JUNE 2018 | Ray's Round-Up: Spanish Guitar Impressions

JUNE 2018 | Ray's Round-Up: Spanish Guitar Impressions

By RAY PICOT

Domenico Scarlatti Sonatas | Stephen Marchionda | MDG

Manuel de Falla admitted that the music of Domenico Scarlatti was a key influence on his development, and to quote the guitarist Stephen Marchionda, 'I would find it almost impossible to mention a Spanish composer who wasn’t influenced heavily by Scarlatti. Albéniz and Granados both performed Scarlatti in concert. I also think the way Rodrigo treats dissonances is very Scarlatti-like'. So what better way to start this survey than with Scarlatti sonatas played on the guitar, that quintessential Spanish instrument, from which the composer undoubtedly drew inspiration, in exceptional and thoroughly idiomatic arrangements by Stephen Marchionda. To quote him further: 'The underlying inspiration for the recording was Andras Schiff’s Scarlatti album from the late ‘80s. I love that album and tried to recreate some of the magic of Schiff’s performance. So the majority of the works on my recording are also on his. I added one or two different ones that I also liked very much'. And magic there is a plenty on his Scarlatti Sonatas album, not only in the performance but also in the recording, which is not too closely mic’d, with a lovely natural ambience which gives the guitar sound a wonderful bloom. Ten sonatas are selected, and not always the most virtuosic. Take the gorgeous tones coaxed in K 402 (marked 'Andante'), and you quickly forget the work’s keyboard origins, as you are drawn into a shimmering new world. The concept is re-creation rather than a strict transcription, and with very few notes in fact added. The interpretations are of a consistently high standard and justify the critical plaudits drawn by this album when it was released. If you enjoy these arrangements I urge you to explore Marchionda’s more recent Albéniz and Granados discs for another dimension to this master guitarist, and you will not be disappointed.

Guitar Faces Guitar Phases | Duo Orfeo | Spektral

Staying in Baroque Spain, the music of Padre Antonio Soler was clearly influenced by the music of Scarlatti. Soler also wrote many keyboard sonatas, though the piece that he is most remembered by is his celebrated Fandango. The complex writing make this too elaborate perhaps for solo guitar, but the enterprising Duo Orfeo (who hail from Germany) released in 2011 one of my favourite arrangements for two guitars, which retains the virtuoso element without straying too far from the original - unlike some of the orchestral versions (though do try the version conducted by Leo Brouwer with the Guitar Symphonietta), with finger-light playing and amazing turns of virtuosity. The arrangement works very well and is well worth investigating. The duo audaciously follow it with their own Steve Reich-inspired Fandango Phase, which gives you an idea of what Spanish minimalism could have been like! The companion pieces on their album Guitar Faces, Guitar Phases, are executed with great élan and include Piazzolla’s Tango Suite, along with pieces by Mertz, Telemann and Reich.

Masters of the Guitar Vol. 1 Spain | Various artists | IDIS

From the Baroque to 20th Century and an appropriately titled disc, Masters of the Guitar - Spain, with recordings spanning the period 1925-1963. This Italian production is excellent and the sound from 78s, LPs and radio broadcasts has been very well cleaned up, though with 25 tracks to enjoy, I found it more rewarding sampling certain artists, and comparing them, though you won’t find Andrés Segovia, who has been very well catered for by the major labels. The spread of composers is quite generous, with a mixture of arrangements and original compositions for the guitar including Albéniz, Granados, Falla, Sor, Tárrega and Torroba, but with what may be the first appearance on CD of Manuel Palau’s Fantasia and Sonata 'Mare Nostrum' played in 1950 by Narciso Yepes, which have been unaccountably neglected and deserve reintroduction into live recitals. The other guitarists appear like ghosts from a bygone era and include Miguel Llobet, Emilio Pujol, Angel Iglesias, Guillermo Gómez, Alfonso Sorrosal, Vicente Gómez, Regino Sainz de la Maza, Renata Tarrago, Alberto Ponce and Manuel Díaz Cano. This is a wonderful way to sample past interpretive styles on a single disc, and with a choice of music which avoids too much of the standard repertoire.

