
Compositional Strategies
There are at least three frequent operations that support the lyrical syntax of the work and enable the blending of the previously mentioned components: trajectory, tremolo, and trill. The latter two are employed with a function different from their conventional role as ornamental articulation, instead acting as mechanisms that figurate the gestural energy of the sound.
Not infrequently, the musical sound operates according to the logic of a trajectory, whose beginning and end determine the expressive nature of the gesture. For this reason, Scodanibbio uses an assembly of elements that allow the articulation of this operation:

Figure 6: Example of trajectory with gradual development in Verano de Suerte.
The nature of trajectories is highly variable and functions in relation to the specific context. However, it is worth highlighting some recurring mechanisms in their structure and mode of operation. In the example in the previous figure, the gestural phrase that outlines the trajectory is composed of: 1) polarization of the registers of the starting and ending notes, 2) silences acting as energy catalysts to trace the interpolated plane, and 3) dynamic markings regulating the sonic energy.
This configuration is similar to what occurs at the beginning of Studio 1 (Joke)1 for double bass, but here the trajectory is polarized across three registers (middle, low, high), following the principle of the tremolo:

Figure 7: Example of trajectory in Joke, Six Studies.
From a poietic point of view, it is possible that Scodanibbio employed the previously listed components to project the idea of “sound displacement” as a trajectory. In a handwritten sketch of another (unidentified) work, made in Saltillo, Mexico, on May 15, 1991, the composer draws a trajectory similar to that of Studio 1, highlighting three polar notes across registers and indications of sound intensity:

Figure 8: Example of trajectory, excerpt from the manuscript [Saltillo 15.5.91]
In Verano de Suerte, the duration of the trajectory can be shorter or longer, more or less climactic, and more or less articulated, with momentary pauses or gradual kinesthetic developments. This operation marks a movement toward a climax—whether at the beginning or the end—within the development of the timbral material.
Another frequently used operation in the harmonic deployment of the material is the tremolo, executed in two different modes. In both cases, there is a clear division and exploitation of the resources of each hand—harmonic sound by the left hand and guitar tremolo by the right hand:
- The tremolo composed of two polar notes:

Figure 9: Tremolo example 1 in Verano de Suerte, page 4.
As can be observed in the previous image, the polarization for the tremolo effect is composed of two harmonic sounds, or one natural sound and one harmonic sound, or two natural sounds.
Tremolos with harmonic sounds follow the principle of homophony (characteristic of guitar technique):

Figure 10: Tremolo example 2 in Verano de Suerte, page 4.
If the idea of the underlying melodic design previously outlined is convincing, the fragment in Figure 10 can be understood as a figurative and fragmented three-voice counterpoint, a continuation of the material-lyrical development of the melodic and timbral materials from the beginning: upper harmonic sound, lower harmonic sound, and natural sound in the low register.
The third operation of the material that stands out in this piece is the use of the trill, which can be employed:
- As a directional support resource for the energetic intention in the gesture:

Figure 11: Functional use of the trill in Verano de Suerte, page 2.
As observed in the previous image, the trill is progressively articulated into an accelerating rhythm (triplet – quintuplet – septuplet), in contrast to the dynamic direction, which tends toward a decrescendo. This configures a form of trajectory, but in a regressive sense. This type of variation frequently appears as part of the combinatorial interplay.
- As an accompanying figure to a higher melodic line with variations in the repetition rate of its two components:

Figure 12: Trill as a strategy for generating the continuum in Verano de Suerte, page 5.
As a frenetic and constant articulation, evoking the resonance following a violent attack:

Figure 13: Trill as an image of resonance in Verano de Suerte, page 4.
Formal aspects
From a formal point of view, and based on the indications provided by the composer himself, the score of Verano de Suerte presents three markers of contrasting sections: Disteso (pages 1–3, systems 1–20), Brillante (pages 3–5, systems 21–34), and Più lento e un poco a piacere (page 5, systems 35–38).
The first section, Disteso, can be interpreted as a sequence of different subsections connected to the idea of material development and the presence of cadences marking the end of each phrase. The concrete material moves through an apparently random alternation of tension and relaxation. A possible subdivision foresees five parts, each composed of four systems: 1) systems 1–4, 2) systems 5–8, 3) systems 9–12, 4) systems 13–16, and 5) systems 17–20. This subdivision respects the principle of symmetry and provides a sense of formal balance. This structural staticism is however balanced by great expressive freedom and a sense of expansion reminiscent of improvisation. This dynamism is achieved through skillful use of agogic resources—such as tempo variations (slight ritardando, a tempo, rubato, stringendo, slowing down and again a tempo, slight allargando, etc.)—and rhythmic freedom that functions within the gestural mechanism defined as the “metaphor of movement.”
The second section, Brillante, is distinguished from the first by a principle of structural asymmetry: the subsections are shorter and delimited by two cadential figures. In this sense, the section can be subdivided into seven parts: 1) systems 39–41, 2) system 42 (first cadence), 3) system 43, 4) systems 44–46 (tremolo), 5) systems 47–50, 6) system 51 (second cadence), 7) systems 52 and the beginning of 53. In summary, this section follows a material development plan based on continuous variation, contributing to building a free form in which moments of tension and release alternate, in a sort of “coming and going.”

