AFRO-CUBAN LULLABY by Eliséo Grenét. (Arr. Jack Marshall) "Afro-Cuban Lullaby" is a traditional cancion de Cuna - that symbolizes a Cuban child being rocked to sleep by an Afro-Cuban nanny. Also referred to as the "Cradle Song" or "Drume Negrita"

Bésame Mucho, which translates to "Kiss Me a Lot" in English, is a Spanish song written in 1940 by Consuelo Velazquez before her sixteenth birthday. According to some sources, it is the most interpreted and perfomed song of all in the twentieth century. According to Velazquez herself, she was inspired by an aria from an Italian opera by Enrique Granados.

Greensleeves, is probably the most famous tune ever written from the Renaissance. It is basically a ground of the form called a romanesca; the widely believed legend is that it was composed by King Henry VIII (1491 - 1547) for his lover and future Queen, Anne Boleyn. Anne, the youngest daughter of the earl of Wiltshire, rejected Henry's attempts to seduce her. This rejection is apparently referred to in the song, when the writer's love "cast me off discourteously". It is not known if the legend is true, but the song is still commonly associated with Anne Boleyn in the public's mind.

GIRL FROM IPANEMA - Antônio Carlos Jobim was a pianist, composer, singer, arranger, occasional guitarist who was part of an embryonic nucleus that best represents Brazilian music on the second half of the 20th century.
He was born January 25, 1927 in the north part of Rio de Janeiro and soon his family moved to Ipanema. Jobim's roots were planted firmly in the works of Pixinguinha, a legendary musician and composer that started in the 1930s the development of modern Brazilian music. He was also influenced by the music of French composer Claude Debussy. In 1963, he and Vinícius de Moraes' contributed one of their greatest hits and very likely the most aired Brazilian song of all times: "Garota de Ipanema".
His last CD, "Antônio Brasileiro", was released in 1994, little before his passing away in December.

Gymnopedie No. 1 - Erik Satie (1866-1925)
Written in 1888, the piano pieces entitled "Trois Gymnopedies" are probably French composer Erik Satie's most famous works. The Gymnopedies were most likely named after the Gymnopaidiai festival of anicient Sparta. A close friend of Claude Debussy and Pablo Picasso, Satie was on a quest to find new horizons in modern music and is today considered to have been at the forefront of the Impressionist movement.

Wild Mountain Thyme is an old Scottish tune attributed to Francis McPeake. It is popular in Scottish circles and sweeps the listener home to the highlands.

"Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)" is a song by The Beatles which first appeared on the 1965 album Rubber Soul. It is notable as one of the first Western pop songs with an Indian musical instrument - John Lennon's guitar is accompanied by George Harrison on the sitar.

Judy - John Renbourn (1944 - present) is a contemporary, fingerstyle guitarist who was part of the British Folk Revival during the 1960's. Renbourn's compositions were influenced by early music and the term "Folk-Baroque" music was often used to refer to his style. In addition to his work with musicians such as Davey Graham, Bert Jansch, Stephan Grossman, and Robin Williamson, Renbourn was also well known for his work with the group Pentangle. My favorite albums included "Lady and the Unicorn" and "The Hermit" which were well worn after many hours of listening to figure out the songs by ear.

The origins of Romanza de Amor are lost in time. Miguel Liobet, a famous guitarist of the early 1900's, was the first to write it down. It has since become popular world-wide with many nations writing their own words to the melody.
Out of the night came the haunting sounds of Romanza de Amor, one of Spain's most famous melodies... and a song all guitarists learn. That night sealed my fate. Spain would remain a land of enchantment for me. The origins of Romanza de Amor are lost in time. Miguel Liobet, a famous guitarist of the early 1900's, was the first to write it down. It has since become popular world-wide with many nations writing their own words to the melody.

Sonata in E Minor - Giuseppe Domenico Scarlatti was born in Naples on October 26th, 1685. The high rank of his godparents is proof of the esteem in which his father, Alessandro Scarlatti, was held as maestro di cappella. Domenico's musical gifts developed with an almost prodigious rapidity. At the age of sixteen he became a musician at the chapel royal, and two years later father and son left Naples and settled in Rome, where Domenico became the pupil of the most eminent musicians in Italy. Scarlatti accepted and in 1733 after a period in Seville (from 1729-33) he went to Madrid, where he lived until his death. With the thorough musical grounding he brought with him from Italy, and his own brilliance on the harpsichord, Scarlatti immersed himself in the folk tunes and dance rhythms of Spain, with their distinctive Moorish (Arabic) and later gypsy influences. He composed more than 500 harpsichord sonatas, unique in their total originality, and the use of the acaaccatura, the 'simultaneous mordent', the 'vamp' (usually at the beginning of the second half of a sonata). The "folk" element is constantly present throughout these works. the finest musicians in Rome met and performed chamber music. There Scarlatti met Handel, who had been born in the same year as Scarlatti. At the time of their meeting, in 1708, they were both twenty-three, and were prevailed upon to compete together at the instigation and under the refereeship of Ottoboni; they were adjudged equal on the harpsichord, but Handel was considered the winner on the organ.  
Thenceforward they held each other in that mutual respect which forms the surest basis for a life friendship Capricho Arabe Francisco Tarrega-Eixea was born in Vila-real, on 21st of November 1852 Francisco went running out of her and failed into an irrigation channel nearby. This caused him a hard shock that harmed his eyes forever. His father thought that Francisco could loose completely the ability to see, so they moved to Castellon in order to make Francisco assist to music classes so that, in case he became blind, he could earn some money by playing music. It was peculiarly a blind musician, Eugeni Ruiz, who taught Tarrega his first music lessons. Even more, another blind musician, Manuel Gonzalez, also known as "El cego de la Marina" was who initiated him into the Guitar world. A rich businessman, Antonio Canesa, pays Tarrega a trip to Madrid to enhance his music knowledge at the Spanish Music Conservatory. His fame was growing and his feeling atracts the audiences. In 1881 he goes to France. After a wonderful concert in Lyon, he arrives to Paris and meets the most important VIPs. He plays in several Theaters, being even invited to play for the Queen of Spain Isabel II, and later he continues his tour to London. dedicating to his beloved friend and composer Breton the beautiful composition "Capricho Arabe" -Arabian Caprice-. However, Tarrega was not satisfied with the sound he was getting out of his guitar and, being 50 years old, in 1902, he bets for his own prestige and starts cutting step by step his nails until almost make them disappear under his finger's skin, that became harder till obtaining that sweet sound characteristic of his school.

Si bbig, si mbor (Sheebeg and Sheemore) - With the revival of Irish traditional music spearheaded by Sean O'Riada in the 1950s has come a renaissance of composer Turlough Carolan's music . As ironic as the current popularity of Carolan's music -- interpreted through a twenty-first century lens -- is that Ireland's best-known harper and composer lived and worked during the twilight of his instrument, an ancient instrument which fell out of use mere decades after his death. Carolan's own compositions blend the native Irish musical styles with those of the Italian baroque musicians of the period, bridging the world of Gaelic Ireland with that of the Protestant Ascendancy that ruled the country in his lifetime. Carolan's life (1670-1738). One of the most common stories, attached to "Sheebeg and Sheemore," is clearly one of Carolan's own jokes. Carolan is said to have gone to a hill known as a fairy haunt, and received the gift of composition from the Fairy Queen. Other versions suggest he was tutored by the Fairies on this hill, and the "Sheebeg and Sheemore" is one of the fairy compositions given to him.