Papa translates to "The Potato Gathering Song." It's from Bolivia and has that dark melodic uneven measures that I have become accustomed to expect from Bolivian music. Venezuela and Bolivia are my two favorite countries for music from South America.
11. Danza Pixueta - The phrasing of this piece takes a little bit to get used to, but once you do it's hard to stop playing. Most of the phrases we become used to are in two and four measures. The phrases of this piece are five measures long which is unusual.
12. Jota Puntiada and Xiraldilla de Llaviana - I made a medley of these lovely two pieces. They are great for dancing and performing. Remember when you have two sixteenth notes followed by an eighth note, you actually have to play three fast notes in a row.
13. Anillo de Oro means "Ring of Gold," and it's one of my favorite pieces in the collection. It's another piece in which all the measures are not the same length. Also notice the rhythm of the first measure. It's that same one we saw in Urubamba and Siway.
14. Moorish Dance - The Moors invaded Spain around 711 and in doing so had a profound effect on their culture. The music bears this impact. This is a piece which the melodies are very typical of a Moorish Dance a Flamenco guitarists might play. The melody has a very strong Moorish feel and I am betting it's very different from anything you currently play.
15. Monica Perez - This syncopated quick Joropo from Venezuela is fun to play and quick to learn. Be sure not to leave out notes. It's easy when you have a number of repeated notes to start to leave some of them out, so it's a good idea to pay close attention to this.
16. Aire de Salamanca - From the Salamanca region of Spain, this piece has a very attractive melody and phrasing. This is not as well known as many of the pieces in this collection, but it's one that will attract an audience's attention.
17. Cancion de los Incas - Along with a Moorish dance, an Inca Song is often a part of the repertoire of a Flamenco guitarist. The metal flute has a sound quite a bit the flute which often is used to play the native music of the Andes. You can have a very authentic sounding Inca Song using the flute.
18. Danza de los Hachas was written by Gaspar Sanz in the Baroque period (1650-1750). It was written for the Baroque guitar and works well on many instruments. In fact Joaquin Rodrigo used this theme as part of his famous "Fantasía para un Gentilhombre" which was based on melodies that Sanz had written or arranged. The concerto by Rodrigo is dedicated to Andres Segovia.
19. The Merchant's Daughter is another lovely Catalonian song. I added an introduction and variation to make it longer. Miguel Llobett popularized many of these pieces with a set of arrangements for classical guitar in the early nineteen-hundreds.
20. Spanish Ballad - The movie "Jeux Interdits" (Forbidden Games) popularized this piece and every classical guitarist seems to enjoy playing it. In this arrangement, the parts that the solo guitar play are split up between the two instruments.
21. Song from Uruguay - This piece is much easier to count. The guitar part was fun putting together. Some pieces sound better with a simple chordal background, and some like this one, sound better with the guitar playing another melody behind the flute.
22. Folias de Espana - This is a very popular melody which has been played since the renaissance. Many composers have also written theme and variations on this melody including Corelli. Joquin Rodrigo's concerto "Fantasia por Gentlehombre" for the guitar is based on the pieces by Gaspar Sanz. The Folias I like the best is written by Gaspar Sanz, a guitarist in the baroque period. This is an arrangement made from his solo guitar work.
23. Buenos Reyes - The title translates to "The Good King." It is a Christmas song, but there aren't many people that will recognize it as one. I use it often for jobs and have never had a comment on the fact that it was out of season. It's a fun up tempo piece that should get most people's attention.
24. El Pano Moruno - Anyone would recognize this as a piece of music from Spain. It is a lot of fun to play. It has an engaging rhythm and some very traditional Spanish chord changes. Measures such as 11 and 15 can be tricky because the phrase ends on the third beat of the measure, rather than the first beat of the following measure. It may sound a bit odd at first, but with time, it will become natural and fun to play.
25. Espanoletta - This melody also dates back to the Renaissance and it's another piece that Gaspar Sanz arranged for Baroque guitar. He wrote and arranged many pieces for the baroque guitar, and many of the melodies have lasted and become part of the modern guitar repertoire.
