Type: SHEET

(Song of Songs, chapter VII — )

for Voice and Guitar

6 pp. $8.95. Presser Order number 494-02729 (DTMO-9)

The composer says: A substantial part of my music is based on free-flowing, melismatic vocal polyphony; I do not know where this language exactly comes from, but it has developed through the years into a very concrete musical world. My rendition of Shuvi, Shuvi Hashulamite from Solomon’s Canticle of Canticles certainly partakes of that world. Ever since I first read this extraordinary poetry, I’ve been struck by its intrinsic beauty and passion. Allegorical interpretations and cantorial traditional performances notwithstanding, I have chosen the very spirit of the poetry to be the guiding force in creating the composition. Although I have some rudimentary knowledge of the language, I had to pay special attention to the idiosyncrasies of the Biblical Hebrew. I would therefore like to thank my friend Nadav Eldar for his initial clarification of the text—as well as Joseph Urshalmi for his help. Finally, I am especially grateful to Matanya Ophee for his willingness to undertake the publishing of the song with so much enthusiasm, expertise and care.

Dusan Bogdanovic was born in Yugoslavia in 1955. He completed his studies of composition and orchestration at the Geneva Conservatory with P. Wissmer and A. Ginastera and in guitar performance with M. L. Sao Marcos. Early in his career, he received the only First Prize at the Geneva Competition and gave a highly acclaimed debut recital in Carnegie Hall in 1977. He has taught at the Geneva Conservatory and the University of Southern California and is presently engaged by the San Francisco Conservatory. His theoretical work for guitar, at Berbčn Editions, includes Polyrhythmic and Polymetric Studies, as well as a bilingual publication covering three-voice counterpoint and Renaissance improvisation with a structural analysis of motivic metamorphoses in composition and improvisation. A richly gifted composer, improviser and guitarist, Dusan Bogdanovic has explored musical languages that are reflected in his style today—a unique synthesis of classical, jazz and ethnic music. As a soloist and in collaboration with other artists, Bogdanovic´ has toured extensively throughout Europe, Asia and the United States. His performing and recording activities include work with chamber groups of diverse stylistic orientations including The Falla Guitar Trio and jazz collaborations with James Newton, Milcho Leviev, Charlie Haden, Miroslav Tadic, Mark Nauseef, Anthony Cox and others. He has over fifty published compositions ranging from guitar and piano solo works to chamber and orchestral ensembles (Berbčn, GSP, Doberman-Yppan, Editions Orphée et al.), as well as close to twenty recordings ranging from Bach Trio Sonatas to contemporary works (Intuition, GSP, Doberman-Yppan, M.A. Recordings et al.). Among his most recent commissions are a ballet- poeme Crow, premiered by the Pacific Dance Company at the Los Angeles Theater Center; Sevdalinka, written for the Newman- Oltman Guitar Duo with the Turtle Island Quartet, premiered at Merkin Hall, New York; Canticles, composed for the Gruber-Maklar duo; a mix media piece To Where Does The One Return for sixteen ceramic gongs in collaboration with sculptor Stephen Freedman, premiered in Hilo, Hawaii; Games, commissioned by the BluePrint Festival and dedicated to David Tanenbaum and Nicole Paiement; Byzantine Theme and Variations premiered by James Smith with the Armadillo String Quartet, as well as works written for pianist Fabio Luz and numerous solo guitar compositions written for Alvaro Pierri, David Starobin, William Kanengiser, Scott Tennant, Eduardo Isaac, James Smith and others.