Bosba Panh *1997
“the sun also rises” for solo guitar (2020)
the sun also rises is a 2020 commission by American guitarist Jamie Monck. Jamie and I met while doing our studies at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston; and this commission was inspired in parts by Jamie’s guitar maker, Steve Connor. Steve names all his guitars - in this case, Jamie’s guitar was named Ondine, after the first movement of Maurice Ravel’s Gaspard de la Nuit. From there came the idea of a commission around the theme of Ravel’s Ondine.
Bosba: “I decided, instead of doing a clumsy “transcription” of Ondine, to filter my memory and sensory experience of Ravel’s piece into what came naturally to me. The piece doesn’t isn’t attached to a narrative specifically, but rather to a distinct sensation revolving around light: from Monet’s paintings, reflections on water, to the burning sun at noon during summertime, to twilight. le peu de temps also draws on the music of Joaquín Rodrigo and Heitor Villa-Lobos guitar études, as an homage and acknowledgment of the different musical heritages I was raised into. I’ve always struggled with feeling “Cambodian” or “French” enough: trying to force Cambodian music into a tonal language, or grossly mimicking Cambodian music for the sake of “checking boxes”. As I progress into age and my career, I don’t think either musical heritages are meant to fusion and interlock, but just layer and present “as is”.
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Leo Brouwer *1939
Sonata for solo guitar (1990)
1. “Fandangos y Boleros,”
2. “Sarabanda de Scriabin,”
3. “La Toccata de Pasquini,”
One of the leading contemporary composers for guitar, Leo Brouwer melds folk elements, African rhythms from his native Cuba, neo-Romanticism, and avant-garde techniques into a distinctive and colorful style all his own. In this sonata, Brouwer further enriches the collage of meaning by weaving in allusions to famous composers. In addition, he creates a cyclical element by deploying the same motto theme, characterized by repeated notes on the bass strings, in each movement.
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Chinary Ung *1942
Rising Spirals (1996)
Chinary Ung was born in Takeo, Cambodia, on November 24, 1942. His first advanced musical studies were at the Ecole de Musique Phnom Penh. After immigrating to the U.S. in 1964, he enrolled at the Manhattan School of Music for clarinet studies, but transferred to Columbia University to study composition with Chinese-American composer Chou Wen-Chung. Ung achieved success with his first significant compositions, Mohori (1970) and Tall Wind (1974), both for vocalist and chamber ensemble. But between 1974, the year of his Columbia graduation, and 1985 he virtually abandoned composition, producing but a single work, Khse Buon (1980), for solo cello or viola. Ung used the decade-long hiatus to aid relatives and artists escape the murderous and oppressive Khmer Rouge regime, then in control of Cambodia. In 2002 Ung returned to his native country for the first time since 1964. There he performed in several concerts of his music. Ung has remained active as a composer in the new century, producing such pieces as the 2008 choral work Spiral XII: Space Between Heaven and Earth.
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Prince Narisaranuwuttiwong (1863-1947)
"Khmen Sai Yok" (Sai Yoke Tales, a Khmer Theme)
Prince Narisara Nuwattiwong was born in Bangkok, Thailand. He was the son of Pannarai and King Rama IV (also known as King Mongkut). Prince Nuwattiwong was educated by Western missionaries who encouraged his interest in the fine arts
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Roland Dyens (1955-2016)
a French classical guitarist, composer, and arranger.
Dyens was born in Tunis, Tunisia. He studied guitar with the Spanish classical guitarist Alberto Ponce and analysis with Désiré Dondeyne. He has won several prizes in competitions for classical guitar performance as well as for composition.
As a performer, Dyens is known for his extraordinary capacity for improvisation. Essentially unique among classical guitarists. He taught at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, where he was Professor of Guitar. He died on October 29, 2016 at the age 61.
Valse en Skaï (1994)
Valse en Skaï (1994) was written under extreme conditions (taking just a night and a day), and first performed in equally arduous circumstances (just three days later, by the capable hands of that excellent guitarist Aniello Desiderio, in Hungary). This little work nevertheless manages to waltz its way through melancholy, dissonance and humour, while nonchalantly juggling with a fairly demanding tasklist. Its only real liberty is the use of the tape, left to the discretion of the performer. Roland Dyens
Fucco (1986)
Is the third 3rd movement of the „Libra Sonatine”. Composed in 1986 and one of Dyens' most popular works.
