Author Archives: rafik farag

Having attending multiple flamenco concerts in Barcelona, Spain as well as playing guitar myself since I was 11 years old, I developed an immensely deep appreciation and passion to classical guitar music pieces. Among all the great classical flamenco pieces composed in the 19th century, one of the most famous sonatas played by a Catalan composer Isaac Albéniz, is named Asturias. Even though he was a Spanish Virtuoso pianist who is best known for his piano works based on Spanish folks music idioms, many of his pieces was transcribed to guitar; including Asturias that was played by the talented guitarist John Williams. 

One thing about this piece that stood out to me was its constant maintenance of pace for triple string picking throughout, but still capable of communicating contrasting emotions. Also, his distinguished talent was highlighted by, John Williams, in playing a piece that is originally written in G minor for the piano in distinctively unique melody and vividness on the guitar. 

What really builds to its uniqueness, which I have recently learned about, is the essence of its performance on the guitar which has a tighter tessitura, compared to a piano. Secondly, the original key of G minor is not suitable for the guitar, causing the performance as it was intended fairly uncomfortable.

Asturias has been since eminent for its delicate, intricate melody, gentle middle section and abrupt dynamic thematic transformations. The theme itself suggests the rhythm of the bulería, a fast flamenco form. 

The composition of this musical piece has two main melodies, that seems to be separated by a modulation followed by a moment of silence for dramatic effect. First the piece starts off by bringing a determined, driving theme that slowly develops a sense of urgency and builds in energy. The first theme is beautifully composed of bass notes that are almost instantly and continuously followed by higher notes on a higher mode, but within the same key, which develops an audible narrative of a thrilling chase or an exciting pursuit that is taking place. This chase infuses the audience with exhilaration and anticipation of what to follow. Subsequently, a more melancholic middle section follows that inspires a more nostalgic sentiment, as the prior chase, presented in the earlier theme, subsides. This was presented in a monophonic form but doubled by additional chords for more fullness of sound. The music alteration between a solo and accompaniment is typical of flamenco, that is so clearly demonstrated in Asturias throughout its contrasting themes. Also, the short middle section of the piece is written in the style of a string plucking malagueña, which is another flamenco style piece. After the contemplative middle section, the opening melody returns and brings the piece to its conclusion. It returns to its first theme, as if it’s a recapitulation, until a slow “hymn-like” passage ends the piece.

Overall, this piece, Asturias, not only rekindle my everlasting appreciation for flamenco and classical guitar, but also show me the intricate, feelings that are conveyed within the depth and pace of the sequential string picking before my eyes. This piece almost rejuvenate all the vital factors, that made me become a flamenco fanatic and guitar player in the first place. It has melody that leaves me mumbling its tunes all day and corresponding my daily emotional fluctuations to its malleable harmony, which in turn showcase a beautiful balance and stable composure despite the highs and lows.

Having attending few Jazz concerts, I was personally very excited to witness UBC Jazz ensemble concert, which took place on the 28th of March. This concert was primarily led by a soloist called Chad Makela, a well known Baritone saxophonist who has toured around Canada and United States to demonstrate his incredible talent. His distinguished quartet was the highlight of the concert for its distinctively unique melody and vividness. 

One thing that stood out to me as consistent throughout the whole concert was the drummer’s consistent rhythm and the Cello player’s control of the tempo throughout all of the pieces, alongside the contrasting flow between the pianist and the trombones players. 

The first piece, know by the name Tiptoe, is focused on a bouncy bop melody, that is oriented in a very organized, danceable, exhilarating articulations, and abrupt soli for trombones, bass, drums, and piano. Solos were granted to trumpet, drums, and piano, followed by a powerful expressive high-pitched verse that requires full-group synchrony. First, it starts with closely rhythmic melody but almost on the edge of sounding chaotic or diverged from one another. Suddenly after, almost all the chaos disappears and find a beautiful homophonic rhythm to follow with the trumpet leading the solo. Cello was constantly keeping a looping background base in which the trumpet solo fits within its range. Otherwise, it maintains a moderate pace, and  slows down during transitions or modulations.

In Celebration Suite part 2, called Slow Dance, Chad Makela delivered his most memorable saxophone solo. He was supported by the other brass players with whom he played a three minute perfect homophonic composition. His solo performance was astonishing in many aspects from his ability to vividly strike the audience’s diverse reception of swapping, alternating, and thrilling pitches to his incredible talent to equally perform in sync with, and with the support of, trombones, trumpet, and piano. Hence, the back trumpets set a new key for the soloist to follow., which essentially sounded to me like it acts as a thematic transition between verses.

In part 3 of the same composition, named Remembering, the pianist opened the song with a very slow and gloomy solo, which was distinctively opposite to what the earlier parts of this piece which were more fast paced and bright. Swinging melodic flow held between the pianist and the ensemble, alternating back and forth on the same triple meter but on different keys to create the contrast in the conversation-like piece.

Overall, this concert rekindled my appreciation for jazz music and gave me a profound appreciation for its players, especially with the medium tempo rhythm throughout the piece that generates the mental imaging of tiptoeing. This concert rejuvenated all the vital factors, that made me become a jazz fan in the first place. It has melody that left me reminiscing about the tune of the song all day. It has harmony, that delineates the melody sound fully, which made me realize how hard it must be and the amount of talent it requires to perform a complex piece of art with multiple instruments all relying on well-timed synchrony with one another.

