Lua para o Epilogo de Verão (Août)

August nights can be tinged with a bit of melancholy because the end of the summer approaches. The moon softly glows with nostalgia for a season passing us by. This mood seems to me folded into the Brazilian Bossa Nova, and the Brazilians’ term ‘saudade’; in this piece I offer up my tribute to one of my favourite composers, Radamés Gnattali (1906-1988), who wrote for every musical situation in his era in Brazil – from the concert stage to the back alley, and everything in between. Lua para Epilogo de Verão, is dedicated to the Brazilian guitarist Fabio Zanon, who is both a great friend and a tremendous inspiration.

This étude tackles solid chords and contrary motion in the left hand, and, like all the études in this collection, voice separation and phrasing. In measure 24 the guitarist must execute a diagonal barré, where the first finger covers position IV at the first string, and position V at the fifth string, hence the V/IV indication after the barré symbol. The practicalities of navigating through the different chord shapes and rhythms in the piece mean that not all notes can be held for their full, written value. Such discrepancies between the text and the playing are common in this style of music.