El Decamerón negro, “The Black Decameron”, is number 41 in the TOP 100 list. It is quite a feat for a piece that is only 31 years old! The number of recordings of El Decamerón negro more than doubles this last number. Lasting around 15 minutes El Decamerón negro tells a story, the story of a great warrior being rejected because he wanted to be a mere musician. He lives alone in the mountains, separated from his clan and more cruelly from the princess he loves. Later, the clan, losing battle upon battle, finds the warrior turned musician and begs him to come back. After defeating the enemy, he returns to his peaceful life in the mountains with the princess at his side. El Decamerón negro is divided in three ballads titled as follow:
I El Arpa del Guerrero (The Harp of the Warrior), II La Huida de los Amantes por el Valle de los Ecos (The Flight of the Lovers through the Valley of Echoes), III Balada de la Doncella Enamorada (The Ballad of the Love-Sick Maiden)
It is an important piece for guitarists for many reasons. It is the first solo piece Cuban Leo Brouwer wrote in his current, “Hyper-Romantic” style. Also, the beginning of the 1980’s saw guitarist-composers such as Brouwer, Koshkin, Domeniconi and others write sizeable and strong pieces for the instrument. Finally, the public, as well as the younger generation of guitarists, obviously accepted those pieces thus enriching the guitar’s musical tradition.
