Premiere Series - WGC - WORLDWIDE GUITAR CONNECTIONS

L. JORDAN, preludiofuga II

This is a work that extensively probes the expressive and technical limits of both the instrument and the performer, while engaging with performative gesture. Rather than adhering to the conventional formal models of prelude and fugue, the work unfolds according to a highly personal structural logic. The prelude fails to establish stability and gradually dissolves into the fugue, which in turn attempts to assume the role of the prelude. This dynamic creates a fugato-like texture, marked by a communicative tension between the two forms. As this tension intensifies, the performer is compelled to move beyond purely musical discourse into non-verbal expression — an experience analogous to navigating a foreign environment and resorting to gesture as a means of communication.<br><br>* this item is available as a .zip file, which contains the .pdf score and a folder with video references for all gestures indicated on the score, as imagined by the composer.

M .BONELLI, Tre Capricci

Each of the three capricci bears a title that defines the specific technical or musical approach envisioned by the composer. The first, Capriccio Tribale, generates an irresistible rhythmic drive through the use of percussive effects and crossed-string techniques. Its “tribal” character evokes so-called primitive rhythms, while the technical language remains strikingly modern. The second, Capriccio Elettrico, is a breathtaking work constructed through the free combination of predefined musical ideas. Rather than a fixed linear score, the composer provides a series of musical “boxes,” leaving it to the performer to determine their order and frequency of repetition. The third and final capriccio, Capriccio Idiomatico, is an exuberant display of relentless speed, built around cascades of rapid arpeggios. Structured simply as two fast sections framing a meditative interlude, the work presents Bonelli at his most compelling. It clearly demonstrates why guitarists regard his compositions as among the most technically demanding in the repertoire, while audiences respond to their organic musicality and visceral energy.

L .C. FERREIRA, Valsa & Choro das Araucárias

Valsa and Choro das Araucárias belong to Brazilian musical genres commonly classified as<br>“traditional.” Both works are structured in three clearly articulated sections, with well-defined<br>tonal relationships between them. Their harmonic language and high technical demands reflect Luiz Claudio’s musical abilities, combining European compositional procedures with the rhythmic complexity characteristic of Brazilian music, as well as rigorous technical preparation. The araucária referenced in the title is a species of pine tree (Araucaria angustifolia) native to southern South America and notable for its distinctive shape.

H. CROWL, Prelúdios Curitibanos (Curitiba Preludes)

Prelúdios Curitibanos ("Curitiba Preludes"), Harry Crowl's second work for solo guitar, is a set of three<br>preludes of contrasting character. The composer’s choice of the title prelude already suggests a sense<br>of formal freedom; yet the work reveals a remarkably clear and judicious organization—perhaps its<br>most striking feature. Each prelude reflects a central aspect of Crowl’s compositional personality, while<br>simultaneously exploring a distinct aesthetic and expressive situation that calls for a correspondingly<br>nuanced interpretation. This approach fosters a heightened sense of meaning, creating a compelling<br>expressive alliance between composer, performer, and audience.

M. FERRARO, Poema Torto

This piece opens with a deliberate destabilization of the guitar’s conventional sound, creating a percussive texture that gradually transforms and unfolds into a spectrum of evolving colors. Percussion remains a constant element throughout the work, with strong allusions to the berimbau, an instrument of African origin closely associated with the martial art of capoeira. In Poema Torto, Ferraro weaves together diverse musical experiences. The work embraces asymmetry in its phrases and formal gestures — as suggested by its title — yet is carefully shaped within a balanced and coherent overall structure. Harmony and counterpoint are employed in a highly personal and at times unexpected manner. The result is a composition that presents significant technical and musical challenges, explores the guitar across a wide range of expressive possibilities, and vividly reflects the distinctive traits of Ferraro’s creative voice.

N. NORTON, Connection, for guitar and field recordings

"Fabricio and I met when he visited Los Angeles on the first Worldwide Guitar Connections tour, and while we were talking about his travels he mentioned that he'd kept a recorder with him and captured the sounds of the various places he'd visited, and that he wanted to commission a piece to tie all of the recordings together. We said go, and he sent me his recordings the next day. Instead of accompanying the recordings, I'd write a musical structure and narrative on the guitar, and use the recordings, with some minimal manipulations, to<br>accompany it. The recordings used are from quite a few locations all over the world. I hope that, by combining them in the way I did, their geographic significance disappears and we hear them as being all part of the same place.” (Nick Norton)<br><br>Norton titled the resulting work Connection, a name that encapsulates its conceptual core: to link distant countries and cultures through field recordings from many locations around the globe, mediated by the guitar.<br><br>* this item is available as a .zip file, which contains the .pdf score and the .wav backing track ready for performances.

F. BORGES, Suite Sudamericana

Fabiano Borges is a Brazilian guitarist and composer with a deep connection to South American culture. His music frequently revisits tradition through a contemporary lens, and his Suite Sudamericana is a compelling example of his passion and commitment to the music and art of the continent. The suite is divided into four movements (I. Invocación, II. Por los Andes del Gran Perú, III. Tangos y Milongas, IV. Aires de Landó), each portraying a distinct rhythm or atmosphere. In his Suite Sudamericana, Fabiano Borges explores the colors of South America with remarkable artistic and compositional control, offering performers and listeners a great opportunity to engage with the history, diversity, and significance of these unique cultures.

R. BAUER-MÖRKENS, Metamorphose

“When I was a child, I heard the Chaconne from the Partita in D minor by J. S. Bach, and the arpeggio section has influenced me ever since. For the guitar, I intended to compose an arpeggio that leads guitarists to their<br>limits, much as the violinists are challenged in Bach’s Partita. The title, Metamorphose, signifies harmony flowing — from yesterday, to today, to tomorrow.” (Ralf Bauer)<br><br>In his musical interpretation of metamorphosis, Bauer-Mörkens drew deeply from Bach’s legacy while forging a distinct contemporary voice. The resulting work is both virtuosic and compelling, pushing the guitarist to the very limits of technical endurance, focus, and expressive depth.

P. HART, All thus Stand Light

All Thus Stand Light was commissioned by the Worshipful Company of Musicians in 2007, and is Hart's only work for solo guitar. The first movement is marked by great energy, rhythmic precision, and lyricism; the second offers a striking contrast, creating a distinctive atmosphere through its melancholy, clarity, and economy of musical ideas, while the third begins with intropective moments, followed by Hart’s characteristic creative turbulence shaped by his extensive work in commercial music and defined by directness and immediacy. This movement is driven by a continuous accelerando and renewed references to the brass sonorities of a big band, culminating in an electrifying conclusion marked by high levels of energy and technical virtuosity.

S. HABIB, Suite das Amazonas (Suite of the Amazons)

'Suite das Amazonas' tells the story of the icamiabas, a mythological tribe of women warriors who inhabited what is known today as the Amazon forest. 'Icamiabas' is a term in Tupi meaning “women without husbands”. According to some historical accounts, when European explorers arrived in South America in the sixteenth century, they encountered long-haired indigenous women observing them from the riverbanks of what is now known as the Amazon River. These explorers later reported having discovered the lands of the fearsome Amazons from the Greek legend, naming the region the “Kingdom of the Amazons.” <br><br>I. Nhamundá<br>II. Infância (Childhood)<br>III. Dança das Guerreiras (Dance of the Warriors)<br>IV. Feitiço (Spell)<br>V. Tambaramã (It's all over)