Joshua Seth Franklin

Cal Poly Pomona

4/30/16

Program Notes
Solo Classical Guitar
Platero Eduardo Sainz de la Maza (1905-1982)
Platero is one of eight movements from the suite Platero y Yo. The music is inspired by a
set of poems by the Nobel Prize-winning author Juan Ramn Jimnez, and depicts the life of a
Spanish donkey named Platero. Originally, the music was meant to be played while a narrator
read the poems.
Capricho rabe - Francisco Trrega (1852-1909)
Trrega is in many ways the father of the modern classical guitar. He came to prominence
at about the same time that Antonio de Torres began to master his craft as a luthier, bringing us
the classical guitar that we know today. This piece and Recuerdos de la Alhambra are his most
well-known compositions. Of all the pieces in this recital, this one has been with me the longest.
I have studied it thoroughly on paper, through recordings, and using my own ear and feelings.
In a lot of ways, it represents my growth as a musician more than any other.
Registro Antonio Lauro (1917-1986)
Registro acts as a prelude to Lauros four movement piece, Suite venezolana, which he
may have written while in prison for his belief in democracy during the rule of General Marcos
Prez Jimnez. Lauro loved his countrys musical heritage, and upon hearing a concert of valses
from the great Venezuelan pianist Evencio Castellanos, he set out to bring that same beauty to his
instrument.
Sonata Opus 61 Movement 1 Joaqun Turina (1882-1949)
Turina was trained mostly on piano and in composition, and most his compositions were
for the piano. However, at the time, Andrs Segovia was urging many of his composer friends to
write for the guitar. Turina responded with pieces reminiscent of Andalusia and the emergence of
the film industry. This piece in particular reflects the change in mood from one moment to the
next that is so standard in film.
Elgie - Johann Kaspar Mertz (1806-1856)
Mertz was one of the first guitar composers to abandon the style of Mozart and Haydn
and turn instead to the likes of Chopin and Schubert. The result is a highly romanticized music
which exploits the free use of time and expression. It is likely that some of this piece was
improvised by Mertz and may have been played differently every time.

Chamber Music with Electric Guitar

Joshua Seth Franklin

Cal Poly Pomona

4/30/16

Lheure exquise Music by Reynaldo Hahn (1874-1947)

Lyrics by Paul Verlaine (1844-1896)
Transcribed for Guitar and Voice by Chelsea Green
Featuring Katrin Gutierrez on Vocals
Lheure exquise acts as a bridge between the classical and more modern portions of this
program. Chelsea Green, in transcribing the accompaniment from piano to guitar, brought some
of her favorite music to her instrument, much as Lauro did with the Venezuelan valses he heard
on the piano.
Just Like Me Joshua Seth Franklin (b. 12/15/1989)
Featuring Sam Smiley as Producer
Alan Ruiz on Classical Guitar
Megan Dickinson on Vibraphone
Chris Hollis on Electric Bass
Rhyan Riesgo on Drums
When I first got into music, I, like many others, wanted to change the world and spread
wisdom to the masses. It struck me one day that all I had done since entering school for music
was write short instrumental ideas and songs that whine about love and the lack thereof. So I set
out to accomplish my initial goal, and this song resulted. The song reflects on the absurdity of
divisions between peoples. It points to our similarities, while the world around us focuses so
strongly on our differences.
The Days of Wine and Roses Music, Henry Mancini (1924-1994)
Lyrics, Johnny Mercer (1909-1976)
Featuring Camrie Lucey on Vocals
Kurt Sved on Electric Bass
Noah Zelezny on Drums
The Days of Wine and Roses was written in 1962 for a movie of the same name. It
received an Academy Award and was re-recorded by the likes of Andy Williams, Frank Sinatra,
Ella Fitzgerald, Joe Pass, and Wes Montgomery. In 2004 it was honored by the American Film
Institute, finishing at #39 in their survey of top American film tunes: "100 years 100 songs."

Joshua Seth Franklin

Cal Poly Pomona

4/30/16

My Way Lyrics by Paul Anka (b. 7/30/1941)

Chris Rubalcava, Vocals and Trumpet; Kurt Sved, Electric Bass; and Noah Zelezny, Drums
My Way is another jazz standard, and was popularized by Frank Sinatra. Paul Anka wrote
the lyrics and then set it to the music of a French song Comme dhabitude, which had nothing to
do with the English lyrics. In this version, we have chosen to do part of it in English and the
other in Spanish for no other reason than we thought it would be cool.
Sunny Bobby Hebb (1938-2010)
Featuring Teresa Lem on Bari Sax
John Bender on Keys
Kurt Sved on Electric Bass
Noah Zelezny on Drums
Sunny, one of the century's most performed and recorded popular songs, exists in
hundreds of versions released by a plethora of artists in wildly different styles. It fell in at #25 in
BMIs Top 100 Songs of the Century. Bobby Hebb wrote the song after a series of unfortunate
events in his life including the murder of his older brother Harold as a way to remind himself
to look at the good side of life, even in the face of so much pain.

Questions
Do I include myself in the Featuring section?
Should I put translations of lyrics/poems?

Translation of Lheure exquise from French to English

The white moon shines in the woods
From each branch comes a voice under the foliage
Oh, great love.
The pond reflects the black willow like a deep mirror where the wind cries
Lets dream, its the hour!
A vast and tender calm seems to descend from the sky the iridescent sun fills
Its the exquisite hour.

Joshua Seth Franklin

Cal Poly Pomona

4/30/16

Translation of Platero from Spanish to English

Platero is a small, hairy, soft donkey.
His fur is so soft one could say it is made of cotton, that he has no bones underneath.
Only the jet black reflection of his eyes is hard like two beetles made of black crystal.
When I set him loose and he goes to the prairie.
The roses and the flowers, so celestial and green; he warmly caresses them with his mouth,
barely touching them,
I call him very softly "Platero?"
And he comes to me, trotting so happily it almost seems as if he is laughing.
Of which I do not know a more ideal rattle
He eats as much as I give him.
He likes oranges, mandarins, muscat grapes - all amber colored - purple figs, and his crystalline
drops of honey
He is tender and affectionate as a little boy, as a little girl... but also strong and dry as a rock.
When I ride on him on Sunday's, through the last dirt roads of the town, the men of the field ,
dressed cleanly, very slowly and deliberately, they stay staring at him
He has steel...
He has steel and silver like the moon, both at the same time.

Joshua Seth Franklin

Art by Malo and the Whale

Cal Poly Pomona

4/30/16