David Tanenbaum's 'Essential Studies' book on the Carcassi Studies, Op, 60

[Carey]

It's out of print, and it took me awhile to find a copy at a reasonable price like this one.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/295138682032

No affiliation, etc.

[Gitfiddlemann]

Hi Carey,
I wasn't familiar with this Tanenbaum series. I do have the Ricordi edition of the Carcassi studies, edited by M. Llobet.
Do they differ much to your knowledge?

[Carey]

Hi Andre,

Tanenbaum's book is commentary on musical and technical aspects on all the studies, with notated excerpts, rather than an edition of the studies themselves. I find it useful and sometimes inspiring to read DT's comments
and tips.

I don't know the Ricordi edition- mine is one put out by Editions Orphee awhile back, edited, fingered, and with notes by Rey de la Torre. OOP, but also worth looking for, I think; I really like reading those guys' thoughts on the studies.

[Gitfiddlemann]

Carey, thanks for that info.

I really like reading those guys' thoughts on the studies.

I really do as well.
I have study notes from John Mills on a good number of popular pieces, incl. the first 10 Brouwer Etudes and six Ponce Preludes. I can go through the music myself only to realize afterwards the many layers and nuances that I totally missed. It's really enlightening and super helpful, and great as a study all its own!

[Carey]

I sure hear you, Andre. A word or idea here or there can make such a difference between stuckness and movement.. I want to keep moving.

[canuck7]

Interesting. My Matteo Carcassi, Op/60 25 Estudios is edited and fingered by Vahdah Olcott-Bickford. I've had it for quite some time, now tattered but still usable for review of the ones I play by memory. There must be a lot of versions of these.

[Carey]

Originally Posted by canuck7

Interesting. My Matteo Carcassi, Op/60 25 Estudios is edited and fingered by Vahdah Olcott-Bickford. I've had it for quite some time, now tattered but still usable for review of the ones I play by memory. There must be a lot of versions of these.

I think there are, too. One minus of the edition I have is that the notation's font is on the small side (lots of squinting, for us in the older set). This one looks interesting, at first glance:

https://www.prestomusic.com/sheet-mu...-studies-op-60

[canuck7]

I would be really curious if the fingerings are different and whether there are some variations in the fingerings/fretboard note locations, between the different books [emoji433]

[Carey]

I don't know. I'm thinking of getting another edition- either the one I linked to,
or the one by TECLA, which is said to include only Carcassi's original indications- just out of curiousity.

https://www.stringsbymail.com/carcas...itar-5553.html

[Gitfiddlemann]

Very interesting. I wasn't aware either of so many different editions, but then I guess it makes sense since these Carcassi studies are so popular and helpful to both teachers and students.
Carey's comment about small font made me chuckle because I thought the exact same thing when flipping through my Recordi/Llobet edition.
Then I remembered I had another set of those in my library. This one from Frederick Noad: 100 Graded Studies from Sor, Giuliani and Carcassi
which are much better laid out visually and font wise. They include all 25 Carcassi Op. 60 studies.
Interestingly also, Noad makes the following comments on the Carcassi versions in the liner notes of this book:
"Carcassi's own fingerings were excellent as one would expect from an experienced performer, and I have changed them only where there appears to have been a printer's error. However, many areas were left unfingered and in some of these I have tried to add suggestions or clarifications."
Noad is good at this kind of stuff, and he appears to have liked Carcassi's fingerings. He also provides notes for each of the 100 Sor, Giuliani and Carcassi studies included in the book. It's a good one, but the others you have mentioned or linked to sound good too.
See what you started Carey? You have a good knack for these threads.

[Carey]

Thanks for mentioning the Noad 100 Graded Studies book, Andre! I agree that
he did a nice, thorough job in his editions, and the typefaces are big enough, too.

I didn't know that that book had all the Carcassi studies in it, and it'll be my
next purchase. It's always nice to see what he chose- he was quite a scholar, I think. it sounds real good.

[Gitfiddlemann]

Originally Posted by Carey

Thanks for mentioning the Noad 100 Graded Studies book, Andre! I agree that
he did a nice, thorough job in his editions, and the typefaces are big enough, too.

I didn't know that that book had all the Carcassi studies in it, and it'll be my
next purchase. It's always nice to see what he chose- he was quite a scholar, I think. it sounds real good.

You're very welcome Carey!
Interestingly, Noad doesn't grade them serially, i.e. 1 through 25, like they are in most studies. Evidently he felt that the technical challenges they present merited a different order, although #25 does come in last as the most difficult one. (#99 in the book.).
It's an excellent book, not to mention the additional Sor and Giuliani offerings.

[Carey]

I'll put in a plug for Tanenbaum's 'Estudios' recording of the Brouwer, Carcassi, and the "Segovia 20" Sor studies for GSP. He plays the heck out of the Brouwer and Carcassi studies here. I'm a big fan of his early recordings though, so YMMV.

Adding: this recording does not include Brouwer's later group of ten studies 'Nuevos Estudios Sencillos'- well recorded by Cecilio Perera, among others.

[Carey]

I got the Noad 100 Graded Studies book recently- thanks to Andre for mentioning it,
because it's a good one: layout, ordering of the studies, fingerings, and a large
enough font for my old eyes. Nice.