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This one’s a bit different from most of the acoustic guitar videos I’ve been posting — a pure modern classical guitar piece by Cuban composer Leo Brouwer, beautifully performed by Michael Chapdelaine on a steel string guitar instead of a traditional gut string classical guitar.

“Harp of the Warrior”

This tune is from a suite of three pieces called the Black Decamaron, written by Cuban composer, Leo Brouwer.

It is an image of the classic mythological, aristocratic warrior, who is at once, a statesman, a lover and a father, a killer and an artist. We hear him here showing all those characteristics as he desperately plays his harp (that might be thought of, metaphorically, as his sword). We hear violence, and enlightenment, as well as a dynamic and wide range of feelings and vision of what life is to him. The first thing you may notice is that it is in an odd meter, 5/8. It gives the piece an incredible, somewhat asymmetrical smoothness (perpetual motion if you will), by which I’ve always been blown away. And it alternates between arpeggio which is there to give us tension, motion, and intensity, even violence, alternating with the same arpeggio, except with a very beautiful and sweet melody on top, showing the kind and loving side of this warrior. These arpeggio sections alternate with chordal sections where a somber, melancholic melody sings on top of the restless harmonies in the bottom. This represents regret and possible shame of the dirty work, making war and taking life, which our warrior has to do when he’s not being his peaceful and loving other selves.