LARGET-CAPLAN’S JOHN CAGE ARRANGEMENT WINS NATIONAL AWARD

The Music Publishers Association of the United States presented a Paul Revere Award for Graphic Excellence in June to Aaron Larget-Caplan for his arrangement of Bacchanale by John Cage, for two prepared guitars published by Edition Peters. The Bacchanale publication was issued in the fall of 2022 and won second prize in Music for Fretted Instruments category.

It is the third in a series of John Cage arrangements for guitar done by Larget-Caplan. The first ‘Six Melodies’ for violin and guitar from 2015 were followed by a collection of seven solos by Cage titled ‘Piano Music for Guitar’ in 2017. They are the first arrangements to receive permission from the Cage estate for publication, and have been widely acclaimed for their inventiveness, quality, and playability.

Larget-Caplan recorded all these compositions on his extensively praised album, ‘John. Cage. Guitar.’ It was issued by Stone Records (UK) in 2018. Classical Guitar Magazine said, “Aaron Larget-Caplan is fast becoming perhaps the greatest guitar advocate for the music of John Cage.”

Originally a solo work for prepared piano written in 1948 for dancer and choreographer Syvilla Fort, Bacchanale requires the performer to “prepare” the piano. Fort asked Cage for a work for percussion ensemble, but there was not enough room on stage, so Cage experimented by putting items in the piano itself like screws, bolts, washers and insulation. Bacchanale is the first of his works to do such preparations, and he would go to win a Guggenheim Fellowship and an Award from the National Academy of Arts and Letters for his invention of the prepared piano.

Established in 1964 in honor of the 200th anniversary of the first music engraving in America by the famous silversmith Paul Revere, Paul Revere Awards for Graphic Excellence were initially given as a means of alerting the music industry to the advantages of providing the best possible publication from the viewpoint of engraving, graphic arts and production standards. Today the awards still recognize outstanding examples of graphic design, with an emphasis on usability for orchestras, educators, libraries and individuals.

This is the second publication of Larget-Caplan’s to have received Paul Revere Awards for Graphic Excellence from the MPA. In 2021, Larget-Caplan’s Nights Transfigured, Volume 1 of the New Lullaby Project Anthology published in partnership with the American Composers Alliance won multiple awards: 1^st prize for Guitar Music Notesetting, and 2^nd prize for Book Design and Cover Design.

*See blog post on Nights Transfigured award

Award Information (click)

MUSIC FOR FRETTED INSTRUMENTS
1st Prize: Two Sides (Pierre Jalbert) Schott Music Corporation
Notesetter: Philip Rothman
Production Coordinator: Scott Wollschleger

2nd Prize: Bacchanale (John Cage, Arr. Aaron Larget-Caplan) Edition Peters USA
Notesetter: Aaron Larget-Caplan
Book Design: Héctor Colón
Production Coordinator: Owen Summers

PURCHASE THE SCORE:

Bandcamp (autographed by Larget-Caplan) • Alfred Music

QUOTES:

“John. Cage. Guitar. is an excellent introduction to those who want to approach [Cage] for the first time. Highly recommended.” ~ NeuGuitars (Italy)

“John. Cage. Guitar., quite properly, knows no fear in its blend of delicacy, complexity and amiable simplicity.” ~ Music Web International

AUDIO LINKS:

Stone Records • Spotify • Amazon • Apple

VIDEO:

I lived in Arlington, Mass.

Catherine and I filed our marriage license at the Arlington City Hall, which happens to be adjacent to the Robbins Library, a public library dating from the 1880’s.

Though I called it home from 2001 until 2004, I didn’t perform their until February 2020.

When my Spanish classical music and flamenco dance ensemble ¡Con Fuego! performed at Arlington’s Regent Theater just a few blocks from the library.

The Friends of the Robbins Library reached out in 2019 about performing for their Reading Room Series, which I happily agreed to.

We were very excited for the May 2020 solo concert in the historic Reading Room…

Yes…May 2020…

It did not happen.

An online concert hosted by the Friends of the Robbins Library happened in April 2021.

Not the same…

But we stayed in touch.

We made plans and on February 26, 2023 an in-person, live, breathing, physical, concert occurred!

It was exhilarating!! Packed house! Standing Ovation!! Encores! 

