Turquoise
Guitar Editions (ASCAP)
Troubadour
folk inspired classical guitar music
Mesut Özgen, guitar
Golden Horn Records, GHP 023-2
 |
1. Variations
on an Anatolian Folk Song by Carlo Domeniconi ("Uzun ince bir yoldayim"
by Asik Veysel) (9:40)
For audio excerpts from the program go to Audio/Video Clips |
"Özgen’s
playing is stunningly versatile and expressive throughout." Acoustic
Guitar
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Review
"Mesut Özgen is a highly accomplished and exciting player; he gets the
most out of the music he performs... The phrasing is immaculate and his technical
capabilities are considerable." Classical Guitar
"This CD is an impressive debut for a guitarist who clearly has much
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Program
Notes
Variations on an Anatolian Folk Song by Carlo Domeniconi (b. 1947)
This is one of Carlo Domeniconi’s most successful works based on Turkish
folk music. The theme employed is a famous folk song written by Asik Veysel
(1894-1973), an influential Turkish folk musician. Domeniconi’s variations
reflect the quasi-improvisatory character of this kind of music very well,
especially in the final section of the piece. Asik Veysel is one of the most
renowned representatives of the “asik” tradition in the 20th century,
which dates back to the 15th century in Anatolia. The Asik (a kind of troubadour),
singing poetry (mostly their own) and playing the saz , has become the voice
of common people, expressing their relationship with their land; their loves,
inner conflicts, and expectations--generally depicting all aspects of rural
life. Veysel's poetry is metrical, using predominantly 8- and 11-syllable
meters. His melodic patterns, trills, and particular emphases result in a
unique musical character. Mesut Özgen
Gigue by Anthony Newman (b. 1941)
The Gigue is part of a larger suite, neo-baroque in style [commissioned by
luthier Thomas Humphrey and written for Benjamin Verdery]. My system of harmony
is to use older background harmonic motions and then fill them in with added
notes, which either spice the harmony, or all right replace them. This is
how music gradually progressed through Brahms and Wagner, and later Stravinsky.
Besides the "spiked" harmonies, rhythmic substitutes abound, much
more so than in the works of Bach, they are more like raga substitutes.
Anthony Newman
Although there is a brilliant coda, Gigue basically is a binary work, with
the second half twice as long as the first half. The piece is written in Newman’s
system of substitute harmonies, and features series of short rhythmic cells
that when put together give the effect of a Hindu raga (certain material recurs
out of order in the second section). Benjamin Verdery
Shenandoah by Robert Beaser (b. 1954)
The original tune “Shenandoah” was popular on American sailing
vessels in early New England. Later the regular cavalry carried the song west.
Shenandoah is the name of an Indian chief who lived along the Missouri River.
The singer portrays a man who has fallen in love with the chief 's daughter.
It is thought that the song originated with the loggers or rivermen who taught
it to sailors in port. The sailors took the song to sea and used it as a shanty,
or work song, while loading cargo.
Beaser’s work is not a set of variations, but comprises various sections
in an arch-like form: beginning quietly, building up the tension gradually,
and ending softly. This arch-like emotional process is thus the composer’s
main request of the performer, reflecting the musical equivalent of the song’s
story from his point of view. The original tune can be heard sometimes in
part, and sometimes complete, in arpeggio, chord, and tremolo sections on
the trebles or bass, and sometimes disguised in a contrapuntal texture. When
I worked with Beaser in preparation for the premiere performance, he played
all transitions from section to section on the piano for me in order to demonstrate
the overall structure. He also gave me a lot of room not only to discover
the most effective fingering, timbre, and idiomatic positions, but also to
explore various textures, especially in chordal sections, by providing as
many as ten notes and allowing me to choose the ones that I felt most appropriate
to the particular context. During the several months of work, Eliott Fisk
provided many valuable fingering suggestions and added beautiful harmonics
in the lyrical sections. Mesut Özgen
Fantaisie Hongroise op.65, no.1 by Johann Kaspar Mertz (1806-1856)
Although a large part of Mertz’s compositional output comprises works
based on operatic airs, Fantaisie Hongroise (Hungarian Fantasy) from 3 Morceaux
is one of his original works, which, together with Bardenlänge (Bard
Sounds) op.13, reflects the renewed interest in troubadour tradition in the
early part of the nineteenth century. The Fantasy begins with a series of
short sections in different moods and tempos from majestic, passionate, brilliant
to sad, melancholic, and ends with a Hungarian gypsy dance-like finale. Because
Mertz used an eight-string guitar, I had to transpose several bass notes an
octave higher to fit them into the range of my six-string guitar. Mesut
Özgen
Misionera by Fernando Bustamante
Bustamante’s Misionera in the style of polca Litoraleña (Paraguaya)
is a typical example of música popular, which refers traditionally
to music of the people, including folk and traditional music as well as urban
music. This solo guitar arrangement from the piano, voice, and guitar version
by Argentine guitarist and composer Jorge Morel reflects Morel’s excellent
idiomatic writing for guitar. Mesut Özgen
"Misionera" refers to a female from the district of Misiones (where
Augustin Barrios was born) in southern Paraguay/northern Argentina. It is
a standard work for Paraguayan harpists. Jorge Morel's arrangement in a minor
is based on an earlier arrangement by his teacher, Pablo Escobar, a Paraguayan
classical guitarist who lived in Buenos Aires and founded a music conservatory.
Rico Stover
Sonata: Ondas do Mar de Vigo by Christopher Pratorius (b. 1974)
Sonata: Ondas do Mar de Vigo is my first large guitar piece. It is based on
a Spanish song by the medieval troubadour Martin Codax, from Portugal. The
song is classified as a Cantiga de Amigo or “friendship song.”
The genre is characterized by the longing of a young woman for a lover who
has gone. Typically, the "friend" is supposed to meet her by the
sea and never arrives. The title of the song used as the basis for this piece
is “Waves of the Sea of Vigo.” I began with an in depth analysis
of both the poetry and the melody. It is a strophic song, with four verses.
I decided to mirror that structure with four movements. In one movement, the
structure of the whole poem, with its subtle repetitions and variations, was
the basis. In another, the structure of the melody was used. The other movements
were freely composed, but still work within the context of the larger form.
My idea was to do a set of structural variations that takes into account every
aspect of the original, not to reproduce similar but slightly different copies,
but to project the structure of the original song in a way that would be quite
unexpected. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Mesut, not only
for encouraging me to write this piece, but also for being a genuine partner.
He tackled a difficult piece, analyzed it for hours so he could understand
my musical logic, brought passion and artistry to it, and also contributed
many original ideas to the project. The most obvious contribution is an arpeggiation
pattern that he suggested for the last movement, which has added a great deal
of excitement to the only hearing of the original melody. Thank you, Mesut!
Christopher Pratorius