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I began arranging arias for guitar after
accompanying vocalists who introduced me to opera music, and I found myself
falling in love with these beautiful melodies. While most of the selections
on this recording are solo songs from operas, several fall under a wider
definition of aria: an instrumental piece of song-like character.
In 1992, "0 Mio Babbino Caro" became my
first arrangement, inspired by my memory of Stuart Paine (a talented
guitarist and arranger from Washington, D.C.) performing his rendition
at a Christopher Parkening masterclass in 1980. I had studied mostly guitar
and keyboard literature, and these songs were new to me -- I was surprised
at how enthusiastically they were received. It seemed everyone knew these
tunes except me!
A tremendous body of beautiful music from
operas exists, and most guitarists (including myself) have yet to explore
it. I hope my efforts will entertain the opera-lover and introduce this
rich repertoire to a new audience. - James Edwards
©1995 James Edwards · All Rights Reserved
Cover illustration "The Box at the Opera" 1874, by August
Renoir
(1841-1919) Courtald Institute Galleries, London
Design: Jane Freeburg,
Companion Press
Thank you: Steve Trott, Ted Camp, Jane Freeburg.
Frances Mendez, Bill Scoble,
Jana Marchionda, Reid Alburger,
Stuart Paine, Roy and Carolyn Edwards,
and John O'Connor.
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