Williams, Prelude, Nocturne and Gigue

Andrew Williams, Prelude, Nocturne and Gigue

For solo guitar. 

This suite was originally conceived for a lute player.  The first thing I tried was ‘lute tuning’, dropping the G string to F#.  This provided a useful new perspective, forcing me into finding melodic and harmonic progressions in unfamiliar territory.  I played about with it for a long time before eventually the Nocturne started to take shape.  I felt it accessed something deep and indefinable.  To me, it’s a beautiful and disturbing piece but it needs repeated listening to hear it properly .It takes a lot of work to give a good account of it as a player, too.

Once the Nocturne was finished, it was suggested to me that it needed ‘bookending’: a short lively prelude to draw the listener in, and a high-tempo piece to finish.  Starter, main course, dessert.  After wrestling for so long with the Nocturne, the Prelude and the Gigue came together quickly and naturally.  Although they all work as separate pieces, the three sound best in my opinion when played as a sequence.

It wasn’t till I finished the whole suite that I realised I could play it better in normal tuning and I’m sure the majority of guitarists will prefer this. (Andrew Williams)

• Product: Digital (PDF) or Print-on-demand
• Pages: 12 pages
• Level: Intermediate
• Order Number: BE-240702
  
• ISMN 979-0-706838-69-4
  

Listen to Prelude played by Andrew Williams:

LListen to Andrew Williams playing Nocturne:

LListen to Andrew Williams playing Gigue: