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Suite Del Recuerdo - Jose Luis Merlin (1952-)

The three pieces are: 1) Suite del Recuerdo by Jose Luis Merlin is dedicated to victims of the Argentine military junta. It consists of 5 pieces based on South American folk dances and melodies representing Merlin's memories. 2) Suite in E Major, BWV 1006a by Johann Sebastian Bach is the last of his 6 violin partitas. It comprises dances originating from France and concludes Bach's work for violin in a lively gigue. 3) Sonatina in A Major by Federico Moreno Torroba is a 3-movement work for guitar with an animated first movement, delicate slow second movement, and a final movement that returns to the opening movement's

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332 views2 pages

Suite Del Recuerdo - Jose Luis Merlin (1952-)

The three pieces are: 1) Suite del Recuerdo by Jose Luis Merlin is dedicated to victims of the Argentine military junta. It consists of 5 pieces based on South American folk dances and melodies representing Merlin's memories. 2) Suite in E Major, BWV 1006a by Johann Sebastian Bach is the last of his 6 violin partitas. It comprises dances originating from France and concludes Bach's work for violin in a lively gigue. 3) Sonatina in A Major by Federico Moreno Torroba is a 3-movement work for guitar with an animated first movement, delicate slow second movement, and a final movement that returns to the opening movement's

Uploaded by

JP Castillo
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Suite del Recuerdo | Jose Luis Merlin (1952- )

Jose Luis Merlin was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1952. Merlin’s own story has been
affected by geographical upheaval, and the refrain of the immigrant is a recurring theme in his
music. His Jewish grandparents together with his then father resettled in Argentina after
escaping persecution in Odessa, Ukraine in 1912. As the youngest of five children he listened to
his older sisters learned the piano and his father encouraged him to study guitar. It was love at
first touch, and Merlin began taking lessons from guitarist and composer Vicente Degese. He
composed his first series of songs with the rhythm of Zamba for solo guitar at age nine and in
1972 began working on an arrangement for guitar of “4 Seasons in Buenos Aires” by Astor
Piazzolla. Often referred to as a “poet of the guitar,” Merlin becomes one with his instrument
during concerts and recitals.

Argentinian guitar composer Jose Luis Merlin's Suite del Recuerdo is dedicated to the memory of
many thousands of "disappeared ones" from the days of the military junta in Argentina. The five
pieces entitled Evocation, Zamba, Chacarera, Carnavalito, and Joropo are based on typical South
American folk dances and melodies. Merlin has a dedication page in Spanish that translates to:

“This is an homage to memories, my memories. To the collective memories of my


people living in nostalgia, tormented, anguished, happy and hopeful. Memories from
the country, in San Luis, with all the smells and sounds of the country. It is like looking
inside yourself in very profound silence. Memories of afternoons with grandparents,
aunts and uncles, parents, brothers, sisters, cousins. All enjoying each other, sharing our
feelings and playing guitar, sitting in the backyard drinking wine, under the vines. Lots of
them are not here anymore. They are in my memories”

Suite in E Major, BWV 1006a | Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 – 1750)

Johann Sebastian Bach was born in Eisenach (Germany) in 1685. Johann was one of eight
siblings and as a child, he was taught violin, harpsichord, and music theory. As a young adult, his
reputation as a keyboardist spread, allowing him many employment opportunities. He worked
primarily as a church composer but also taught privately. Over his 65 years, he composed 1128
works, according to his directory of works (BWV). Bach died in 1750, after complications from an
unsuccessful eye surgery to correct his blindness. Bach’s legacy has established him as one of
the greatest Baroque composers to have ever lived.

This Partita is the last of six violin Partitas that Bach wrote for the violin. The suite comprises of
dances that originated from France: Prelude, Loure, Gavotte en Rondeau, Menuets, Bourrée,
and Gigue. The traditional suite consists of Allemande, Courante, Sarabande, and Gigue, which
makes this suite unique, as it contains none of the traditional movements besides the Gigue.
The Prelude consists of almost all sixteenth notes. The Loure is a slow jig in 6/4 time. The
Gavotte is set up as a rondo, with the opening theme repeating itself between contrasting
episodes. The two Menuets are traditionally played da without breaks in a da capo style. The
Bourrée is short and fast. The Gigue ends at a fast tempo to bring the E major Partita to a close.
The original 1006 Partita was transcribed to the lute and is known as BWV 1006a.
Sonatina in A Major| Federico Moreno Torroba (1891 – 1982)

Federico Moreno Torroba born in Madrid, Spain in 1891. He was a composer, conductor, and
theatrical impresario. He is remembered for his important contributions to the classical guitar
repertoire in the 20th century. He composed nearly 100 works for guitar solo, quartet, and guitar
with orchestra. Andres Segovia helped establish Torroba’s reputation as one of the leading
composers of the classical guitar. In 1975 Torroba became the president of the Sociedad de
Autores Españoles. Torroba continued to write ballets, choral and orchestral music, piano
concertos and solos, a variety of songs and miscellaneous other works, as well as numerous
guitar pieces, until his death at the age of 91 in 1982. Torroba’s music shows excellent
craftsmanship and a true mastery of careful attention to dramatic and musical detail.

Torroba's three-movement Sonatina for guitar was composed in 1965. The movements are
composed in a fast-slow-fast arrangement of movements. The first movement, Allegretto, opens
with a melody in an animated rhythmic pattern that is repeated throughout the piece in both
the melody and accompaniment. The theme continuously repeats itself all the way to the end of
the movement. The second movement, Andante, is composed like a Spanish romantic. The
melody is delicate and demonstrates the composer's mastery of lyricism. The movement is
much slower than the other two movements giving a feeling of a peaceful, serene atmosphere.
The third movement, Allegro, returns the work to the energy it had in the opening movement.
Torroba makes use of compositional technique knows as cyclicism which is the borrowing of a
melodic theme from another movement. In this case the theme from the second movement
used in the third movement to create a short moment of stillness before returning the tempo to
Allegro and ending the piece with a celebratory chord.

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