Andrés Segovia Archive - Spanish Composers | Roberto Moronn Perez | Reference Recordings

I mentioned Segovia, who it is known commissioned many new pieces to expand the guitar repertoire, particularly from composers who were not best known for their guitar music. Rightly or wrongly the maestro selected from these pieces, as well as others sent in the hope of performance, what he best liked and suited his sound palette; what was left essentially became forgotten, particularly since many composers sent Segovia their only copies. During the Civil War, Segovia fled his flat, and mistakenly believed that the manuscripts sent to him that he had left behind were lost, after the premises were ransacked. In fact, a relative saved them and returned them to Segovia in 1952, which were then discovered 10 years after his death in 1987 and were transferred to the Segovia Foundation in Linares. A decade later the former president of the Foundation, Angelo Gilardino, organised the publication of a collection entitled The Andrés Segovia Archive, and a few years later, the Spanish guitarist, Roberto Moronn Pérez, who was studying for his Master's Degree in Italy under Gilardino, became involved in the project. He started recording collections and releasing them from 2013 in very well-organised albums issued enterprisingly by Reference Recordings, to which my attention was specifically drawn to the one entitled Spanish Composers. This is simply a treasure trove of erstwhile new music stretching back to 1919, covering a diverse selection of composers, many of whom are seldom performed. Individual pieces are included from Pedro Sanjuán, Padre Donostia and Federico Mompou with collections from Vicente Arregui, Gaspar Cassadó, and Jaume Pahissa. Reviews of the three albums issued to date have been uniformly praiseworthy over the performances and the quality of the music, to which I am pleased to aver. Whilst there are 16 tracks recorded, many of the pieces are quite substantial and memorable. What is clear is the commitment of the guitarist, his interpretive skills with the different idioms and a technique that matches the more complex pieces. Overall a most enjoyable disc and an exciting project, which is enhanced by excellent booklet notes from Gilardino.

Spanish Guitar Masterpieces | Pia Gazarek-Offermann | Aurea Vox

Pia Gazarek-Offerman, who is based in Germany, has a burgeoning international reputation, and her album Spanish Guitar Masterpieces simply lives up to its ambitions, as we hear in a new light quite consistently brilliant interpretations of the second Sonata of Eduardo López-Chávarri, the renowned Suite compostelana by Mompou and the Sonata of Antonio José. These pieces fit together so well as a programme and whilst you will probably know them individually through other performances, these are interpretations that demand to be heard. The music is presented with such a clear vision and attention to colour and detail, matched by an outstanding technique, they really do sound newly minted. The recorded sound also plays to Gazarek-Offerman's natural technical clarity and use of subtle shading, and whilst there is plenty of dynamism in the readings, the quieter moments are so often lent a feeling of repose and thought. The distinctive opening of the José Sonata is a case in point and I find myself coming back to the delectable sounds she draws out of the simplest of phrases. Overall for me this is a disc to be savoured.

Impresiones y Paisajes (Como el primer libro de Lorca) | Samuel Diz | Poliedrica

I shall end with exciting sounds of Samuel Diz, whose exceptional performances I came across whilst researching music of the Generation of 1927. This young guitarist actively promotes this largely forgotten repertoire as well as acting as an emissary for the music of his native Galicia, splendidly celebrated in his 2012 album, Guitarra Clásica Galega. Taking the title from Impresiones y paisajes, the groundbreaking book by the young Federico García Lorca’s book, covering his impressions of his travels around Spain, Diz has released an album of great character that also demonstrates his strengthening artistic maturity. The album has been recorded with a warm ambience, which enhances this wonderfully listenable album. Just listen to the wonderful dynamic flamenco evocations in Danza del molinero, matched by subtle phrasing, and you can easily believe Falla’s original intentions were fora solo guitar piece. This is followed by the end of the day evocations in Mantecon’s Atardeca, which is no less magical and fascinating, leaving one to ask why this piece is not better known. The Lorca theming of this album is superb with a direct tribute through a very skilled arrangement of pieces from Canciones populares españolas. The ordering of the music makes for a very involving listening experience, from the beguiling Española by Rosa García Ascot to delightful end with the unpublished and brief La maja de Goya by Angel Barrios. The music in-between samples the varying styles of this innovative generation, with Salvador Bacarisse, Rodolfo Halffter, Regino Sainz de la Maza (who premiered Rodrigo’s Concerto de Aranjuez) and Roberto Gerhard. I would hesitate to pick out favourites because the standard of the music selected is very high and Diz shows such complete empathy with the composers, so despite the music’s relative unfamiliarity it quickly becomes required listening. The production is excellent and the booklet presentation is very artistic too, though the notes are all in Spanish.

 

 

 

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