From 'Tango en skai' to the 'Enigma Variations'.

I can now reveal to you one of the pieces that Robin started working on yesterday.
It's 'Tango en skai', composed by Roland Dyens in 1978, and published in 1985.
Coincidentally, a comment was left on our YouTube site, by someone calling themselves, 'EnSkai', from Singapore, only yesterday.
I know that Robin has made huge progress with the piece, as he is now playing it right the way through, and, in fact, is doing so from memory.
This I can prove, as I have the music in front of me, in order to read the composer's notes, and Robin, continues to play in the music room.

The piece is a Tango, and as Dyens states, "The tango is a sensual, even erotic dance of the underworld, whose rhythm, by definition, must be constant from the opening harmonic to the final chord".

One criticism Dyen's has of the many performances and recordings that he has heard, is that they are, "dominated by an extremely classical, 'bow tie and tails' approach, accompanied by streams of misplaced rubatos and, all too often, strategically positioned rallentandos".

He helpfully suggests that, "instead of the elegant, manicured approach, it would be more appropriate to lose one's soul in the rough criminal suburbs of Buenos Aires".
Dyens also, generously states, that if some extra, unwritten notes should stray uninvited into this tango, that he would welcome them with open arms.

With all this in mind, Robin picked up his guitar, and set to work.
This type of piece is an excellent example of the benefits of not coming solely from a classical background.
Having played electric guitar for many years, with some incredible bands, and as a well respected session musician, Robin has the advantage of being a very 'loose', and relaxed player.
It's certainly helping him here, especially as it isn't an easy piece to play.
I think it may even find its way onto the next CD if we ever resolve the microphone issue.

For the last in the series of 'Elgar week', Geoffrey Norris examines the mystery of the 'Enigma Variations', with this fascinating article, 'Puzzle or publicity stunt?'
It makes you want to don your deerstalker and try to unravel the mystery...

From Learning New Pieces to Julian Lloyd Webber and Elgar

As Robin is home for a few weeks, it is a chance to try out new pieces and revisit old ones, to keep up with the eternally evolving programme.
Robin was waiting patiently for the postman to deliver a package containing two pieces he wanted to look at.
Mid morning they arrived and he has shut himself away in the music room.
At this stage it's hard to identify exactly what they are.
There's a reason for this. Read this quote:

'I always practice the technically difficult passages first - separately and slowly - so that I learn to control and phrase them. One must resist the temptation to try out the right tempo until one has perfect control at the slower tempo. I never play such passages mechanically with the intention of adding the phrasing later. A technically difficult passage needs to be played more slowly until you learn to control it - but with the right musical expression. To separate the technical from the expressive side in music is like separating the body from the soul.'

Daniel Barenboim

Robin used this quote in his book, 'The Guitar Gymnasium', when discussing his approach to new pieces, and his own interpretation is:

'We are all impatient to play the piece up to tempo, or beyond, but, unless the firm technical and musical foundation has been laid, we will not gain mastery over the music.'

Robin Hill

So, for now, I'll have to listen to a phrase endlessly repeated, until I can identify the piece. I'll keep you posted...

Meanwhile in the newspaper, two interesting articles.
The first, by Ivan Hewett, 'Time for a ceasefire in the classical 'class' war', which has some great points, and, for Elgar week, Julian Lloyd Webber explains how Elgar's Cello Concerto had an inspirational role in his career.
Happy reading.

Early Morning Music and Elgar's 'Dream of Gerontius'.

I was alerted to the fact that jet lag hasn't quite resolved itself, when I was woken at 5.30 this morning by the distant sound of music.
As I slowly 'came to', I realised it wasn't a dream, and that half of the bed was empty.
Drifting up from the music room was a beautifully performed version of 'Passage to New York', freshly composed on Robin's last visit there, only a few weeks ago.
It's a good job it is such a nice piece, otherwise, I may not have been quite so understanding. Especially as a sleepy son number one, appeared by my bed, and decided he may as well keep me company. Son number two sleeps through anything.
We did both get back to sleep, and Robin was still playing his guitar when I was awoken again at 7am, by the much more distressing sound of the alarm clock.

Continuing 'Elgar week' in The Daily Telegraph, there's a lovely article in which the mezzo-soprano Dame Janet Baker recalls singing the role of the Angel in Elgar's 'Dream of Gerontius'.
Again, this is an edited extract from, 'Elgar: An Anniversary Portrait', published by Continuum on May 28th.