The 24 Preludi e Ricercari are a work for didactic purposes in which the composer Alfredo Franco (1967) brings together his fondness for some musical forms now sanctioned by musical tradition. It is hard not to notice the sign of a tribute to one of the most significant pedagogical cycles for guitar of the twentieth century, namely the 24 Preludes written by the Mexican composer Manuel Maria Ponce (1882-1948) who was inspired by the famous Andrés Segovia. Just as Ponce, Franco organises this collection covering all 24 keys of the equable tempered system; after each Preludio there follows a Ricercare, an imitative contrapuntal form common in music written for the lute during the Renaissance, which explores the polyphonic possibilities of the instrument in the key structure of the corresponding Preludio.
Franco’s harmonic language is based on numerous and refined non-functional harmonies (that is, they do not fit into the usual rotation between the functions of tonic, subdominant and dominant) requiring a subtle effort of tone-colour and dynamic enhancement on the part of the player.
While from a normal collection for teaching purposes one expects the attention of the player to be focused on the resolution of specific instrumental themes, with a view to developing agility and sound power at the same time, with the 24 Preludi e Ricercari we are face to face with a way of writing which systematically refrains from a show of virtuosity and inclines to a more intimate and suffused atmosphere. The composer, firm in the harmonic choices illustrated above, intends to bring the instrumentalist towards a control of timbre and delivery which, in a way of writing based on virtuosity alone, would probably not have found such fertile ground.
By virtue of these considerations, we have decided to suggest fingerings which favour musical phrases which are as legato and fluid as possible, without automatically precluding the use of specific gestures – such as the pressure on the string just with the phalanx of the first finger – to obtain specific effects of resonance and legato. While guiding the rendering in a direction agreed with the composer, the solutions suggested by us are not to be considered normative or binding for performance purposes.
Although the cycle appears as a complete work and finds its best expression in being performed as a whole, it can be partially performed, just taking care never to separate the individual pairs of Preludi and Ricercari. By virtue of the degree of difficulty offered, the collection is mainly aimed at students who have already acquired a solid foundation on the instrument and have consequently developed a good knowledge of the fingerboard and good reading skills, even in internal positions. In this way, the 24 Preludi e Ricercari find an ideal placing in the sphere of music school studies and in the so-called pre-academic and first level courses of the Conservatoire system. (Leonardo De Marchi)

Author: Alfredo Franco (*1967)

Editor: Leonardo De Marchi

Publication Date: 1/30/2019

Pages: pp. 48

Size: 230x310 mm

Binding: Saddle stitching

ISMN: 979-0-2153-2593-7

Code: CH 297