Adrien Verdejo and Mark T. McGregor started their first act “Toward the Sea”, which is divided in 3 segments, each segment focused on playing variations of complementary notes in varying pace, to further emphasize the spiritual dimension of the piece. The rhythm seem to be following an ever changing thematic transition which gave both artists the freedom to present a complex musical progression that entails the profound depth and mysteries of the sea, whilst glimpses of the beauty of its continuous stream of waves and most gigantic creatures that are in an uninterruptible harmony and piece concurrently. This is so lucidly portrayed in a pattern of high key notes on guitar accompanied by slow melody on the flute representing the sea unraveling itself, despite sudden, aggressive snappy blows of toneless flute that specifically display the magical sounds of whales’ blow of water at the surface of the sea water. Throughout the whole concert, except for the Argentinean piece “Histoire du Tango”, the guitar acted as the spine of the any piece, setting the thematic base and pace, whilst led solely by the flute. The flute has marvellously demonstrated an audible canvas of yet another side of the same facet. It displays dormant wilderness in the darkness which also delves a miniature tender scheme of life in a tropical forest-like setting, which emphasizes the tranquility factor and intertwined harmony of different habitats of Mother Nature in the theme. 

Lastly, a unique tango piece which brings back a familiar tonal pattern to my ears, in which a consistent pattern of chords is played repeatedly using string picking, hammer ons and strong bends on the guitar that induces a feeling full of grace and liveliness, followed by mostly a relatively slower, romantic movement that poses a melancholic theme through its harmony. This piece was composed of 4 movements, just like a minuet, in which the first and third movements were grasping a steady sense of compatibility that exemplify a beautiful synced sensation of fast paced physical unity motion throughout a tango dance. It is then followed by slow sentimental melodic movement during the second and fourth movements that incorporates guitar tapping and mellow flute tunefulness that has some jazz influence which signifies heartbeats and affectionate connection. 

To sum up, as a long-time lover of classical guitar and Flamenco,Tango, and Salsa specifically, I was beyond excited to see a live Tango piece. Having listened to various famous classical flamenco pieces, such as ‘Asturias’, I was so impressed with Verdejo’s confident and accurate rendition of a very technically sophisticated and and stylistically correct piece. It sophistication arises due to its appealing fashion of combining strumming and string picking almost simultaneously, to incorporate a fast, beautifully blended, polyphonic melody of a flute with guitar solo supported by base chords echoing in the back of the guitar and my ears. It was so satisfying hearing both during the last movement emphasizing each note they performed, without sacrificing emotion by sounding overly practical.

Daniel Tones started his first act “To The Earth” with playing variations of 4 distinctive sounds in varying pace, that accords with the dialogue of the piece. His solo performance was astonishing in many aspects from his ability to vividly strike the audience’s diverse interpretation to his incredible talent to equally perform on different musical instruments, such as xylophone, harmonica, and timpani. He was successful to display a raw representation of chamber-ensemble, alongside Owen Underhill, using few instruments that represents a version of traditional contemporary art using unusual instrumentation. In the second act, Both have demonstrated contrasting variations of sounds, that appeared to me as an audible representation of symmetry. This mental image was my interpretation of contrastingly pitched, yet correspondingly paced, instruments such as small bells and flutes played on one end of the stage while shakers, drums, and rattles on the opposite side. Also, it was very easily noticeable that the musical piece was composed to display a harmonic congruity as both the intro and outro of this contemporary piece were following the same pattern. Moreover, the harmonic set played in set 3, “Invisible Cities” was initially monotonic, inspiring a feeling of affiliation with nature in its dormant state, with all its elements united and accordant. Afterwards, it forcefully shifted with an abrupt change from a solo performance into a chamber-ensemble with a polyphonic piece that adds a bell and a shaker to the piece in a way to cultivate the feeling of struggle and strife showcased as an imagery dialogue. 

Personally, my opinion is that the musical pieces discussed were crafted in a very well thought and consistent manner to convey very strong emotions, using only very few instruments that some can only play fewer notes. It was made clear throughout the performance that increasing melodic frequency on a minor key was used when expressing sadness, grief, or life threat, and slower paced major keys when appreciating and acknowledging the wonders of mother nature.  However, I found it hard to navigate my wandering emotions, without a given context or narrative prior to performance. Therefore, I was only left to comprehend the contemporary piece to the best of my understanding, likely to bee biased, of what the artist is aspiring to portray. Consequently, it was difficult to experience the full emotional journey, just like the composed has perceived it, especially to an unusual type of musical piece from what I am used to and an unfamiliar sequential progression of notes to my ears that requires a modification of perception to what the sounds represent. Lastly, coming from a place of witnessing a piece of contemporary art for the first time, I enjoyed its essence of challenging the traditional boundaries of what is perceived to be a composition of musical pieces nowadays with a very well defined theme. What distinguishes it from other forms of music is the very lack of a uniform organizing principle, which in turn expands the realm of its interpretation to one’s personal experience and how it stimulates one’s emotions and perception differently.