Cerritos College Recital
March 13th, 2019

Koyunbaba, Op. 19, is a cornerstone of contemporary classical guitar literature, composed by the Italian guitarist-composer Carlo Domeniconi between 1985 and 1986. The suite's name translates literally to "Sheep Father" or "Shepherd" and serves as a multi-layered homage to Turkish culture: it references a 15th-century Turkish saint (Seyit Ali), a specific region in southwestern Turkey near Bodrum, and the pastoral lifestyle of the local people. Having lived and taught in Istanbul for several years, Domeniconi infused the work with the mystical essence of the Anatolian landscape and the sonic textures of the saz (a traditional Turkish lute). This influence is most technically evident in the suite’s use of scordatura, typically requiring the guitar to be tuned to an open C♯ minor chord (specifically C♯−G♯−C♯−G♯−C♯−E), which allows for a rich, drone-like resonance and hypnotic modal harmonies characteristic of Middle Eastern music. Structured as a suite pastorale in four movements, the piece gained worldwide acclaim for its evocative, improvisational spirit and has become one of the most recorded works for the instrument, bridging the gap between Western classical structure and Eastern folk traditions.