Thank you to the Friends of the Robbins Library, the Arlington Cultural Council, and all of those who came out to the concert. 

Though it took 3 years, it was perfect! Thank you!

Support concerts like these by signing up to be a member of the Robbins Library (HERE)

Looking Bach, Listening Forward

PROGRAM
J.S. Bach – Prelude in C Major, BWV 846*
Aaron Larget-Caplan – sweet nuance
Vineet Shende – Carnatic Prelude N. 1, After J.S. Bach*
Isaac Albéniz – Granada*
Francisco Tarrega – Recuerdos de La Alhambra w/improvised introduction
Larget-Caplan – moving still
John Cage – In A Landscape*
Bach – God’s Time is the very best Time, BWV 106*
Esteban Sanlucar – Mantilla de Feria
Albéniz – Sevilla*
Alan Hovhaness – Mystic Flute* – US Premiere

*Written for or arranged by Aaron Larget-Caplan

Recently I received a few questions from an Australian guitarist via Twitter regarding how I play a couple of spots in  John Cage’s Dream, so I decided to make a brief video on the part in question. 

Do you have questions on this piece or another of my Cage arrangements?

Let me know and I’ll go about making more.

The Lesson (3′):

Brief History: How Dream came into my life

From 2010-2014 I hosted Greater Boston House Concerts. I sat just behind the wonderful pianist Barbara Lieurance as she performed Dream.

I fell in love. The meandering line was simple yet kept me guessing where it would go.

The transparent chordal harmonies that interrupt the melodic line prepare the listener for extended melodies with the harmonies only being hinted with the magical use of the pedal allowing each note’s resonance to build upon the implied harmonies.

Single notes and their overtones become a lush painting of colors. 

Though the guitar only has one string per note (kind of) to the piano’s 3, and its lack of a sustain pedal, I decided to arrange it. 

The greatest challenge is finding a fingering that will allow for the most amount of resonance.

To do this I use campanella (cross-string fingering) and a healthy mix of natural and harmonic notes

It is recorded on John. Cage. Guitar. (Stone Records UK) and published by Edition Peters in CAGE: Piano Music Arranged for Guitar

Premiere Performance (not the same fingering):

Streaming Studio Recording (7′):

SPOTIFY • AMAZON • APPLE MUSIC • YOUTUBE MUSIC

SCORE: John Cage: Piano Music Arranged for Guitar (7 pieces)

Bandcamp • Edition Peters

A wonder of gratitude to the people who helped make my 2-weeks in Southern California a great adventure!

There is not enough room for all the pictures and pages could be written about each of the Artists and amazing people I was able to meet and collaborate with. Please see below for links to many of them.

Until the next concert,
Aaron

Here are some worth checking out in the photos:

Robert and Katherine Bender – Karob Studios

Buzz Gravelle – Cal Poly Pomona faculty and Fretless guitars

Peter Yates – Multi-media Artist, Guitarist, UCLA faculty

Adrienne Albert – Composer

Cellista – Musician & Performance Artist

Tom Flaherty – Composer, Pomona Faculty

Gisel Vincent – Artist

Some picture locations:

Athenaeum Music & Arts Library, La Jolla

Schulman Auditorium, Carlsbad

Tacos on the side of the road, Santa Monica

Lofty Coffee, Encinitas

Sunday Nov. 20 • The Convergence Ensemble presents ‘Strings Galore’ a chamber music concert.

Program
Prelude 1, BWV 846 – J.S. Bach
sweet nuance – Aaron Larget-Caplan
from Six Melodies – John Cage, Arr. Larget-Caplan
Trio – Beethoven
Three Vintage Portraits of Exquisite Ladies Expressing Their Frame of Mind – Antonio Celso Ribeiro
Concert Champêtre – Thomas L. Read,
Cajun Set – Libby Larsen  – Gringalet • French Blues • Joe Ferail (Whoop and Stomp)
Tango en Skaï – Roland Dyens, trio arr. Dyens

Musicians: guitarist Aaron Larget-Caplan, violist Michelle LaCourse,
violinist Heidi Braun-Hill and cellist Hyun-Ji Kwon.

