Fantasia
Alonso de Mudarra
This remarkable Fantasia, subtitled que contrahaze la Harpa en la Manera de Ludovico, was composed by Alonso de Mudarra (ca.1510 - 1580).
Together with vihuelistas like Luis Milan en Luys de Narváez, De Mudarra was responsible for the innovation of Spanish vocal and instrumental music in the Renaissance era. Much of his work has survived in his collection Tres libros de música en cifra para vihuela which he published in 1546 in Seville.
In Mudarra's time, the Fantasia was a free musical form in which the composer could explore the boundaries of the acceptable. This Fantasia was inspired by the play of the harpist Ludovico, a genious player form his days who could play the harp with astounding effects.
The second part of the piece is specifically peculiar: it has such a modern sound because of its dissonants and rythm, that you would think it was a piece by for instance Brouwer.
The Fantasia is not particularly easy to play, but it is worth the effort to dive into the sound and architecture of the piece.
This piece requires tuning of the G string to F#. If you use a capotasto on the second fret, you'll get an imitation of the sound of a vihuela.