Ponce's Variations for Guitar

Introduction

Due to Ponce's neoclassical tendencies, all three of his sets of variations are mainly based on the techniques of the
eighteenth-century sectional variation form: a theme is simply stated; a number of variations ensue, largely of the
melodic type with fixed harmony; and a fugue or a developmental finale provides a conclusive summing up. Like most
eighteenth-century variation sets, Ponce's variation sets are organized in a succession of self-contained variations
which do not normally have transitions between them. Although these works utilize similar approaches to formal
organization, they exemplify two separate stylistic stages in Ponce's career. Variations sur >>Folia de España<< et
Fugue and Thème varié et Finale, written during the 1920s, intermingle impressionistic and neoromantic techniques
in a virtuosic manner, and are strongly evocative of Hispanic folklore. Variaciones sobre un tema de Antonio de
Cabezón, written in 1948 during Ponce's final months of life, is emotionally and technically reserved, and is wholly
neoclassical in style.

Manuel Maria Ponce (1882-1948)

A short musical description and pertinent information concerning composition and publication will be included for
all items surveyed. Each work will be graded according to level of technical difficulty on a one to ten scale: 1-2: very
easy; 3-4: moderately easy; 5-6: moderately difficult; 7-8: difficult; and 9-10: very difficult. Musical examples are
based on the edition listed first under each composition. All works are dedicated to Andrés Segovia unless otherwise
noted.

Thème varié et finale. Edited by Andrés Segovia. Mainz: Schott, 1928.

Timing: 10'

Grade: 8

This set of variations was composed in Paris during 1926 and is one of Ponce's most often performed guitar solos. The
formal design consists of an original theme, six variations and a finale. Although most of the variations differ slightly
in length from the theme, all of them utilize the same formal structure of A A B. The theme, five of the variations and
the finale are built around the tonal center of E, probably to allow idiomatic use of the open strings. Moreover, with
the exception of Variation VI, in E major, and Variation III, in C major, this work is predominately in E minor modes
such as E aeolian and E dorian. Most of the variations follow the basic harmony of the theme and, to achieve contrast,
develop a particular rhythmic or melodic pattern. Although the title does not suggest nationalism, this work is highly
evocative of popular Latin American music. Impressionistic harmonies predominate in this work.
The theme, set in triple meter and predominantly in the modality of E aeolian, features a fragmented melodic
structure and serves mainly to provide a harmonic and formal basis for the variations. The harmonic progression is
typical of Latin American popular music; however, decorative dissonance is often utilized to create color. For
example, the harmonic progression of the first four measures is i ivø7 VII+ III7 (E aeolian):

Ex. 45. Thème varié et finale, Theme, p. 2, mm. 1-4

The altered harmonic tones, the appoggiaturas on the ivø7 and III7 chords and the ornaments create colorful yet
delicate tonal shadings.

The first variation, in 3/4 meter and marked Allegro appassionato, follows the basic harmony and melodic contour of
the theme. The variation technique is based on a repeated rhythmic figure played in block chords:

Ex. 46. Thème varié et finale, Variation I, p. 2, mm. 1-4

Variation II, marked Molto moderato, is in C major and 3/4 meter. The mood is lyrical and subdued. Piano markings
predominate in this variation. Although the formal structure and basic melodic outline of the theme are retained, the
highly chromatic harmony and the call and response texture of this variation provide an engaging contrast. The
motive echoed between the bass and soprano is derived from the thirty-second note ornament in the first measure of
the theme:

Ex. 47. Thème varié et finale, Variation II, p. 2, mm. 1-4

The third variation, in 2/4 meter and marked Allegro moderato, is based a three-note sixteenth note pattern
harmonized largely in thirds:

Ex. 48. Thème varié et finale, Variation III, p. 3, mm. 1-3

Although the harmonization in parallel thirds is evocative of popular Mexican song, the repetitive and syncopated
rhythmic pattern, chromaticism and disjunct style give this rather conventional harmonization an unusual twist.

Variation IV, in 6/8 meter and marked Agitato, is based on a five-note melodic pattern characterized by tied notes on
the third and sixth beats:

Ex. 49. Thème varié et finale, Variation IV. p. 3, mm. 1-4

Syncopations and the slurring of notes on the second and fifth beats give this variation an anxious and unsettled air.

