Ballade Circassienne
Alfred Cottin
This is a romantic piece by Alfred Cottin (1863 -1923) who lived and worked in Paris. He was a student of the Catalan Jaime Bosch and had a musical school in Paris. Many pieces of his moderate oeuvre were dedicated to his students.
Cottin was a friend of Francisco Tarrega, the one the latter dedicated his world-famous Recuerdos de la Alhambra to: "Hommage à l'eminent artiste Alfred Cottin".
The Ballade Circassienne has the Russian atmosphere that we could hear in Balalayka too. The name suggestsb that the melody comes from Circassia, a region in the southern Caucasus.
In this piece the D-string is extensively used to play the melody.