26. Muchacha Bonita means "Pretty Girl." It is from the Andes Mountains of Peru. As with many of the pieces in this collection, you may find the rhythm to be the most challenging part of learning it. You will grow as a musician as you become comfortable with these complex rhythms.
27. Sevillanas - This is actually a melody which is from a traditional Spanish flamenco piece. It is a quick happy piece and is fun to play along with the guitar which is doing a flamenco type rhythm as an accompaniment.
28. Si la Nieve Resbala - The rhythm is much more straightforward in this piece. The theme is wonderful. It sounds to me like the entrance of the King and his court.
29. Cual es aquel Pajarita - This is one of my favorite pieces in this collection. It is still syncopated, but the rhythm should not be too much of a challenge for you. The piece is one that will stick in your mind and you may find yourself humming it.
30. Ancient Song - A haunting piece that can go very slow. It's also easy to memorize. For most of the pieces in this book I have used a fairly simple guitar part. There are a few pieces where I became more involved. This is one of them. I used a melodic accompaniment.
31. Bolivian Dance - This piece is very syncopated and typical of the dark sounding music that comes from Bolivia. A metronome will be very helpful in working out the rhythms in this and other pieces in this collection. It will take some time, but stick with it because there are few things more fun in music than complex rhythms.
32. Mountains of the Incas - The first half of this piece is played as a round. The second half is a variation on the melody and the guitar has a simple accompaniment. I believe this is one of the easier pieces in the book.
33. Desde Barquinha ao Telhado is reminiscent of the folk song from Catalan "El Testament d'Amelia" which is found in this book. Even though they are in different keys, these two pieces could easily be combined and played together to make a longer piece.
34. Si Tuvieramos Aceite - This piece is one of my favorites and is certainly permeated with the feel of Spain. It's also almost a blues piece. With the combination of the syncopation and tempo I can picture this being played by a sophisticated blues band.
35. A Lado de mi Canon - This piece is in 3/4 time so it qualifies as a waltz. The tie between the third beat of the measure and the first beat of the next measure may take a little playing as the sound is a little confusing. Normally the accent is on the first beat of the measure but on this piece where the tie is, it's on the last beat of the measure. With a little time, the syncopation will feel quite natural.
36. Tres Hojitas, Madre - When you have phrases that repeat as they do in this selection, you can add variation by changing the volume. This is really a magical piece with original phrasing and a very addictive melody line. I really enjoyed writing the variation.
37. Hakumamai Purisisun - This tune is hypnotic. I did an arrangement of it for guitar solo and also for flute and guitar. I took part of the accompaniment from the flute and guitar version and adapted it for this one. There is some imitation near the end of the piece where the guitar mimics the melody the mandolin plays. The title translates to "O Dearest Mother."
38. Mayan Dance - This piece is played as a round between the guitar and flute. It may be a little confusing when you play along, but it's really a lot of fun once you become accustomed to it. The piece wasn't designed this way, the accompaniment just happened to work out this way.
39. A la mar fui por naranxes - Aleksandra who plays this on a mandolin says that this tune is like a fine port that warms the soul. I think its' the same on the flute. The rhythm isn't complex, and the variation fills out the piece nicely. I don't believe you will tire of this piece for a very long time, if ever.
40. Baxaben cuatro Ayeranos - This is a melody that I have always wanted to play. I never knew it though until I heard it. Be careful to hold the dotted notes long enough, it's very easy to cut them off when you have a dotted eighth followed by a sixteenth.
41. La Dancitas - This is such a happy carefree piece and I believe the melody will start going through your head when you don't expect it. It's lots of fun and there are many ways to play with it if you have someone to accompany you. Like many of these dances, it can take a lot of repetition.
42. Me Llamaste Morenita - This piece should not pose too many problems. The variation is fun and fills out the piece which would otherwise be a bit too short for an instrumental solo.

On the accompanying CD Wendy Norman is playing the Flute, and I am the accompanist playing guitar on all the tracks. Both the flute and the guitar tracks are my arrangements.