10 Songs

In the early 1960s the Venezuelan guitarist, Alirio Diaz, suggested to Duarte that, because the existing arrangements of Schubert lieder for voice and guitar were so poor, he should make some new arrangements. 20 songs were initially arranged, from 1966 onwards, and only nine of them were published by Edizioni Musicali Bèrben in 1973.

The songs in the present volume selected themselves for their vocal range and only one song, “Der Schatzgräber” D 256, had to be excluded. I am very grateful to Amanda Cook who took on the task of adding fingerings to most of these 55-year old arrangements. There is a small ossia part in “Freude der Kinderjahre”, a vocal ossia in “Tischlied” and also one or two places where chord progressions have been changed for easier performance.

Transpositions from the original keys are noted in the musical text and dynamics have been inserted where they can be corroborated. I have refrained from including an English, or any other language, translation. Singers and guitarists will have their own resources and knowledge for translating the meaning of the texts into their own language, an essential tool for the interpretation of these wonderful songs. (Christopher Duarte)