ViolaTribe

I love the viola.  It is addicting, with so many things to get obsessed with.  Sometimes though, I am just a little tired of the darkness, the awkwardness, the inevitable melancholy.  A while back, I decided that what I needed was to find some uplifting viola music to practice.  I raided my violinist husband’s short pieces, ordered a few cello pieces and a couple of vocal songbooks.  I went to the music dungeon (the basement…I unfairly call it my husband’s) and pulled Milhaud’s Quatre Visage, Rebecca Clarke’s Sonata and Telemann’s Concerto in G.  Alas, I was still thirsty for something new to my ears.  Once I opened up the Granados Tonadillos, it did not take me long to decide that these lovely songs would transfer beautifully to the viola.  Despite my hope to find happy viola music, I came to understand that the reason they fit the viola so well was that there was underlying tension and melancholy in these songs of love and hate.  At times they do show good humor and joy and I take pleasure in their honesty.  They at times show the depth of leider and were among the first Spanish songs to incorporate piano instead of guitar. 

The new transcriptions are available on my website http://www.monisaangell.com. 

My recordings of these songs are available at CD Baby( soon to be available on i-tunes and amazon).