Notes on the Repertoire

5 Bagatelles
William Walton (1902-1983)

Premiere: May 27 1972
Performer: Julian Bream
Performance Hall: Assembly Rooms, Bath
Occasion: Bath Festival Concert

Julian Bream who, with Peter Pears, had commissioned Walton in 1960 to compose the song-cycle Anon in Love, approached him with another assignment, this time for pieces solely for guitar. Malcolm Arnold related how, in January 1971, Sir William, after five weeks of work on the Bagatelles he was writing for Bream, had only the first six notes, all to be played on open strings. 'Not all that good,' mused Walton. 'I've been worrying. I'm wondering if when he begins they'll think he's tuning the bloody thing up.'

Dissertations

Villa, Marco Alejandro. "Five Bagatelles by William Walton: A Performance Guide Based on the Composer's Orchestration, Varii Capricci." Doctor of Music, Florida State University, 2017. LINK.

Nocturnal after John Dowland
Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)
[IRCAM Brahms Database Entry]

Premiere: June 12 1964
Performer: Julian Bream
Performance Hall:
Occasion: Aldeburgh Festival

The piece is a vivid contrast to the 'public' works Britten had been producing since A Midsummer Night's Dream" three years earlier.Subtitled 'reflections,' its theme is Dowland's 'Come, heavy sleep,' which is not heard in full till the end, suggesting that sleep does not come for a long while. The preceding movements are undoubtedly meant to portray the various stages of insomnia. They have such markings as 'Very agitated,' 'Restless,' and 'Uneasy.' Uncharacteristically, Britten admitted (in a 1969 interview) that the Nocturnal 'has some very, to me, disturbing images in it.' He did not say what they were.

Some years later, Julian Bream recalled of the Nocturnal:
When the piece arrived, I found I didn't have to change anything, not one note. It's the only piece written for me of which that is true. Oh yes, except for one tiny blemish, where Britten had contrived to place two notes on the same string. When I pointed this out to him he was simply horrified! It was as though you'd pointed out some terrible gaff in his social behaviour."

Donald Mitchell, who published the Nocturnal, remembers it differently:
Ben would sometimes consult Julian, and ask, 'Is this possible on the guitar?' And Julian would say, 'No it isn't.' But then he would take it away and try it and find that it was possible, that it worked. Julian himself made the point that this was an example of a composer writing ahead of an instrument's established technique, exploring potentialities that the player (however gifted) had not foreseen. It was rather like Mozart and the clarinet — what he composed for it advanced the instrument's technical (and thus expressive) possibilities.

Dissertations

Frackenpohl, David J. "Analysis of Nocturnal op. 70 by Benjamin Britten." Master of Music, North Texas State University, 1986. LINK.

Alcaraz, Roberto. "Benjamin Britten's Nocturnal, Op. 70 for guitar: A novel approach to program music and variation structure." DMA, The University of Arizona, 2001. LINK.

The Blue Guitar
Michael Tippett (1905-1998)
[IRCAM Brahms Database Entry]

Premiere: November 09 1983
Performer: Julian Bream
Performance Hall: Ambassador Auditorium
Occasion:

Dissertations

Roman, Orlando. “Performer's Guide To Michael Tippett's The Blue Guitar.” Doctor of Music, Florida State University, 2003. LINK.

Royal Winter Music: First sonata on Shakespearean Characters
Hans Werner Henze (1926-2012)
[IRCAM Brahms Database Entry]

Premiere: September 20 1976
Performer: Julian Bream
Performance Hall:
Occasion: Berliner Festwochen

Dissertations

Avalos, Jeremy. “A Semiosis of Hans Werner Henze's Royal Winter Music Sonata I.” Doctor of Music, Florida State University, 2021. LINK.

In the Woods
Tōru Takemitsu (1930-1996)
[IRCAM Brahms Database Entry]

Premiere: October 15 1996
Performer: Kiyoshi Shomura
Performance Hall:
Occasion:

Dissertations

Dunlap, Matthew. "A Performer's Guide to Toru Takemitsu's in the Woods." Doctor of Music, Florida State University, 2008. LINK.

