Martinez-sobral: 5 Characteristic Pieces / Sonata For 2 Pianos

Description

Manuel Martínez-Sobral (1879-1946)Five Characteristic Pieces and a RomanceSonata for Two Pianos (Acuarelas chapinas B: 1922 version)Four Autobiographical Waltzes The pieces which make up Manuel Martínez-Sobral’s Five Characteristic Pieces and a Romance were gathered under this title by the composer himself in 1920. The six pieces were written in different periods during his lifetime. The first, in chronological order, seems to have been the Mazurka in A minor written in 1903 and the last, Romance without Words, written in 1919. There is here a certain alternation in the character and rhythm of the pieces, Mazurka, Gavota, Mazurka, Gavota, Minueto, Romanza, and a logic to the tonal linking, A flat major — D flat major or C sharp major — A minor — G major — A major — G major. The principle of organization followed by the composer. The Mazurka in A flat is divided into three parts, the first being also based on three phrases. Of these phrases, the first and third are identical and consist of a joint succession of notes ranging from E flat to the E flat of the superior octave, a succession which is immediately commented on by an arabesque figure. The second phrase is a section of virtuoso character oscillating between the tonality of D flat major, B flat minor and F minor; it functions as a glosa and prepares the repetition of the first phrase in A flat, the main tonality. The central section modulates the subdominant D flat and is built over a light figure of semiquavers, coming from the arabesque figure of the first theme and giving place to an effusive interplay of imitations among the voices. The third section is a recapitulation of the first, this time modified by some variants and reinforcements. The first Gavota is a piece in seven sections, where a cell of three conjoined notes on the first measure generates the main ideas. This cell dominates throughout the composition in a rhythmic and intervallic way. The Gavota provided the composer with an excuse to try a free imitative style. The Mazurka in A minor, less elaborate than the two preceding dances, is a piece full of grace and freshness, composed exclusively over the rhythmic figure of a dotted quaver and a semiquaver. The Gavota in G major is, as its tempo indicates, an Allegro appassionato of brilliant character, which has a strong rhythmic impulse thanks to the constant movement of its accents and the articulation of its phrases. This is a piece composed of three- or four-note motifs and a constant use of the appoggiaturas on the strong tempos gives it its character. Gavota has three sections, the third a varied repetition of the first section, with a central section that develops the material. The Minueto in A major is another dance in three sections in neoclassical style. It is also a study of double notes, especially thirds and sixths. In the first and third sections the most relevant characteristics are the alternation of forte and p