Guitar Music with Jaspell

Guitar Music with Jaspell

#01 – Alorno – Instrumental — mp3 | wav (3:43)
Jasper Burford plays this Flamenco piece written by Carlos García Montoya (1903-1993), one of the founders of the modern-day flamenco style of guitar playing.

#02 – El Paño Moruno – Instrumental — mp3 | wav (1:48)
This short traditional Flamenco piece has a moral caution. A beautiful cloth was displayed in a shop window, but it was only sold at a low value after a spot of dirt fell on it and spoiled it. The song has been arranged and played by many, including Pascual Marquina and Paco Peña. Jasper Burford gives it his own rendering.

#03 – El Paño Moruno – Vocal with guitar — mp3 | wav (1:48)
Played and sung here by Jasper Burford, this short traditional Flamenco piece tells a moral tale about a fine kerchief in the store window—it lost its value when a spot of dirt spoiled it. This song has been arranged and played by Pascual Marquina, Paco Peña, and many others.

#04 – Zapateado de los Campañoles (The Voles’ Tap Dance) – Instrumental — mp3 | wav (2:04)
Jasper Burford plays his composition that he’s improvised in various ways from 1967 on. It brings to mind lively Flamenco dances or the tarantella, but with some parts in 9/8 and others in 12/8. It’s hectic—just like a couple of voles dancing about.

#05 – Pour Elise (Für Elise) – Instrumental — mp3 | wav (4:15)
Ludwig van Beethoven composed this ‘Bagatelle’ in A Minor Für Elise for piano apparently in 1810. Though his manuscript lay undiscovered until 40 years after his death, it has become possibly the top favourite piece of classical music around the world—more commonly known as Pour Elise (For Elise). Jasper Burford is mainly self-taught and so first arranged this piano piece to suit his way of playing the guitar with some necessary ‘artistic licence’ in 1969. He was newly-married to Ellen in Calcutta—whence our label, “Jaspell”. Jasper eventually recorded his arrangement of Pour Elise on his guitar in Essex in 2017 trying out some improved techniques.
Version 1—4 September, 2017—the way he’d played it for 48 years
Version 2—14 September, 2017—learning to play higher up the keyboard with more finger and less thumb

#06 – Rondo – Instrumental — mp3 | wav (5:55)
Fernando Sor wrote this allegretto for guitar played here by Jasper Burford. Sor was born in Barcelona in 1778 and died in Paris in 1839.

#07 – Aspirations – Vocal with guitar — mp3 | wav (3:58)
Jasper composed this piece (also known as “Jasperations”) in 1967 in a small bedsit in Fulham Park Gardens while desiring to find truth and help mankind. He later found the truth and how best to help mankind. Jasper relearned “Aspirations” 57 years later in 2024. He plays and sings it here with some improvisations in challenging forms of 5/4 time.

Some of the Songs We’ve Written in Bengali and English

Jaan-te Paar-le জানতে পারলে (If You Could Know) — pdf | wav (sung in Bengali)

Haalkaa Paalak হালকা পালক (Light Feather or Gentle Shepherd) — pdf |

Aamaay Bhaalobaase আমায় ভালোবাসে (Loves Me) — pdf |

Hale Yete হলে যেতে (Going to the Hall) — pdf |

Baaibeler Pustak-gulo (Baanºlaay) বাইবেলের পুস্তকগুলো (বাংলায়) (The Bible Books—in Bengali) — mp3 | pdf

Baaibeler Pustak-gulo (Inºrejiite) বাইবেলের পুস্তকগুলো (ইংরেজীতে) (The Bible Books—in English/Bengali) — mp3 | pdf

The guitar—home-made 1964-1968