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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 13, 1977)
Surface and Synjbol The Emerald’s weekly arts and entertainment supplement Thursday, January 13, 1977 Photo courtesy at Michael lormer Baroque music master will tickle your ears By BOB WEBB Of the Emerald Strains of classical and baroque guitar music will filter through the air of Eugene this weekend when Michael Lorimer, considered one of the world’s leading classic guitarists, comes to town for two workshops and a performance. Each season Lorimer presents numerous concerts throughout the United States and abroad. Born in Chicago, raised in Los Angeles, he began guitar studies at the age of ten. By 1963 he was taking master classes with Andres Segovia, with whom he became a favorite protege. Lorimer is the first American classic guitarist to be invited to perform in the Soviet Union. In 1975 he toured the major cities of the U.S.S.R. to enormous acclaim. He has been invited to return this season in April. With special affection for and knowledge about the baroque literature, he has performed early works on orig inal instruments — baroque and classic guitar. Despite the revival of interest in early music and performances on original instruments, the Baroque guitar is still little known. It came into popularity at the beginning of the 17th century, being just the right sort of accompan iment to the new styles of vocal and instrumental music. Baroque guitar music was first notated in chord symbols and the instrument was strummed, in much the same way as today s folk and popular music. Later guitarists began plucking individual notes as well as strumming, and by the end of the century guitar music displayed a refined mix ture of styles. Lorimer's instrument is an exact copy (by N.B. van der Waals, 1975) of a guitar by Jean Voboam, made in Paris in 1687 for Mile, de Nantes, Duchess of Bourbon, one of the daughters of Louis XIV. The Baroque guitar was followed by a classic instru ment which Lorimer also plays. It has six single strings rather than the five double strings of the Baroque. The Classic guitar appeared at the end of the 18th century at the same time musical style was changing, the Classic era succeeding the Baroque. Soon the guitar attracted some fine composers who were themselves guitar vir tuosos: Fernando Sor, Mauro Giuliani, and Fernando Carulli, among others. They abandoned traditional guitar tablature in favor of staff notation, and adopted the har monies of their time. If these sound conservative, the melodies are nevertheless rich in invention and the music varied in its rhythms. Sor and his contemporaries com posed for the guitar as if it were a small orchestra. As the 19th century progressed, composers like Francisco Tarrega succeeded in adapting their national idioms to the guitar's special resources. Ultimately, the guitar reflected the myriad styles and idioms of twentieth century music. The program for Friday evening’s concert will include selections from both the baroque and classical periods, spanning four centuries of musical literature. Lorimer begins with Preludio-Allegro-Ayre, written by Santiago De Murcia. The piece is drawn from a collec tion of Spanish. Italian and French music collected by Murcia, Passacalles Y Obras. This is followed by Suite in C by composer Francisco Corbetta Turning to a nineteenth century format of classical music, Lorimer presents Prelude No. 1, by Brazilian com poser Heitor Villa-Lobos. Later during the show, Lorimer will perform Etude No. 11, also by Villa-Lobos. Variations on a Theme of Handel, Op. 107, by Italian Mauro Guiliani follows. The variations are based on Handel's air, The Harmonious Blacksmith. In a contemporary vein, Lorimer next turns to the work, Recuerdos de la Alhambra, by Francis Tarrega, who is regarded as the father of the modern school of guitarists. This particular piece focuses on the guitar's tremelo technique to suggest a group of guitars rather than one instrument. After intermission, Lorimer plays Joaquin Tumia's Seviltiana, a fantasy based on the Spanish flamenco dance. Seasons by William Boicom was written for Lorimer. The movements reflect the seasonal fluctuations of the Michigan countryside. The final piece of the evening is Lorimer's transcrip tion of Capricho Catalan, Op. 165, by Isaac Albeniz The performance will be in Beall Concert Hall tomor row night at 8 p.m. Tickets may be purchased at the EMU Main Desk or at the door. Student admission is $2.50, general is $4. For the workshops, Lorimer will work in a master class format with six guitarists from the University School of Music. Although the performance spaces are filled, openings are available for 100 observing participants. The fee is $10, payable at the door. The workshops will be held at 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. this Saturday in Room 129 of the School of Music. For more information on the workshops, contact Jon Jarvie at 343-2046 or David Case at 342-6826. The Lorimer appearances are presented by the stu dent incidental fee and the music steering committees.
