Sonata I

Sonata I for guitar was written in 1996 and premiered in its original form by Miguel Alcázar for whom the work was dedicated. Upon receiving the score from Alcázar in 2007, I immediately began working on the piece. The Sonata is in four movements with the last two combining in attacca fashion. The work could be described as Neo-Classical on many levels: 1- the general structure of four movements that follow the typical sonata models of the Classical and Romantic time periods, 2 – the first movement is in a classic sonata form with an exposition, development and recapitulation, 3- the use of a sarabande rhythm model in the Adagio (the origin of the sarabande baroque dance form is now confirmed to have been originated from what is now Mexico), 4 – the use of parallel fourths and fifths reminiscent of Gregorian chant from the Medieval period and later used in the Impressionism period, and 5 – the use of tonal center and a mostly tonal harmonic language throughout yet in cased in a modern sound. Santos wrote that, “Effectively, my manner of composition utilizes all of these elements, not as a system, but rather because my musical imagination demands it, whether from the 20th century or previous centuries.