Dowland: Fantasia No.7

Guitarist Tariq Harb performs Barrios' famous Vals No.3, Op.8
Guitar: Otto Vowinkel (1996)

Agustín Barrios - Vals No.3, Op.8

Guitarist Tariq Harb plays the cadenza found in the famous 2nd movement of Joaquín Rodrigo's "Concierto de Aranjuez". Enjoy! 

Concierto de Aranjuez: 2nd Movement - Cadenza

Guitarist Tariq Harb performs J.S. Bach's monumental Toccata and Fugue, BWV 565. This is an adaptation for solo guitar by Edson Lopes. 

The Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, BWV 565, is a musical composition in two parts for organ, written sometime between 1708 and 1750 by Johann Sebastian Bach, and known for its majestic sound, dramatic authority, and driving rhythm. The piece is perhaps most widely known due to its appearance in the opening minutes of the 1940 Disney cult classic Fantasia, in which it was adapted for orchestra by the conductor Leopold Stokowski. It also has a strong association in Western culture with horror films; it was included in films such as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931), The Black Cat (1934) and The Phantom of the Opera (1962). 

The first part of Bach’s piece is a toccata, the name of which is derived from the Italian toccare, “to touch.” It represents a musical form for keyboard instruments that is designed to reveal the virtuosity of the performer’s touch. Bach’s take on the toccata is typical in that it has many fast arpeggios and runs up and down the keyboard but otherwise is generally free form and gives the composer much latitude for personal expression. In Bach’s day, toccatas often served as introductions to and foils for fugues, setting the stage for the complex and intricate composition to follow.

The fugue — a technique characterized by the overlapping repetition of a principal theme in different melodic lines (counterpoint) — that is the second part of Bach’s composition reflects the particular popularity of the form during the late 1600s and early 1700s. Bach made much use of the fugue in his compositions, most famously in solo organ pieces such as this one but also in instrumental works and choral cantatas. This particular fugue is quite unusual in its form; it is a plagal fugue using plagal cadences as opposed to the authentic cadences that Bach usually employs. It also does not introduce the subject in all the voices one after the other in the beginning of the fugue. Instead, Bach slips in sequences in between the announcements of the subjects which is again quite unusual for a Baroque fugue. The fugue, with its accompanying toccata, is not only the best known of Bach’s many fugues but the most famous of fugues by any composer.

Bach: Toccata and Fugue, BWV 565

Guitarist Tariq Harb plays Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco's Capriccio Diabolico "Omaggio a Paganini", Op.85. 
One of my absolute favourite pieces in the repertoire is this majestic caprice and homage by Tedesco.  Composed in 1935, Castelnuovo-Tedesco dedicated it to the Spanish master Andrés Segovia. Segovia commissioned the work as a tribute to the romantic virtuoso Niccolò Paganini. Castelnuovo-Tedesco did not try to reproduce the style of Paganini in the piece but rather gave shape to a 'pastiche musical' where the element of technical virtuosity is one of the protagonists. The dedicatee made heavy revisions on the composition (including the addition of a beautiful quote at the very end from Paganini's 'La Campanella') and premiered it including these revisions which, despite the strong association that linked the two personalities, did not please the composer [1], and this led to a brief cooling of their relationship [2]. Nevertheless, this performance largely showcases Segovia's edition which was republished in 1967 by Ricordi. 

The original version of the composition with a revision entirely based on the original manuscript was also republished in 2001 by Bèrben.

To better understand Niccolò Paganini's musical effect on both the public and his contemporaries in his time, I invite you to watch this very interesting Christopher Nupen documentary entitled "Paganini's Daemon, A Most Enduring Legend": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRnA2IT1V8w

Tedesco: Capriccio Diabolico, Op.85

After winning both the First Prize and the Audience Choice Award in the Barrios WorldWideWeb Competition, the First Prize in the Montreal International Classical Guitar Competition, and the 'Governor of Tokyo' prize in the Tokyo International Classical Guitar Competition, Tariq Harb quickly established himself as one of the leading classical guitarists of his generation. "In record time, Tariq Harb's masterful command of melody and emotion shot him into the upper ranks of classical guitarists." (TED Global) His playing demonstrates "not just his flawless technique but also his refined taste and a great, innate sense for truly beautiful interpretation." (The Jordan Times) Chosen as CBC Radio's NEXT! guitarist in 2013, he was celebrated as "Canada's next classical guitar superstar” (CBC Music) and was showcased performing at the Glenn Gould studios in Canada, which helped further propel his career worldwide.

Harb's past concert appearances in North America, Europe, South America, Africa, and Asia, are highlighted by performances in prestigious halls such as the 2000 year-old Roman Amphitheatre in Jordan, the Bunka Kaikan concert hall in Tokyo, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Edinburgh's International Conference Centre for TEDGlobal in the UK, the Cairo Opera House, and Carnegie Hall in New York. Moreover, Harb performed and gave masterclasses in guitar festivals including the Sauble Beach Guitar Festival, Guitare Montréal Festival and Competition, and the Guitar Foundation of America Convention and Competition.

Tariq Harb has four solo albums in his name to date: From Bach to Barrios, A Guitar Through the Eras, Harb Plays Sor Studies and Copla. To compliment his Harb Plays Sor Studies album, Harb released a DVD comprising video performances and educational material on all the twenty Sor/Segovia studies. He also has two publications: The Unlimited Guitar; which proposes a method to adapting music for the instrument, and his own edition of Matteo Carcassi's 25 Melodic and Progressive Studies, op. 60. An educational DVD and CD recording will be released in the Spring of 2020 to compliment his Carcassi studies edition. He is a composer as well and has composed several works for solo guitar, including a five-movement Suite titled "Spirit."

A Jordanian-Canadian with Palestinian roots, Harb moved to Canada to commence university studies. At age 25, after quitting his initial career in finance and starting a performance career in music, he diligently studied the guitar with Roddy Ellias, Patrick Kearney, Jerome Ducharme, Dr. Garry Antonio and Dr. Jeffrey McFadden, and the violin with Clemens Merkel of the Bozzini Quartet and Claude Gelineau. He also participated in numerous masterclasses, including ones run by Jason Vieaux, Pavel Steidl, Rémi Boucher, and Manuel Barrueco. Harb currently holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Toronto, a Masters in Performance degree from McGill University, and Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Commerce degrees from Concordia University. He joined Concordia University's Music Department as a faculty member in Fall 2015. Tariq Harb is sponsored by Hill Guitar Company, Savarez, and LaBella Strings.

Tariq Harb

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