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Unique Transcriptions and Original Compositions
for Solo Classical Guitar

Instructions:

• Select from the chamber music catalog below.
• Click on [ Preview ] to view musical scores and listen to accompanying audio.
• To order, click the Add to Cart button.

5 Russian Songs by Mikhail Glinka (1804 - 1857)

Best known for his operas and orchestral works, Glinka is commonly regarded as the founder of Russian nationalism in music for his synthesis of orchestral form with Russian traditional melody. These songs are very romantic in nature and reminiscent of Franz Schubert Lieder.

5 Russian Folk Songs - Traditional

Russian folk music is distinct, characterized by strong rhythms implying rigorous dance movement, national pride and plaintive melodies set in minor modes.

Arioso by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

This elegant piece is perhaps one of the most memorable melodies ever written. It is perfect for processionals and also works as welcome music before the wedding ceremony. The Arioso is from Cantata "Ich steh mit einem Fuss im Grabe" BWV#156.

Prelude in G by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
from the Suite in G major for Cello BWV 1007

This beautiful prelude comes from the first of Bach’s six suites for cello, BWV 1007. It is transcribed for guitar in its original key of G major using a facsimile copy of the manuscript believed to have been made by Bach’s second wife Anna Magdalena.

Besides the prelude’s obvious beauty and appropriateness for any chamber music situation, it also makes an excellent arpeggio study for the guitarist’s right hand.

Sarabande & Double in Bm by
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Transcribed for solo guitar by James Baird

The Sarabande from the Partita No. 1 in Bm for solo violin, BWV 1002 is ideal for reflective moments in the ceremony like candle lighting or a pause prior to the wedding vows. The Double is a quick moving arpeggiated "variation" of the Sarabande. Together they are suitable for ambient performance of recital. The transcriptions fit very comfortably on guitar.

Gavotte in D by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
from the Suite in D major for Cello BWV 1012

The Gavotte in D comes from the sixth of Bach’s six suites for cello, BWV 1012. It is transcribed for guitar in its original key of D major using a facsimile copy of the manuscript believed to have been made by Bach’s second wife Anna Magdalena.

Bach's tuning directions at the top of the first manuscript page indicate that this suite was composed for a 5-string instrument, either the viola pomposa or the violoncello piccolo.

Besides the gavotte’s obvious beauty and appropriateness for any chamber music situation, it also functions very well as a wedding processional for the bride or her attendants.

Canon in D by Johann Pachelbel (1653 - 1706)
Transcribed for solo guitar by James Baird

The Canon in D is perhaps the most familiar melody of classical music. This version for solo guitar works very well on the instrument. The music functions well as processional music but fits almost anywhere within ceremony.

Fantasy Em by Sylvius Leopold Weiss (1687 - 1750)
Transcribed for solo guitar by James Baird

This Fantasy in Em is a beautifully lyrical piece composed of a free-flowing introduction followed by a fugue that builds to a very satisfying climax.

Sylvius Leopold Weiss, German composer and lutenist, was the son of a lutenist. He was an important and prolific composer for the lute and one of the best known and technically accomplished of his day, known particularly for his legendary improvisational skill. Around 600 compositions, grouped into sonatas and suites, have survived to this day.

Weiss met J.S. Bach in Dresden through his son Wilhelm Friedemann, where Weiss was a member of the court chapel. J.F. Reichardt describes an account where Weiss challenged Bach at “playing fantasies and fugues”. Weiss and Bach died in the same year.

Cite: Wikipedia, Naxos

When I Am Laid In Earth by Henry Purcell (1658 - 1695)
Transcribed for solo guitar by James Baird

The Opera, Dido and Aeneas, was written by the Englishman Henry Purcell in 1680 when he was 22 years old. It contains Purcell’s best known and one of the most pathetic songs ever composed: The most famouse aria "When I Am Laid in Earth", commonly known as "Dido's Lament", is composed over a descending chromatic ground bass, identical to one later used by Johann Sebastian Bach in his Crucifixus from the Mass in Bm.
Full score of aria "When I Am Laid in Earth"

The lyrics:
When I am laid, am laid in earth, may my wrongs create
No trouble, no trouble in, in thy breast;
Remember me, remember me, but ah!
Forget my fate.

Ballo Tedesco Novo de L'Autore by Giovanni Antonio Terzi (1580 - 1620)
Edited for solo guitar by James Baird

Giovanni Antonio Terzi was a lutenist, singer and composer of the Venetian school. Two surviving books of lute music from 1593 and 1599 contain lute solos, duets, quartets and vocal accompaniments. The Ballo Tedesco Novo de L’Autore (literally New German Dance by the Author) is a solo with a processional-like quality, written in the style of the period presenting musical material and then the same material embellished.

Cite: Wikipedia, Naxos

Ave Verum Corpus K618 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Mozart composed the "Ave verum" at the end of his life, in 1791. In this short spiritual piece, only forty-six measures long, Mozart demonstrates remarkable juxtaposition of modality, beauty of line and voice leading. Originally scored for chorus, strings and organ, this transcription remarkably fits onto the guitar.

Greensleeves by Anonymous

Greensleeves is one of the best known melodies in Western culture. Because of its roots in Elizabethan lute music, it has a special place for guitarists. In the tradition of its time, this version exploits the ground bass feature of the piece and includes 2 variations.

Although original authorship of the music is unknown, the traditional Elizabethan version of Greensleeves, a song of unrequited love, was licensed to Richard Jones in 1580. Christmas anthologies include this melody under the title of What Child is This? first appearing in 1865 with words by poet/theologian William Chatterton Dix.

6 Entr'actes for solo guitar by James Baird

This group of short pieces was conceived as music for a staged production based on the poetry of Edgar Allen Poe. The central poem, the Masque of the Red Death , is reminiscent of Boccaccio's Decameron, where the wealthy gather together in revelry to vainly avoid the dangers of the plague.