Gitarre (Songs for Trio Volume IV für Querflöte, Viola und Gitarre)

Due to the numerous orders and consistently positive feedback regarding the first three volumes of ‘Songs for Trio’, I am pleased to fulfil the request and present the fourth volume of this series. I have not changed anything conceptually. There are again 10 original compositions for flute, viola and guitar, which - with the exception of numbers 3, 6 and 10 - were originally written for a rock band. Here is the table of contents:

1) Galissas in A major

2) Pearls on a river in E major

3) Tempus fugit E minor

4) Pointer eyes E flat major

5) Knock on wood in A major

6) Over the rainbow G minor

7) My desire A minor

8) Buenos Aires 1911 B minor

9) What's going on E minor

10) Chorus Bresilienne E minor

The song Galissas is a tribute to the Greek island of Syros, which I travelled to as one of the first backpackers in the 1970s. Since then I have loved Greece, the people there, the food and drink, the Greek language, the music and of course the many beautiful islands. In the middle part of the song, I quote from one of the most famous Greek folk songs: Anamniseis apo Syro by the composer Markos Vamvakaris, who was born on Syros and gave his island immortality with this song.

Pearls on a river is a quiet song with a lyrical ‘bridge’, with the guitar acting purely as an accompanying instrument.

In the third song, time passes in an hourglass. The composition is laid out like a three-part fugue, the key changes twice and all three instruments play on an equal footing.

In song number 4, the guitarist uses a capo, which is placed on the third fret. The notation is therefore in C major, but it sounds like E flat major. The composition contains elements of skiffle and rock'n roll.

Song number 5 is similar. Here, too, my preference for rockabilly and rock'n'roll is unmistakable. The flute and viola effortlessly imitate the instruments of a rock band, and even more, they create new possibilities for interpretation.

Over the rainbow is a romantic, chamber music composition with numerous facets. The basic key of G first changes to C major, then to F, modulates to D minor and then leads back to G again. I have chosen an A B A form, whereby the middle section is quite fast and lively, in complete contrast to the calm and solemn A section.

My Desire is a song that originally emulates the super band Pink Floyd. However, the song has changed considerably and taken on a life of its own when it was adapted for this instrumentation, much to my own amusement.

Song number 8 is a flawless Argentinian tango, which has to be performed very passionately and with a lot of rhythmic finesse.

The penultimate song begins with a hook line that sets the stomping character of the piece. Numerous ostinati and rhythmic couplings make the song rush along like a steam train.

One of my favourite pieces is the chorus Bresilienne. It exists as a solo piece for guitar, as a duet for cello and guitar and as a trio with violin, flute and guitar from book number 1 of this series. Here I wanted to give the viola the opportunity to join in the South American fireworks of good humour. The piece has to be played quite quickly and rhythmically very precisely, otherwise it quickly falls apart. The viola and guitar parts are technically quite demanding.

Frank Knabben

in October 2024