TOMMASO GIORDANI Caro Mio Ben

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This month’s classical arrangement is a hugely recognisable piece among singers, perhaps due to its accessibility as a short-form and self-contained aria. It has found itself a staple of both the stage and the classroom for these reasons, which has secured its continued popularity 250 years after its inception.

The piece’s composer, Tommaso Giordani, had a rather unconventional musical training. He was born in Naples in 1733 and initially grew up watching his local Neapolitan contemporaries such as Domenico Scarlatti [GT337] composing in the baroque style, but by the time he began showing an interest in music, local tastes were changing which would pave the way for what we would later define as the classical period of music. The prevalence of Opera is one such defining aspect of this era and was Giordani’s vessel with which he carved out a musical career for himself, as well as being the source of his unconventional musical training. During the 1740s his father formed a small touring opera company which the family took part in, so from a very early age a young Tommaso found himself immersed in a life of music, travelling all around Europe alongside his parents and siblings as an operatic singer and dancer, even playing London’s Theatre Royal in Covent Garden in 1753 (known today as the Royal Opera House). By this time, aged 20, Giordani had taken an interest in composition and his first comic opera La Comediante Fatta Cantatrice premiered in Covent Garden on the 12th January 1756.

Giordani spent most of his adult life living in Dublin and London, and during these years wrote a large body of music including chamber and orchestral works, alongside cantatas and operas. Sadly many of his operas received less-than-ideal criticism from his peers with many operas doomed to financial failure, one even saw him receive accusations of plagiarism which resulted in him choosing to leave Ireland and moving back to London for 16 years.

His piece Caro Mio Ben or ‘My Dear Beloved’ is perhaps the song Giordani is most remembered for, though even this sentiment must be taken with a pinch of salt as there are suggestions that it could have in fact been written by another member of his family. Either way, Caro Mio Ben is a beautiful and evocative piece to have emerged from the early classical period and translates beautifully to the solo nylonstring guitar.

NEXT MONTH Declan arranges and transcribes for solo guitar, El Colibri by Julio Sagreras

TECHNIQUE FOCUS Nail It!

The field of nail care for classical guitarists is a vast and often hotly contested area for discussion, but the basics are generally the same - you simply grow out your plucking-hand nails to a length that slightly protrudes from the fingers when viewed from underneath, then file and buff their edges to form a smooth slope from which the strings can be released. When viewing a split-second pluck in slow motion the flesh of the fingertip damps the string and leads the string onto the ramp of the nail before releasing it, avoiding an audible collision in the process. This approach achieves excellent tonal control and, depending on wether you want to play with a bright or mellow sound, you merely need to alter the angle at which you pluck.

TRACK RECORD Pavarotti features Caro Mio Ben on his 1983 album Mattinata accompanied by the New Philharmonic Orchestra. Aled Jones, back in his early ‘Snowman’ days, released a version of Caro Mio Ben accompanied by organ on his album Heiden Röslen • Caro Mio Ben, and again over 20 years later with orchestra on his album For You: The Collection - it makes for a fun ‘before and after’ comparison.

PERFORMANCE NOTES &

[Bars 1-9] In bar 2 hold the G/D chord’s notes with first and second fingers in third position and slide them down to first position for a graceful transition to the Am/D notes. In bar 5 use the quaver rest to shift the fretting hand up early to the high G/B chord. It is recommended to use this idea whenever moving from one chord to another. In bar 7 the D6 to C chord shift is easier than it first seems - hold the D6 with first, third and fourth fingers, then slide third and fourth fingers down to the lower two notes of the C chord while adding the second finger to its high C. Practice this backwards and forward to feel secure. In bar 8 trill between 2nd and 4th frets with first and second fingers - this involves widening the gap between those fingers so use Ex 2 on page 51 to prepare for this bar.

Playing Notes

Start bar 18 with a 5th-fret barre and then for the next three quavers maintain a five-string barre at the 7th, keeping the fretting hand still while the fingers traverse their notes. You could simplify it by dropping the A in the Am9/E chord, and instead hold the C below it at 10th fret with the fourth finger. This maintains the flow with minimal impact to the overall texture. There is a lot of repetition in this piece which can leave things feeling flat. Create variation by adjusting your plucking-hand tone position. A nice moment to move to a thin sounding ponticello position (plucking near the bridge) is at bar 30. This then broadens out to a dramatic stop at bar 33, so gradually move back to a warmer tone position during these intervening bars. The trill at bar 34 can be executed with first and third fingers but so as to sustain the final trill over the next chord, end the trill on the fourth finger - take a look at Exercise 1 to explore this idea further.

Examples

EXERCISE 1 PREPARATION OF BAR 34 SLURRED TRILL WITH GLISS, FOURTH FINGER ON FINAL SLUR

This exercise is preparation for the trilled cadence found at bar 34 and is divided into repeated sections. Repeat each new section until the final note on the first string is light in the fretting hand and has a relatively strong tone, though inevitably it will be slightly weaker in tone than the note that it has glissed from. Pluck each note separately and gliss the final note, then once this feels light add the remaining slurred notes. We see the addition of the inverted D7 chord at bar 8 and the goal here is to sustain the upper note so you hear the full four-note chord ringing on as one.

EXERCISE

2

PREPARATION OF SLURRED TRILLS OVER A SUSTAINED CHORD

The enemy of speed is tension, so attempting a trilled note while holding a tense chord underneath can feel like trying to punch underwater. This exercise attempts to loosen tension in the fretting hand by building the two main chord shapes found underneath the trills. We start with a less complex version of each chord followed by the full thing. For the simpler version ensure you are placing minimal pressure on the note underneath the trill - try putting so little pressure on that it buzzes as you trill the note above . The lighter you can hold your chord the more nimbly the finger executing the trill above it will be able to move.