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Bach, the
Master of Counterpoint and Silvius L. Weiss
And some of
their rare & beautiful
music arranged for the Classical Guitar
We are a
family driven business, where I do most of the work.
This entails creation, engraving, editing, guitar engineering,
formatting, compiling, writings concerning notes, editorial content,
layouts, graphic creation, manufacturing, supply ordering, binding,
marketing, order fulfillment, shipping, packing, email contact, web
administration and management, and just about anything else you can
think of regarding a business of this sort. We are 4 employees
and 2 cats. The cats are the most useful. They provide
entertainment among other value. Beauty Cat (grey) and Crazy
Cat (white):
 
Other than that, here are our 2 most valuable employees:
DD and SamSam - my babies
Of course, we must introduce our least valuable employee:
A few people wanted to know what I looked like. I feel bad
for them now.
On to better looking people including my lovely wife:
Other interests of mine are writing, golf, chess, building and
construction, and chasing my girls around the property.
For a unique and detailed look at my latest building
project...click
Outdoor Grill Project.
Another unique and massive project started on July 21,
2007....click Pool Deck Project.
Savage Classical Guitar
Notes concerning the
unique books & collections
Always one to get right to it, there are
some common themes associated with Bach's
Complete 15 Two Part Keyboard Inventions for Solo Classical
Guitar:
1. First of all, all of the music is very
faithful to the original scores. The most astounding aspect of the
pieces is that once you begin to play them you are immediately
struck with how much they are pieces of music for the guitar. They
were specifically written and arranged to be played fluidly on the
guitar. They are NOT simple keyboard or piano transcriptions.
Every possible thought was given to the solo performance of the music.
2. I did this without making
them impossible to play by using plain common & musical sense, born
of decades of playing the classical and flamenco guitar, studying,
teaching, & applying music, theory and its practical applications.
I trust that you will appreciate the commonsensical suggestions
regarding the detailed work with respect to the markings, fingering
and positions. They simply play wonderfully.
3. Lastly, I could
not be nervous about changing the original keys of a few of the
pieces to enhance their playability on the Guitar. This might
go back to the common sense part of it all; regardless, the guitar
does have certain limitations and these key changes allow the pieces
to be played flawlessly. It is an amazing experience to play
or hear these pieces on the guitar. I must add that this collection makes
for an awesome recital and/or performance. This entire
discussion certainly applies to the Well Tempered Clavier
Solo Guitar collection as well.
In all, your own playing abilities will
bring these pieces to life. Your perseverance, practice and hard
work will ultimately be rewarded with some of the most beautiful,
unusual, and rarest pieces of music you will ever find for the
classical/baroque guitar.
The books are printed
using the identical paper I was using earlier, which is the heavy
Hammermill©
67 lb. cover stock. I am eventually switching to a white paper for the
printed music. The bindings of the books are being done in
comb (GBC-type Cerlox) binding, which will allow for easy opening and staying
immediately flat on your music stand. The covers of the books
are very straightforward, much like you will see on the attached web
pages and will be printed using a 90 or 110 lb. cover stock also by Hammermill
and the covers are laminated, front and back. In all, these books should withstand the test of
time as will the pages within, and this was always the point.
I will also have library editions done of the Inventions and the
Well Tempered Collections. These will be signed, black leather
bound hand-sewn editions that will make an extraordinary addition to
anyone's library. Prices have yet to be figured but they will
be very expensive if I understood the publishers correctly (I did
understand them). Sorry.
♫
I am grateful that I was able to find solutions
to these pieces for guitar.
All of the music that I transcribe for guitar is given every thought
to the actual performance. They all play wonderfully and I am
certain that you will absolutely love these pieces. Hopefully you will
experience a bit of discovery, and also be a bit amazed at Bach's
enduring genius along the way ( by the way, I do not use this word
frequently, except to describe my friend Rich Fernandez, who is of course, a
"super genius", a la Wiley Coyote :-).
Saying this, I must clearly state that it is
my task, and that of my company, to continually attempt to offer exclusive
pieces of classical guitar music that are previously unpublished.
This is and will continue to be our trademark. Our other and
vitally important signature shall be to do honor to Bach's musical
talent and to his memory. Frankly, I am unconcerned with how trite
that may sound. My vast experience with the great man's work does
greater justice to the former statement than I could elicit in the
few words I have at my disposal. When I do publish other works that
have been seen before, it is because I believe that there is
room for improvement. There will be very little of this simply
because I am choosing to focus on the former. I must add that I
find it an incredible and fulfilling personal experience to offer
classical guitarists all over the world the opportunity to play
these never-seen-before transcriptions. The emails and letters I
have received are overwhelming and motivate me to further my already
extensive library of Bach classical guitar music.
