Chanson du Passeur
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".
This time we are going to make a little boat trip, because the title Chanson du Passeur translates as Ferryman's Song. There is a clear rowing movement in the piece with the open A and D basses. The water is not very rough, so play it with an easy going tempo. You have to tune the low E to D for this piece.