Don Quixote
[Solo Guitsr]
Don Quixote is a five-movement sonata for guitar based on the celebrated novels by Miguel de Cervantes. After introducing the three principal characters in the opening movements, the music depicts a selection of their various adventures and escapades.
In the first movement we are introduced to Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. Quixote’s music tries to be sophisticated, educated, and rhetorically quick witted. It doesn’t quite manage. Sancho Panza’s music is limited, but less pretentious. He can express a great deal with restricted means. Dulcinea is Quixote’s true love, everything he does, he does for her. However, he has never actually spoken to her or even met her, and she has no idea that Quixote loves her. She remains a fantasy that lives only in Quixote’s imagination.
Tilting at Windmills, depicts two of Quixote’s most iconic episodes. He sees windmills on the horizon but mistakes them for giants; Sancho Panza tells him otherwise, but Quixote still decides to charge them. It doesn’t end well. Later, they observe clouds of dust in the distance, Quixote thinks he sees two armies approaching, so decides the best course of action would be to mount an attack. The armies turn out to be flocks of sheep, but Quixote attacks anyway, killing several sheep in the process. Angry shepherds throw stones at Quixote and Sancho who make a hasty retreat.
Before being formally knighted (by an innkeeper) Quixote stands watch over his armour throughout the night. During his Vigil of Arms we encounter the delusional Quixote as he sees himself – formal, serious, important, noble.
The final movement focusses on an episode from Part II of Cervantes’s novel, where Don Quixote and Sancho Panza visit The Puppet Theatre of Master Pedro. Manuel de Falla chose this episode as the basis of his opera El retablo do maese Pedro, and the finale draws on Falla’s music in its first two sections, the Fanfare and the Gallardas – a homage to mark the 150th anniversary of Falla’s birth in 2026. As Don Quixote watches the puppet play, he believes the characters to be real, not fictional. Eventually, his anger reaches a point where he feels he must intervene with the action. He gets out of his seat, draws his sword, and brutally destroys many of the puppets on stage. When the kerfuffle dies down, Don Quixote takes centre stage and recounts some of his most heroic adventures, and serenades his Dulcinea, the woman of his dreams.
MOVEMENTS
1. Don Quixote and Sancho Panza
2. Dulcinea
3. Tilting at Windmills
4. Vigil of Arms
5. The Puppet Theatern
| Featured Product | Yes |
|---|---|
| Arranger/Editor | David Russell |
| Composer | GOSS, STEPHEN |
| Availability | Available |
| TAB/Notation | Music Notation Only |
| Level of Difficulty | 5 |
| Description | Don Quixote is a five-movement sonata for guitar based on the celebrated novels by Miguel de Cervantes. After introducing the three principal characters in the opening movements, the music depicts a selection of their various adventures and escapades. In the first movement we are introduced to Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. Quixote’s music tries to be sophisticated, educated, and rhetorically quick witted. It doesn’t quite manage. Sancho Panza’s music is limited, but less pretentious. He can express a great deal with restricted means. Dulcinea is Quixote’s true love, everything he does, he does for her. However, he has never actually spoken to her or even met her, and she has no idea that Quixote loves her. She remains a fantasy that lives only in Quixote’s imagination. Tilting at Windmills, depicts two of Quixote’s most iconic episodes. He sees windmills on the horizon but mistakes them for giants; Sancho Panza tells him otherwise, but Quixote still decides to charge them. It doesn’t end well. Later, they observe clouds of dust in the distance, Quixote thinks he sees two armies approaching, so decides the best course of action would be to mount an attack. The armies turn out to be flocks of sheep, but Quixote attacks anyway, killing several sheep in the process. Angry shepherds throw stones at Quixote and Sancho who make a hasty retreat. Before being formally knighted (by an innkeeper) Quixote stands watch over his armour throughout the night. During his Vigil of Arms we encounter the delusional Quixote as he sees himself – formal, serious, important, noble. The final movement focusses on an episode from Part II of Cervantes’s novel, where Don Quixote and Sancho Panza visit The Puppet Theatre of Master Pedro. Manuel de Falla chose this episode as the basis of his opera El retablo do maese Pedro, and the finale draws on Falla’s music in its first two sections, the Fanfare and the Gallardas – a homage to mark the 150th anniversary of Falla’s birth in 2026. As Don Quixote watches the puppet play, he believes the characters to be real, not fictional. Eventually, his anger reaches a point where he feels he must intervene with the action. He gets out of his seat, draws his sword, and brutally destroys many of the puppets on stage. When the kerfuffle dies down, Don Quixote takes centre stage and recounts some of his most heroic adventures, and serenades his Dulcinea, the woman of his dreams. MOVEMENTS 1. Don Quixote and Sancho Panza 2. Dulcinea 3. Tilting at Windmills 4. Vigil of Arms 5. The Puppet Theatern |