I have also chosen to publish my versions of
Bach's Complete Cello Suites for Classical Guitar and the Cello Suite
Preludes. This goes to the earlier discussion. It is also because
I adore these pieces of music and wish to honor Bach with my time on
his work for Cello. Cello Suite #1 and Cello Suite #2 are
complete and are now available via eBay and our website.
Simply, they are the best sounding versions I think you will ever
find. It is my
feeling that these are or will become the definitive versions of the
Cello Suites. The
feedback, from classical guitarists around the world, regarding
these pieces is quickly affirming the former statement. They are
the only previously published pieces that I will publish, at
least in the foreseeable future. I have other pieces from the
assorted Suites 3 thru 6 but am only offering the Preludes.
You might ask, why not Prelude #5. Well, I fixed that little
(big?) hole in the book just recently. Truth is, one of my
former teachers, Jerry Willard, has done a highly regarded version of the Lute Suites of Bach, of which
Cello Suite #5 is part. His transcriptions left very little
room for improvement, if any, as a whole regarding the entire Suite.
This is the version that John Williams plays on his famous Bach Lute
Suite recordings. As you might guess, I
highly recommend Mr. Willard's Lute Suites, considering them the
definitive source. And not because of anything else other than
that is the blatant truth. My interpretation of Cello Suite V
is very different, especially the Prelude, which is why, after a new
look at the piece, I decided to add it, completing the Cello Suite
Prelude collection. In doing so, I catered to the rhythmic and
harmonic essence of Bach's treatment, utilizing his own standards
within my harmonic additions. I am very happy with the end
result, which is very easy to play and sounds absolutely terrific.
Then again, I'm a good player and I got a lot of really cool
guitars! haha...me so funny :-)
Now that I have also
formally published my company's exclusive Collections of Bach's Two Part
Inventions for Solo Guitar, I have also begun to publish and
copyright solo selections from the Well Tempered
Clavier. These are unbelievable pieces of transformed guitar music.
Book 1A, which comprises Prelude and Fugues #1 through 8 is now
complete and available. Fugues #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, and #8 and #13, as well as all of the Preludes from the First Book are simply astounding.
If and when you play them, I am absolutely certain that you will
concur. It continually amazes me that they are completed, and
that they play so well. It is a humble statement because it is
true. There are days that I am simply astounded at what has
been accomplished. Please do not misunderstand me, these are representative
of some of the
most difficult transcriptions work I have ever done, along with the
Invention works. They are
also advanced pieces, requiring studious effort and practice, but
mark my word, they play. There are more pieces from the Book
coming, and very soon.
I had forgotten about my
transcriptions of Bach's Violin Concertos. Luckily I found
them. I am processing them a little bit at a time. Right
now, I'm working on solo works regarding the Andante from the A Minor
& the Adagio from the E Major. This one, well
really all of them, are unbelievable scores. I mean the
originals and the transcriptions. The music is extraordinary.
I put the Concertos on in the background and flail away at the fret
board and strings with zero inhibition. I have to tell you, this is exhilarating, a
lot of fun, and an extremely self-satisfying experience. Heck
of a warm-up, too, if I say so myself. I guarantee you, this
will be the most fun you've had on your guitar in a long time.
I have every intention of publishing the Double Concerto in D Minor.
A very difficult transcription, attempting one guitar to play the
main thematic ideas behind the dual roles of the solo violins.
The transcription for the two violins is comparatively easier and
will also be published.
Now I've begun serious work on
the Lute Music of Silvius Leopold Weiss. This is some of the
most enjoyable and accessible music for the Classical Guitar.
Yes, the music is originally for Lute, and I make no comparison of
the two instruments. All I'm saying is that on their own
ground, regarding their slight transformation to the guitar, they
sound and play fantastic. We've just released
Lute Sonata IV from the London MS as well as Sonata II from the
same. I also enjoyed Sonata XVII from the Dresden, and I've
laid out a few months
of work focusing on further complete Weiss Sonatas. I'm going to
take a slight break from my Bach work for the time being, except for
recording. As of 2007, we have 12 Weiss publications.
Weiss is nice! :-)
I am also working on
myriad "student" editions, focusing on duet and trio classical
guitar work based on the music of Bach. These are editions
that should be in everyone's library, whether at school or home.
The first of these editions will be Bach's Three Part Inventions or
Sinfonia. This book should be ready by Christmas of 2004.
Well, as an added
footnote to the above discussion, it took me an additional year to
finish the versions for Duet and Trio. They have been
available since late 2005. It was that difficult.
As of 2007, I've begun
work on a Book of Selections from Bach's Violin Sonatas and
Partitas. This will be an extremely entertaining edition, as
it will contain what I believe to be the most playable and "fun to
play" pieces from the 6 collections.
