Imbricatta by Sérgio Assad *GUEVARA*

Audio: Santuario Sónico - Juan Pablo Quezada
http://www.santuariosonico.cl/

Guitar: Nomex
http://www.angelbenitoaguado.com/es_a...

Program note for Imbricatta - Sérgio Assad

One of the most commonly used musical forms throughout history is variation. Although the form was used since the 14th century, the first publication of a piece in variation form was by the 16th century vihuelist Luis de Narvaez, called Diferencias. Since then most composers have used the form, in pieces such as Passacaglias, Chaconnes and Theme with Variations. All of these kinds of variation share the common ground of introducing main material (a theme or harmonic frame) that is then explored through the development of the piece.

When I wrote the piece Imbricatta for the Biasini guitar competition I came up with a theme to be worked in the variation form. But instead of following the normal path of introducing the theme followed by the variations, I used the concept of the verb Imbricate to create a set of ten variations or episodes in different sizes and moods. Imbricate is a word that describes similar things or related ideas partly overlapping each other, like roofing shingles. So rather than starting with a theme, the first three variations of this piece are instead searching for a theme.

The ten variations are presented in a way that each one of the episodes generates material to be explored in the following one. The change of moods is quite strong, but the piece is held together with the use of a recognizable main theme. The complete main theme appears just twice, strategically inserted in variations 4 and 7. Although the melodic material is the same in those two variations, the contrasting harmony, tonal and chromatic respectively, adds both individual characters and a balanced proportion to the set. Variation 5 is the most elaborate of all, where a condensed treatment of the melodic material is presented in retrograde, creating an improvisatory feeling. From variation 8 to the end the overall harmonic concept becomes mostly chromatic, and new material keeps being introduced, also to be reworked. The piece closes with an increasing use of chordal harmony over the fragmented initial main theme, along with the new material that was introduced on variation 8.