Time: 4pm
Location: St. Mary’s Church, at 14 Cushing Ave. Boston, MA, 02125
Admission: $15 suggested donation, Students Free
Information: https://www.convergenceensemble.org/

I’m very excited to be heading to Southern California for 12 days of concerts, classes, good food, and great friends. I will have CDs and publications with me 😊. I will be traveling quite a bit, so reach out if you’d like to meet for coffee or have questions about the concerts.

Aaron

Wednesday, Nov. 3 – Pomona College, Claremont – Originally scheduled for March 2020
Class – Time in contemporary music
Lecture ‘Being an Artist Entrepreneur in the 21st Century’

Saturday Nov. 5 – Pomona College, Concert 8pm (click for INFO)
Looking Bach, Listening Forward
Mabel Shaw Bridges Hall of Music

PROGRAM
sweet nuance (2022) by Larget-Caplan
Carnatic Preludes, After J.S. Bach* (2017-2018) by Vineet Shende
No. 1 – Mayamalagovla, in Tisra jaati, Rupaka taal (after BWV 846) – VIDEO
No. 10 – Dhenuka, in Chaturasra jaati, Matya taal (after BWV 853)Chromatic Fantasy*, BWV 903 by J.S. Bach
The Legend of Hagoromo (1992) by Keigo Fujii
Steps and Leaps* (2019) for Guitar + MAX/MSP by Tom Flaherty –VIDEO
Bacchanale* (1940) by John Cage (1912-1992) w/ Buzz Gravelle, Prepared Guitars
* Written for or arranged by Aaron Larget-Caplan

Mabel Shaw Bridges Hall of Music – MAP – HERE

Nov. 7 – Athenaeum Music and Arts Library, La Jolla, Concert 12pm (click for INFO)
MAP – HERE

PROGRAM
Tango en Skaï by Roland Dyens
sweet nuance by Larget-Caplan
God’s Time Is The Very Best Time*, BWV 106 by J.S. Bach
Prelude 1 in C Major, WTC I*, BWV 846 by J.S. Bach – VIDEO
Carnatic Preludes, After J.S. Bach* by Vineet Shende
No. 1 – Mayamalagovla, in Tisra jaati, Rupaka taal (after BWV 846)
moving still by Larget-Caplan
Over the Rainbow by Harold Arlen, Arr. Toru Takemitsu
Summer Time by George Gerswhin, Arr. Toru Takemitsu – VIDEO
Panaderos Flamencos by Esteban Sanlucar
The Legend of Hagoromo by Keigo Fujii – VIDEO
* Arranged or written for by Aaron Larget-Caplan

Nov. 9 – UCLA, Masterclass and Arts Discussion with students of Peter Yates

Nov. 12 – Schulman Auditorium, Carlsbad, Concert 7:30pm (click for INFO)

PROGRAM
Prelude 1 in C Major, WTC I*, BWV 846 by J.S. Bach
sweet nuance (2022) by Larget-Caplan
Carnatic Prelude, After J.S. Bach* (2017) by Vineet Shende
No. 1 – Mayamalagovla, in Tisra jaati, Rupaka taal (after BWV 846)
God’s Time is the Very Best Time*, BWV 106 by J.S. Bach
In A Landscape* by John Cage
Chromatic Fantasy*, BWV 903 by J.S. Bach
The Legend of Hagoromo (1992) by Keigo Fujii
* Written for or arranged by Aaron Larget-Caplan

Schulman Auditorium, MAP – HERE

After being asked what repertoire I was performing this fall, it became apparent that I needed to make a list. Some of these works are being repeated on multiple concerts, others presented by Now Musique series, many New Lullaby Project solos, and others are part of a tour in Southern California in November. I know there will be more, and I left off few encores and pieces I have’t quite committed to, but I’ll try to update. Many of the pieces are recorded or on youtube.

Did I forget anyone? If there is something you’d like to hear, leave a comment.

