Jens Franke, Jørgen Skogmo, Alfonso Mondes and Alistair Smith perform a selection of solo pieces from Grades 4 and 5 of Trinity’s Classical Guitar Syllabus. All of these pieces are included in Classical Guitar Exam Pieces 2020-2023: Grade 4 or Grade 5, except where stated.
Grade 4
Bossa-Nova Breeze
Danza del Arpa
This piece is included in Simply Latin, published by Montague (available from the Trinity Shop).
In the exam, candidates should play the rhythm in bar 12 as shown in the score (crotchet followed by 4 quavers), rather than the variant performed here. The same requirement applies to bars 16, 20, 28, 57, 65 and 75.
Nostalgia: petite melódie (from Tres piezas fáciles)
Gavotte (from Suite in D minor)
Calderas (from Atmospheres and Adventures)
This piece is included in Atmospheres & Adventures, a collection of 20 pieces for solo guitar by Alistair Smith, published by Trinity College London Press. Performance notes may be downloaded here.
Grade 5
Maria Luisa: Mazurka (from Tres piezas fáciles)
Allegretto (no. 3 from 24 Prime Lezioni Progressive)
Immram (from Atmospheres and Adventures)
This piece is included in Atmospheres & Adventures, a collection of 20 pieces for solo guitar by Alistair Smith, published by Trinity College London Press. Performance notes may be downloaded here.
Stay (from Nueve Preludios Azules)
This piece is included in Nueve Preludios Azules, a collection of 9 preludes for solo guitar by Alfonso Mondes, published by Trinity College London Press. Performance notes may be downloaded here.
Inspiring repertoire is at the heart of Trinity’s new syllabus, which features works from the Renaissance to the present day and has been created in consultation with leading classical guitar specialists. It includes more repertoire by female composers, and expands the alternative piece lists to include options from Trinity's own Raise the Bar and pieces published for the first time in the Trinity Performance Edition series.
At Initial–Grade 5, repertoire can now be chosen from a single list, allowing full flexibility of choice, and the popular Duet option has now been extended all the way up to Grade 5.
At all grades, candidates may perform their own composition as an alternative to one of their three pieces, using the suggested features given in the syllabus.