The fifth variation, in 3/4 meter and marked Vivace, is full of Latin American fire with its rolled chords and rapid
scales and ornaments. Again, much of the unity of the variation depends on the use of a rhythmic pattern established
in the first measure:

Ex. 50. Thème varié et finale, Variation V, p. 4, mm. 1-4

The sixth and final variation, set in 2/4 meter and marked Molto più lento, is gentle and subdued and features piano
markings throughout. The texture is in three distinct parts--soprano, bass and inner voice--and is nostalgic of a
Mexican canción:

Ex. 51. Thème varié et finale, Variation VI, p. 4, mm. 1-4

The finale, marked Vivo scherzando and in 3/8 meter, is a conclusive summing up of this work and is the most
difficult section of this work to perform. Not limited to one type of figuration, motives from the preceding variations
are developed in a sonata-like fashion. Cast in the form of A B A' coda, the finale begins with a phrase related to the
second beat of m. 1 in the theme and the opening motive of the second variation:

Ex. 52. Thème varié et finale, Finale, p. 4, mm. 1-4

Impressionistic colors and nonfunctional harmony are often heard in alternation with more conventional sounds. For
example, quartal chords connected by glissandi are heard immediately following a passage of common practice
harmony at m. 19. Although the use of changing accent patterns are common in this piece, the most striking
occurrence is in the B section of the finale where chords voiced in fifths and in 3/8 meter alternate with chords in a
3/4 accent pattern:

Ex. 53. Thème varié et finale, Finale, p. 5, mm. 51-58

The metric changes serve to accentuate the already dazzling sonority of the open chord voicings and nonfunctional
harmony of this passage.

A rhythmic pattern related to the fourth variation appears at m. 61, and, after some development of this motive and
others, the A section is recapitulated in abbreviated form. At m. 149 motives from the fifth variation appear, and at m.
163 the coda begins with two repetitions of the first phrase of the fifth variation in the tonic. Motives from this phrase
are developed to produced a frenzied and colorful ending to this highly successful work. Although the entire piece is
permeated with an aura of Latin American popular music, the improvisational character of the last few measures and
final chord of E major seventh (E major-major) are especially evocative of this style.

Variacions sobre un tema de Antonio de Cabezón. Edited by Miguel Alcázar. London: Tecla Editions,
1982.

Timing: 6'
Grade: 5

Father Antonio Brambila, an accomplished guitarist and Ponce's friend and confessor, had long cherished a set of
variations by Antonio de Cabezón which he had heard at an organ concert in Rome during 1924. He gave Ponce a copy
of the theme and asked him to compose a set of variations for guitar, which Ponce agreed to do. On February 8, 1948,
two months before his death, Ponce finished the work and dedicated it to Father Brambila.

There are two extant manuscript sources for this work, both in the possession of Miguel Alcázar: the autograph
manuscript, consisting of a theme, six variations and a fughetta; and a manuscript copy in the hand of Father Antonio
Brambila which contains three additional variations. Father Brambila could only definitely state that the additional
variations were by Ponce, but was unclear about any other details.1 Alcázar comments on the musical incongruities of
the additional variations with the rest of the work:

The so-called variation VII, being in G major, disturbs the tonal unity of the work [A minor], has no thematic
relationship with the material which precedes it, and employs a different harmonic language, so that it could in fact be
a kind of interlude. . . . Variation IX would be a sort of coda, using a chromatic descending scale; yet such a scale had
already been used--or would be used at the end of the fughetta.2

Due to the absence of these variations from the autograph, their unknown source and musical incongruities, the
autograph will be treated as the definitive version for this discussion. In addition to the inconsistent state of the
manuscript sources, there are questions concerning the authorship of the theme. Father Brambila attributed the
theme of this work to Cabezón; Alcázar, unable to find the theme in Cabezón's published works, traced the theme to
the Liber Usualis Missae et Oficii where it appears as an Easter hymn, "O Filii et Filiae."3

The general tone of this work is lean, somber and neoclassical, although not as austere as Dos Viñetas. The plainsong
theme, consisting of two eight-measure periods, is presented in a metrical setting (3/4) and is simply harmonized:

Ex. 54. Variacions sobre un tema de Antonio de Cabezón, Theme, p. 1, mm. 1-4

Variations I through V retain the phrase structure and length of the theme, and the entire piece utilizes the tonal
center of A. Only in the sixth variation does Ponce extend the length of the variation. To a degree not seen in the two
other sets of variations, Ponce draws almost exclusively on the techniques of the eighteenth-century melodic variation
form with fixed harmony.