Pickup, Shawn Michael. "Takemitsu’s Solo Guitar Music Inspired by Visual Art: Informed and Imaginative Interpretation and Performance." Doctor of Music, University of Toronto, 2023. LINK.

General Resources

Dissertations

McCallie, Michael. “Survey of the Solo Guitar Works Written for Julian Bream.” Doctor of Music, Florida State University, 2015. LINK.

Johnson, Zachary. “Solo Guitar Works of Sir Richard Rodney Bennett.” Doctor of Music, Florida State University, 2011. LINK.

Boston, Christopher. “Canadian Works Written for the Toronto International Guitar Festival.” Doctor of Music, Florida State University, 2020. LINK.

Yerby, Jon Paul. "An Introduction to Figured Bass Accompaniment on the Classical Guitar." Doctor of Music , Florida State University, 2012. LINK.

Logan, Philip Eugene. "Recording the Classical Guitar: A Documentation and Sound Analysis of Great Classical Guitar Recordings with a Guide for Sonic Emulation." Doctor of Music, Florida State University, 2019. LINK.

Johnson, Jacob. "Unveiling Castaldi: Arranging and Performing the Theorbo Music of Bellerofonte Castaldi on Guitar." Doctor of Music, Florida State University, 2022. LINK.

Tompkins, Daniel C. "Early Seventeenth-Century Harmonic Practice: A Corpus Study of Tonality, Modality, and Harmonic Function in Italian Secular Song with Baroque Guitar Accompaniment in Alfabeto Tablature." PhD, Florida State University, 2017. LINK.

Manderville, Kevin. "Manuel Ponce and the Suite in A Minor: Its Historical Significance and an Examination of Existing Editions." Doctor of Music, Florida State University, 2006. LINK.

Kossler, Adam. "A Historical and Critical Analysis of 36 Valses di Difficolta Progressiva, Op. 63, by Luigi Legnani." Doctor of Music, Florida State University, 2012. LINK.

Pickup, Shawn Michael. "Takemitsu’s Solo Guitar Music Inspired by Visual Art: Informed and Imaginative Interpretation and Performance." DMA, University of Toronto, 2023. LINK.

Dunn, Alexander. "Style and Development in the Theorbo Works of Robert de Visée: An Introductory Study." PhD, University of California, 1989. LINK.

Torres, Héctor Alfonso. "Transcribing from the Baroque Guitar to the Classical Guitar: A Critical Edition of François Campion's (c1685-1747) Sonatina in D Major." DMA, University of North Texas, 2021. LINK.

Elliott, Peter. "Instrument of Change: The Baroque Guitar and the Emergence of Harmonic Tonality in England and France, 1626-1737." PhD, University of Cambridge, 2025. LINK.

Ramjattan, Daniel Michael. "Music Performance Anxiety on the Classical Guitar: Expert Strategies in Psychology and Pedagogy." DMA, University of Toronto, 2022. LINK.

Jones, Lindsay. "Music by the Ducat: Giuliani's Guitar and Vienna's Musical Markets, 1806-1819." PhD, University of Toronto, 2020. LINK.

Crawford, Brent Michael. "In Pursuit of Guitar Excellence: The Effects of a Multifaceted Approach to Performance Training." DMA, University of Toronto, 2018. LINK.

McFadden, Jeffrey. "Fretboard Harmony for University Study: Method and Historical Context." DMA, University of Toronto, 2010. LINK.

Gallardo, Gonzalo. "Alternatives in Guitar Notation." Doctor of Music, Florida State University, 2011. LINK.

Ciulei, Silviu Octavian. "Flamenco Guitar Techniques in the Music of Joaquin Rodrigo." Doctor of Music, Florida State University, 2013. LINK.

Yerby, Jon Paul. "Introduction to Figured Bass Accompaniment on the Classical Guitar." Doctor of Music, Florida State University, 2012. LINK.

Beavers, Sean. "Homage in the Solo Guitar Music of Roland Dyens." Doctor of Music, Florida State University, 2006. LINK.

Moore, Jimmy Everett. "Significance of Justin Holland's Modern Method for the Guitar." Doctor of Music, Florida State University, 2009. LINK.

Logan, Philip Eugene. "Recording the Classical Guitar." Doctor of Music, Florida State University, 2020. LINK.