Valle&Vitis Duo with Andrea De Vitis (guitar) and Simone Vallerotonda (archlute) perform Preludio – Balletto by Manuel Ponce (1882-1948), arranged by Valle&Vitis Duo. This comes via the Omni Foundation online series and their Youtube channel. The Preludio is originally for solo guitar and later arranged by the compsoer for guitar and harpsichord. The Balletto was for solo guitar. Great to hear the guitar and archlute combination here with excellent musical playing by Vitis and Vallerotonda. With both works being ‘in the style of Weiss’, that is, the Baroque lutenist Sylvius Leopold Weiss (1686–1750), this makes for an interesting project and the sound is lovely.
The Preludio was first composed by Manuel Ponce in 1931 as a solo guitar work, part of a series of pieces in the Baroque style “ideally inspired” to the lutenist Sylvius Leopold Weiss and often attributed by Segovia to him. In 1936 Ponce arranged the piece for guitar and harpsichord as a wedding gift on the occasion of Segovia’s marriage with the Catalan pianist Paquita Madriguera.
For us, this version for guitar & archlute is a way to bring this piece back to its original inspiration and to create a new sound between ancient echoes and modernity. It is our attempt to find a convincing interpretation to this particular music, written in the 20th century but in a strong poetical connection with the ancient world.
