This month Declan Zapala brings us this lively etude from 19th century Florence. Full of animated arpeggios, slurs and shifts it’s a great all-round technique-booster.
This month we return to the technical treasure trove that is the 25 Progressive Studies (Opus 60) by Florentine composer Matteo Carcassi. In issue GT331 we explored Study No.1 which improved our confidence in dealing with a continuous scale-based melody. This month we explore Study No.23; equally fiery but with the addition of melodies based around descending slurs and complex cross-string arpeggiation. The relative complexity within each two-bar phrase means that every pair of bars can almost be treated as its own ‘sub-etude’ when learning. Its structure is ABCA so once small phrases are comfortable the three main sections can be practised separately. It is always useful to have a practice strategy when picking up a new piece, and mastering the material in this order will see you make swift progress.
Carcassi is part of a family of core 19th Century European guitar composers that pioneered a pedagogical approach, such as Fernando Sor, Mauro Giuliani, Ferdinando Carulli, Anton Diabelli, Napoléon Coste, and Dionisio Aguado. They spent lifelong careers composing thousands of works, and one would need several lifetimes in order to fully explore this ‘Renaissance’ of guitar music. They composed pieces varying from basic ‘first step’ miniatures, such as The Giuliani 120 Right Hand Studies Opus 1a, to complex concert caprices and sonatinas. Two centuries later and students of all levels are still learning this wonderful music.
Carcassi was over a decade younger than his contemporaries but in his 56 years he is known to have written no less than 77 works for the guitar; many of these feature multiple pieces. For many guitar teachers (myself included!) Carcassi’s 25 Etudes are a staple for intermediate study. Etude 23 is excellent for establishing a confident slur technique across the fretboard. The extended crossstring arpeggiated phrases, once secure, open your hands to a wide range of advanced repertoire. Achieving the weightless speed required is particularly challenging in this piece, so it is recommended to first build proficiency and confidence in the accompanying technical exercises, to help speed up the learning. Good luck.
NEXT MONTH Declan arranges a rich and vibrant version of Greensleeves for solo guitar.