I've also begun work on
a Celtic Classical Guitar publication, featuring my favorite pieces
from a beautiful repertoire.
As I said earlier, I am
extremely pleased to offer all of these extraordinary pieces and
collections to you.
As a result of the completed work behind me, I am able to spend more
time re-working and formally publishing my other pieces and
collections from Bach. In the meantime, there were 6
publishing houses that were in the process of reviewing their offers
for the Book of Two Part Inventions for mass publication.
Regardless of the high acceptance rate by these houses, I have
finally made a decision on which one will exclusively offer this
collection. CF Peters, one of the most respected publishers in the
industry will have the opportunity to publish the rest of my work
and those upcoming. I am very excited by this prospect as I
believe they are too. This will allow me further time to
continue working the music, editing, engraving, etc. and the further
collections I hope to offer all of you in the very near future.
Of course, I have been fortunate enough to have
been playing all of these pieces and the 200+ others from Bach that I've
transcribed for the last 15 or so years. May you have more
time than that with which to enjoy them.
I also want to point out that I transcribed
the majority of this work in the 1980's and 1990's by hand. My
task, now and of late, is to edit them further (I like to think that
I'm better at it now than before), formally engrave and print them so that you
can read them. There are 300+ pieces to go, and it is a daunting
endeavor. My work also continues on further collections by the
master. I trust he is smiling upon me (at least I hope so) for
doing all of this work? There are days, though, when I play so
poorly, that I feel as if the last thing he's doing is smiling. My
buddy jokes, "My muuuussssicccc, what are you doing to my muuuusssssiiiiiiccccc"
(use a real bad German accent when saying this). Comical. We've all had
those days. May they be few and far between for you.
In 2008, we officially
started a classical guitar dealership,
focusing on mid to high end instruments, equipment and now
classical guitar repair
and servicing, along with bowed and stringed instruments and
pianos. The Repair part of the business is in association with
Larry Macri of Macri Music, one of the finest luthiers and repair
guys I've ever had the pleasure of meeting.
My many thanks to Richard Fernandez for his
help and his counsel on many related issues to the business of and
the transcriptions of Bach's music that I offer to all of you.
I
also wish to acknowledge the talented webmaster of
www.froogles.com ,
Richard Wolfe, for his incredible help with web design, pc and
network setups, and his good common sense. These are both very
close friends and I love them dearly.
My buddy, Steven Schram,
an absolutely great guitarist on many levels, has also been
extremely helpful to me over these last few years, educating me on
quality guitars and fine tuning my eyes to the guitar side and the
business side of this difficult but rewarding endeavor.
My wife Valerie, has not always understood me, but what man could not
say that to some degree. Regardless, she has dealt with me and my
ever-present manic state, and has supported these efforts with her care
for me, our home and our children. I wouldn't even know where or how
to start thank her for giving me the room, time, space and leeway to
make all of this happen. I am indebted to her for all of
the above and for assisting me in our business efforts. She keeps it
all together and she's way cool! :-)
Florence Jones requires
my deepest thanks for her tireless ear and her thoughtful assistance
with so many issues related to music and otherwise. She is a
great friend and a lovely woman in all respects. I must
highlight Sy Shaffer among many professors over the decades.
He taught
me everything he knew about music, theory, orchestration &
conducting, including the teachings of Bela Bartok, Pierre Montieux, and Tibor Serly, among others. Mr. Jerry Willard
requires my regards for his definitive Bach Lute
Works and his always-present kindness when I was a student.
The Lute Works told me that there was more to Bach where the guitar
was concerned while he displayed to me a higher level of playing. They are both always in my thoughts at some
part of my day. I am indebted to them
both for their work, guidance, patience and superior instruction.
Thank you across the board to many people,
whom, over time, have leant me valuable assistance and guidance, in one or
many ways while I have learned the myriad aspects of this business,
including El McMeen, Jim Ivler, John Martin, William Jennings (Doc), Sarn
Dyer, Arthur Ness, Alain Reiher, Jeff Carter, Dan McIntee, Matanya Ophee, and Angelo
Gilardino.
Of course, great
thanks go to both Masters, Bach and Weiss. Without them and
their incredible musical insight, I could not offer
you anything except my advice: Play often and play well.
Buy a superior guitar. Money is not always the definition of
superior. Breathe. Don't press too hard. Position
is everything. Knowing and feeling the music, intimacy with its inherent expression, is
everything else.
With my sincerest regards and deepest thanks
for your attention. Your letters of appreciation and your kind
feedback have been most gratifying.
Richard F. Sayage - Long Island, NY
Savage Classical Guitar
- Editions, Guitars, and Luthier Services
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