Manuel Ponce is known to classical guitarists as the composer of many popular works for classical guitar, but he is known to the world for this love song, Estrellita:

Estrellita del lejano cielo,
(Little star of the distant sky,)
que miras mi dolor,
(you see my pain,)
que sabes mi sufrir.
(you know my anguish.)
Baja y dime
(Come down and tell me)
si me quiere un poco,
(if he loves me a little,)
porque yo no puedo sin su amor vivir.
(because I cannot live without his love.)

¡Tu eres estrella mi faro de amor!
(You are my star, my beacon of love!)
Tu sabes que pronto he de morir.
(You know that soon I shall die.)
Baja y dime
(Come down and tell me)
si me quiere un poco,
(if he loves me a little,)
porque yo no puedo sin su amor vivir.
(because I cannot live without his love.)

This performance is from Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show in 1974. One of the YouTube comments is especially worth quoting:

Even more than her exquisite singing, what always strikes me is Sills’ simple and moving commitment, which goes straight to the heart of the listener with no affectation, no easy dramatic tricks. She simply communicates emotion through her voice and her face, what is a very difficult thing to do without sounding or looking artificial.

Here, Julian Bream performs with and discusses Ali Akbar Khan, whom he describes as “just about the finest musician” he’d ever met. Great footage for Bream fans.

Here’s a nice bit of video about reknowned luthier Manuel Velazquez. Also in the video are contributions from Virginia Luque, William Cumpiano, Beverly Maher, and Stephen Robinson.

Overheard in the Barnyard:

The-An was a student of Stephan Rak. He did the arrangement, available from his web site, I think.

Enjoy,
John

I enjoyed that video. I think a great deal of sincerity comes across.

But I’m going to criticize — just a little, because I don’t like to criticize — but I will in this case because I don’t think it will hurt anyone and maybe it will help a little.

When Rak-style tremolo effects succeed, the result can be compelling. A sort of cinematic illumination occurs. But take it too far and it gets too rough. The beauty evaporates into crashing noisiness.

In this case, the piece eventually became a little too noisy and chased off the gentle mood that had been so nicely built in the beginning. It’s not the fault of the guitar playing, but rather that the arrangement itself calls for too much of a good thing. Sometimes less is more.

Back to the positivity: it looks like there’s a goldmine of Vietnamese guitar players and guitar music on YouTube!

Thank you for opening that door, John Nguyen.

Astor Piazzolla’s wildly popular Libertango cannot be delivered persuasively on solo guitar — or so I thought until I came across this encouraging interpretation by Alberto Morelli:

The Julian Bream Consort performs Dowland’s The Earl of Essex, His Galliard