Julia Florida.Composed by Agustín Barrios (1885-1944, Paraguay) and performed by Alexandra Whittingham.
Julia Florida is another standard piece in the Spanish & Latin-American classical repertoire. Music historian Rico Stover tells us that Barrios dedicated this piece to his student, Julia Martinez whom he met during her adolescence. The title — which means, Julia bloomed” — apparently speaks to her growth both as a guitarist and as a woman. This piece is written in 6/8 time and is highly expressive. Listen for the separation of the melodic line from the bass line. Also, pay close attention to the tempo variation in Whittingham’s performance. This piece is considered one of the advanced classical guitar piece.
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Callejón de Muro (minera). Composed and perfomed by Paco de Lucía (1947-2014, Spain).
The minera is another style of flamenco music that belongs to the “Cantes de Levante” styles within the “fandango natural” family. These fandangos are written without a time signature and are played ad libitum even though the flamenco fandango is originally a 3/4 style with a clear tempo. Mineras are traditionally written in the key of Ab Spanish Phrygian and are characterized by the use the Ab Andalucían Cadence (i.e., C#m – B – A – Ab) and a strong, expressive quality that sounds almost improvisational. This particular minera was one of the first I Iearned and one of my favorites!
