(many thanks to @paulobassman for mastering and re-mixing my original post, it sounds much richer now :-) )
Ballad is the second movement of this outstanding suite written for the classical guitar by Jean Sevriens. It seamlessly combines classical elements with Jazz harmonies.
It is one of my top five favorite compositions for the guitar and, although not trivial, it is very rewarding to play as the chords and melodies magically fall into place.
There is another reason why this composition is one of my all-time favorites. Jean Sevriens wrote it for Tatyana Ryzhkova and gave it to her as a Christmas present in 2012 (I hope I remember this story correctly). If you promise to listen to my recording before you visit Tatyana's page then here is the link. IMHO she is one of the greatest classical guitarists alive.
When I was practicing this suite as part of my one and (so far) only solo concert I quickly saw its potential and complexity. And I decided to write Tatyana whether I could meet her and work with her for a day or so. That was in January 2017. In mid April I have received her replay saying that she was on a concert tour and that she had time to work with me. So I traveled to the north of Germany and worked with her for two days. She and her husband even invited me to stay at their house.
The work with Tatyana was totally inspiring and it showed me that there are many more dimensions to playing the classical guitar than I had ever realized.
During these two days I also introduced them to Bitcoin - there is that risk in spending time with me.
This was an unforgettable journey.
(please excuse the poor sound quality due to clipping in a few places)
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