Figure 14: Presentation of the material, Verano de suerte, page 3.
As can be seen in the previous figure, the initial motif of a perfect fourth interval (A–E) develops through augmentation and diminution, eventually forming a complex gestural figure:

Figure 15: Verano de Suerte, page 3, complex component.
That is, Scodanibbio focuses on a timbral element that gives identity to the segment, serving as a variable motif. The complex component shown in the previous figure will be repeated sequentially three times, interspersed with articulated events, just before reaching the cadence figure of this section, which acts as a marker for the transition to the next section.
A first cadence precedes two operations using tremolo. This cadence ascends stepwise or through small arpeggios to a culminating point that accelerates. The dynamics, however, contrast with the melodic ascent through its dynamic arc (p-mf-to niente):

Figure 16: First cadence event, Verano de Suerte.
After the first cadence, a small guitar tremolo event begins, where the upper line (tremolo) accompanies a bass line that moves out of alignment and in a fragmented manner. This principle is also used in the final section of the piece. It represents a strategy to disrupt the regularity of the traditional tremolo. The second section therefore concludes with a second cadence:

Figure 17: Second cadence event, Verano de Suerte.
Both excerpts of free character remind us of the cadential sections found in some works from the 19th-century guitar repertoire.

Figure 18: Rossiniana No. 2, Op. 120, page 3, by Mauro Giuliani.

Figure 19: Rondó Brillante No. 2, Op. 2, page 10, by Dionisio Aguado.
Finally, Verano de Suerte concludes with a sort of coda, preceded by a brief bridge that connects to the cadence of the previous subsection. In this cadential conclusion, the melodic contour is drawn by the upper voice, consisting of harmonic sounds. At the same time, there is a line of legato notes at two pitches, resembling a continuous trill, based on the principle of figurated ostinato. This section spans three systems and is marked by a repeat bar that emphasizes its insistent character.
Indeed, it is in this part and with this material that a technique seems to emerge which will be used more frequently in later works: the dissociation of the two hands. The final gesture is distinguished by a brief articulation of four components based on those presented at the beginning of the piece.
In conclusion, Verano de Suerte offers us a compositional lesson tied to a writing guided by instrumental gesture, where, as Maurizio Pisati (1959) aptly points out:
“[…] just a few notes are enough to understand how his approach was almost a form of physical, tactile, synesthetic thinking: like every great performer, he had a gift we might call an ‘acoustic presentiment,’ the ability to pre-sense the experience of vibration in every object […].”2
It is precisely this “physical, tactile, synesthetic thinking” that allowed Scodanibbio to update the harmonic sounds on the guitar. The ensemble of operations carried out to generate effective situations is based on an expansive—not systematic—exploration of the original material, supported by formal intuitions placed halfway between improvisation and echoes of traditional formal strategies.
Probably, it is under these principles that Verano de Suerte, as well as the Six Studies and the Due Pezzi Brillanti, were written. If one needed to find a connection with the historical period of the Renaissance to reinforce the idea of Scodanibbio’s Instrumental Renaissance, a possible argument would be to highlight that Verano de Suerte is a free form based on the principle of variation and motivic development. These operations are similar to those appearing in instrumental forms of the 15th and 16th centuries, such as the “Fantasia” and “Capriccio” described in Syntagma Musicum (1619) by Michael Praetorius (1571–1621), understood as improvised forms based on brief imitative principles in which the performer allows themselves to be guided by their own imagination.3
- 1. The trajectory will be the most systematically exploited operation in Studio 1. ↩︎
- 2. Pisati, op. cit. (note 33). ↩︎
- 3. Paul Walker, Theories of fugue from the age of Josquin to the age of Bach, Rochester, New York : University of Rochester Press, 2004 (Eastman studies in music, vol. 13), p. 116. ↩︎