Variation I mainly utilizes a straightforward presentation of arpeggios and passing tones to vary the theme:

Ex. 55. Variacions sobre un tema de Antonio de Cabezón, Variation I, p. 1, mm. 1-4

The second variation joins directly to the first variation via a short transition, and is built around a rhythmic pattern
introduced in the bass voice:
Ex. 56. Variacions sobre un tema de Antonio de Cabezón, Variation II, p. 2, mm. 1-4

Variation III utilizes block chords and open string pedal tones (A and e1) as a means of contrast:

Ex. 57. Variacions sobre un tema de Antonio de Cabezón, Variation III, p. 2, mm. 1-4

The fourth variation is a simple block chord harmonization of the theme in the parallel major:

Ex. 58. Variacions sobre un tema de Antonio de Cabezón, Variation IV, p. 2, mm. 1-4

Variation V exploits broken chord figuration in the manner of style brisé:

Ex. 59. Variacions sobre un tema de Antonio de Cabezón, Variation V, p. 3, mm. 4-8

The final and most inventive variation, no. VI, is based on the rhythmic pattern introduced in Variation II:

Ex. 60. Variacions sobre un tema de Antonio de Cabezón, Variation VI, p. 3, mm. 15-19
The Fughetta, largely in two voices, is relatively brief and consists only of an exposition, episode and coda. The subject
is based on the first phrase of the theme:

Ex. 61. Variacions sobre un tema de Antonio de Cabezón, Fughetta, p. 4, mm. 1-8

The countersubject, which is first heard during the entry of the real answer at m. 5, is derived from the rhythmic
motive heard earlier in variations II and VI. The four additional entries of the subject all appear with the
countersubject. The coda, in A phrygian, begins with the subject harmonized in block chords over an A pedal.
Following a dramatic passage based on a descending chromatic line, the work comes to rest on a phrygian cadence of
bII I. Although this work is a startling contrast from the impressionistic harmonies and virtuosic passage work of the
Théme varié et finale, it has an unique charm of its own and should prove especially inviting to students due to its
moderate technical and musical demands.

Footnotes

1Critical
notes from Manuel M. Ponce, Variations on a Theme of Cabezón, edited by Miguel Alcázar (London: Tecla
Editions, 1982), pp. iii-iv.

2Ibid.

3Ibid.

Variations sur >>Folia de España<< et Fugue. Edited by Andrés Segovia. Mainz: Schott, 1932.

Timing: 24'

Grade: 10

In 1928 Segovia asked Ponce to write a large set of variations: "I would like you to make some brilliant variations on
the theme of the Folias of Spain. . . . If you don't want to sign it we can ascribe it to Giuliani, of whom many things
remain to be discovered."4 Although this letter implies that Segovia may have expected a pastiche in the early
nineteenth-century style of Giuliani, Ponce, in 1929, created a powerful contemporary work comparable in technical
demands to Bach's famous Chaconne from the Partita No. II for solo violin.
The folias originated in the Iberian peninsula, probably Portugal, during the late fifteenth-century. Like its relatives
the chaconne and passacaglia, the folias is in triple meter and is based on a repeating harmonic pattern. The folias
pattern consists of two eight-measure periods. Although sixteenth-century and seventeenth-century examples of the
folias utilized alternations of 3/4 and 6/8 meter, Ponce's setting of the theme, like those of the nineteenth-century
such as Giuliani's opus 45, remains in 3/4 meter throughout.

This work consists of a theme, twenty variations and a fugue--twenty pages of single-stave notation. Because this
work is in D minor, a scordatura tuning of D-A-d-g-b-e1 is utilized to maximize the use of open basses. According to
correspondence between Segovia and Ponce, this work originally included a prélude: "Whenever I write I am tempted
to explain why I haven't offered the Prélude, Folias and Fugue to Schott"; and, in another letter concerning a
performance at the Paris Opera during 1931, "I am thinking of including the Variations on the Folias, without the
Prélude, but with the Fugue."5

Duarte, writing on this set of variations, comments that "Segovia deemed a few of the many variations Ponce
produced as unsuitable, either to the guitar or to the work as an entity."6 In fact, one of these unpublished variations
was recorded by Segovia under the title of Postlude on Andrés Segovia: The EMI Recordings 1927-39 (Angel ZB-
3896). Thus, considering the cutting of the prélude, the new setting of the theme and the various unpublished
variations, Segovia exercised considerable influence on the final form of this work.