Repertoire Fall 2022

Roland Dyens – Tango en Skaï (1992)
Larget-Caplan – moving still (2021)
J.S. Bach – Prelude in C-major, WTC Bk 1 N. 1, BWV 846
Bach – A Small Prelude and Little Fugue BWV 926 & 961
Bach – God’s Time Is The Very Best Time, BWV 106
Tom Nazziola – Lull-a-by-the-sea (2021)
Dean Rosenthal – Sewing Piece (2021)
John Cage ­– In A Landscape* (1948)
Keigo Fujii – Legend of Hagoromo (1992)
John Johnstone – Blue Lullaby (2015)
Bach – Two small Preludes, BWV 924 & 930
Larget-Caplan – minding play (2022)
Ronald Pearl – Berceuse Inquiète (2021)
Brian Schober – Winter Lullaby (2021)
Scott Wheeler – Nachtlied (2009)
Lainie Fefferman – Carousel (2020)
Tom Flaherty – Steps & Leaps (2019)
Ian Wiese – Midnight Train (2021)
Gregory Biss – Lullaby (after Schumann) (2015)
Stefanie Lubkowski – Drifting (2018)
Dennis Bathory-Kitsz – Lullaby For Justin* (2022)
Larget-Caplan – TBA
Laurie Spiegel – Remembering (2020)
Anthony Green – Counting Backwards (2020)
Jim Dalton – World of Your Own (2012)
Michael Veloso – Little Dancer (2010)
Cutis Hughes – Lullibule (2020)
Francine Trester – Assortment!
Gershwin/Takemitsu – Summertime
Arlen/Takemitsu – Over the Rainbow
Larget-Caplan – sweet nuance (2022)
Bach – Chromatic Fantasy, BWV 903
Cage – Bacchanale (prepared guitar duo)
Vineet Shende – Carnatic Preludes, After J.S. Bach (2017, 2019)
Libby Larsen – Cajun Set (Quartet)
Thomas L. Read – Concert Champêtre (cello-guitar) (2013)
Antonio Celso Ribeiro – 3 Vintage Portraits (viola-guitar) (2018)
John Cage – Six Melodies (violin-guitar)
Ian Wiese – Seeketh Not His Own (2017)

*world premiere

I’m super excited to be getting back on the road for the first 2020.

3/30 – Class & Masterclass, SF State University, San Francisco
4/1 – Concert, Museum of Northern California Art, Chico
4/2 – Concert, South Bay Guitar Society, San Jose
4/3 – Masterclass, South Bay Guitar Society, San Jose
4/3 – Concert, Center for New Music, San Francisco
4/5-7 – Artist Residency with two concerts, CSU Bakersfield
4/8 – Classes, Cal Poly Pomona University, Pomona
4/10 – Video Shoot, Guitar Salon International (GSI)
4/11 – Guest Artist Performance for the Encinitas Guitar Orchestra
* individual information can be found at the links above or on my calendar: alcguitar.com/calendar

Programs*:
A mix of new Bach keyboard arrangements, popular songs by Gershwin and Arlen, solos by John Cage and from the New Lullaby Project by Antonio Celso Ribeiro, Laurie Spiegel, Ian Wiese, Brian Schober, Ken Ueno, Antony R. Green, and Stepan Rak, the Legend of Hagoromo by Keigo Fujii, new works for guitar+electronics by Tom Flaherty, Lainie Fefferman, and Lou Bunk, and my own original compositions from ‘honey cadence’. Lots and lots of music!

Concerts are still being announced so check back in for more!

*Concert programs vary by venue.

The Music of John Cage by James Pritchett

The first biography of John Cage!
I read this book in early 2012 as I was starting my journey of arranging Cage’s Six Melodies for violin and guitar. Though many of the ideas were quite new to me, I found the writing accessible and the ideas exhilarating. Many of the concerts I had experienced as a student at the New England Conservatory made much more sense!

Book: https://amzn.to/3B5tsL8 • ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

From Amazon: James Pritchett describes just what it was Cage did and why and how he did it. The book is centered around extensive descriptions of the most important works and compositional techniques, including in-depth explanations of the role of chance and indeterminacy in Cage’s music. Dr Pritchett also considers the relationship of Cage’s musical thought to his interests in such diverse subjects as Eastern philosophy and religion, Marshall McLuhan, and anarchism (among many others). This book thus makes the essential introduction to Cage’s musical world.

• Listen to the Podcast ALL THINGS CAGE: Conversation about John Cage. hosted by John Cage Trust director Laura Kuhn. In these episodes Kuhn interviews author James Pritchett.

March 6, 2021 https://wavefarm.org/radio/wgxc/schedule/rrv64j
March 8, 2021 https://wavefarm.org/radio/wgxc/schedule/4ptxqx

*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.