Agustín Barrios Mangoré - El Sueño de la Muñequita (Completed)

"There is a charming story behind this piece. Barrios visited the home of an admirer and, upon entering, noticed a little girl cradling her dolly, gently rocking it "to sleep". Mangoré proceeded forward into the house. He had just bought a new pair of shoes and they were very "squeaky", making a lot of noise with every step he took. Looking up, the little girl admonished him, "Shh! Señor, or you will wake my dolly!" The innocence and complete sincerity of the child touched him deeply and he replied, procuring a guitar, "I will play a soft melody to wake up your dolly gently." The result: what I consider one of his "minor masterpieces" - The Sleep of the Little Doll - deceptively simple but profoundly expressive. Mangoré first played this piece in Costa Rica in 1933. He played the artificial harmonics in the second section with the index finger and thumb of his right hand.