Arioso - Clar de lluna

Arioso. Based on the Prelude No. 5 in D by Johann Sebastian Bach, Josep Garcia Gago has developed a simple and lovely melodic theme using his extensive knowledge of Bach his work and of counterpoint; indeed, he taught this subject at the Higher Municipal Conservatory of Barcelona. Like Charles Gounod with his Ave Maria (1859), Josep Garcia Gago developed in this theme a melody with a highly melancholy air, designed so the player and the listener are swept away to their own inner worlds, yet still hearing the wonderful harmony that the brilliant Eisenach evinces with his melody and the simple bass accompaniment.
In a similar way to the previous piece, Arioso, which completes this album, Ludwig van Beethoven’s Clar de Lluna (Claire de Lune) is given the impressionist brushwork of Josep Garcia Gago by means of an instrumental melody in constant dialogue with the theme created by the right hand on the piano. The difference between that arioso and this one is undoubtedly the evocative dialogue between the two instruments under the attentive, if you will allow me, rhythmic supervision and observation of the left hand on the piano. This same hand, in the final exposition, will take on the leading role in response to the right hand, conducting the concluding dialogue with the other instrument.

Josep M. Garcia Plaja