The setting of the theme has gone through at least one major revision before arriving at its published form. After
recording this work in the late 1920s, Segovia asked Ponce to rewrite the setting of the theme.7 Thus, the published
score utilizes chromatic and nontraditional harmonies in the theme not heard on Segovia's early recording of this
work. The following excerpt is taken from the published score (Schott, 1932):

Ex. 62. Variations sur >>Folia de España<< et Fugue, Theme, p. 3, mm. 1-4

Although space does not permit discussion of all twenty variations, key characteristics of the work will be considered.
The general style of this work is an amalgam of neoclassic treatment of form, neoromantic lyricism and expression,
and a mixture of neoromantic and impressionistic harmonies. Each of the variations derive from various
combinations of the melodic, rhythmic or harmonic traits of the theme. There is marked contrast between variations
in terms of tempo, meter, texture and melodic figuration; thus, each variation has a distinct character of its own. This
work departs from the D minor mode only three times: in Variation VI, in A major; Variation IX, in D major; and
Variation XI, in C major.

Variation II, in 6/4 meter and marked Allegretto mosso, is based on scale and arpeggio figuration in running eighth
notes. Common practice harmony predominates in this variation.

Ex. 63. Variations sur >>Folia de España<< et Fugue, Variation II, p. 4, mm. 1-2

Variation VII, in 3/4 and marked Andante, utilizes nontraditional harmonies in block chord fashion and is
reminiscent of the Baroque with its opening mordent and use of a neighboring tone group in the V7 i cadence at m. 4:
Ex. 64. Variations sur >>Folia de España<< et Fugue, Variation VII, p. 8, mm. 1-4

Variation XIII, a canon at the octave, recalls the Baroque in its use of contrapuntal technique:

Ex. 65. Variations sur >>Folia de España<< et Fugue, Variation XIII, p. 13, mm. 1-3

Variation XVI, in 6/8 meter and marked moderato, features the tremolo technique within a common practice
harmonic setting:

Ex. 66. Variations sur >>Folia de España<< et Fugue, Variation XVI, p. 15, mm. 1-2

The fugue, marked moderato and in three voices, is based on a four-measure subject derived from the theme:

Ex. 67. Variations sur >>Folia de España<< et Fugue, Fugue, p. 20, mm. 1-8
Organized according to eighteenth-century conventions, the exposition consists of an initial presentation of the
subject, a real answer at the fifth (with countersubject), a bridge and a restatement of the subject at the octave.
Likewise, the rest of the movement conforms to Baroque fugal convention: a series of developmental and modulatory
episodes follow the exposition and a three-voice stretto and an extended dominant pedal passage appear near the end.
The dominant pedal passage is particularly exciting (mm. 81-90): a motive from the countersubject, over an open A
pedal, ascends with mounting tension to a high B2-flat and, in like manner, descends to a final statement of the
subject harmonized in fortissimo block chords and a coda based on the second counterpoint.

Ex. 68. Variations sur >>Folia de España<< et Fugue, Fugue, p. 22, mm. 81-85

As a self-contained entity the fugue is a pleasant and well-conceived work, although somewhat academic. However, as
an ending for a lengthy set of virtuosic variations the fugue is anticlimactic and somewhat exhausting for both listener
and performer.

Despite Ponce's skillful composition of individual variations, this work as a whole lacks both spontaneity and
structural unity. Although the use of the sectional variation form is successful in Ponce's shorter variation sets, the
manner in which it is used in this work strikes the listener as a lengthy succession of attractive pieces--i.e., each
variation is a balanced musical entity in itself--rather than a continuous and dramatically controlled whole.8 While
Ponce's character pieces show an excellent control of dramatic tension and formal organization, longer works such as
Suite Antigua and the Variations sur >>Folia de España<< et Fugue show that Ponce sometimes had difficulty
maintaining dramatic balance in extended sectional compositions.

Footnotes

4Corazón Otero, Manuel M. Ponce and the Guitar (London: Musical New Services, 1983), p. 33.

5Ibid., pp. 39 and 41.

6Jacket notes from the record Andrés Segovia: The EMI Recordings 1927-39, (Angel ZB-3896).

7Ibid.
8Itis possible that the unedited version of this work--i.e., prélude, twenty-plus variations in original placement and
fugue--may have had a significantly different musical impact than the published version.

Source Materials

Otero, Corazón. Manuel M. Ponce and the Guitar. Translated by J. D. Roberts. Dorset, England: Musical New
Services, 1980. 85 pages.

Ponce, Manuel M. Thème varié et Finale. Edited by Andrés Segovia. Mainz: Schott, 1926. 7 pages.

Ponce, Manuel M. Variations on a Theme of Cabezón. Edited by Miguel Alcázar. London: Tecla Editions, 1983. 7
pages.

Ponce, Manuel M. Variations sur >>Folia de España<< et Fugue. Edited by Andrés Segovia. Mainz: Schott, 1932. 22
pages.

Segovia, Andrés: The EMI Recordings 1927-39. Angel ZB-3896.