Search - Isaac Albeniz, Enrique Granados, Joaquin Malats :: Spanish Guitar Recital

MUSIC OF CATALUNYA

DAVID BRYSON | Glossop Derbyshire England | 12/27/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"First, there are 14 tracks on this record, not 13. The item not mentioned comes after #7 listed here, and it is a transcription of an `old-style song' by Granados entitled La Maja de Goya. How tactful it is to call this music Spanish is something else I'm unsure of, all four composers being Catalan. Only the final two numbers are actually works written for the guitar, the two pieces by Emilio Pujol who died as recently as 1980 after a lifespan approximately as long as the combined total of any two of the three other composers who share this disc with him. The remaining works are transcriptions of piano compositions (except for the unmentioned song). The liner note does not state that these transcriptions are by Bream himself, but I had assumed that and I find the fact confirmed elsewhere.



This record is nothing short of heavenly, both the playing and the remarkable recorded quality that seems to bring the hearer face to face with the great Bream in person. It is all easy listening, and there are no show-off virtuoso numbers although several can't be simple, or at least not simple to play like this. For variety and versatility of tone, rhythm that is both strong and flexible, lyric beauty and a shining sense of affection for and understanding of the music I don't believe I have ever heard a guitar recital to surpass this. The Albeniz and Granados pieces that make up most of the selection were recorded in 1982, the other three items in the following year. I can't even attempt to name a favourite, but as I have a couple of piano performances of the `Spanish dance #5' of Granados played under the title `Andaluza' by no less than Michelangeli the comparison is going to be fascinating.



The liner note does its job quite adequately, which is more than I could say for some. The recording I've already mentioned - simply stunning. These pieces come under the classification `classical', and I have no quarrel with that so long as it doesn't deter lovers of the instrument who would, I have no doubt at all, swoop on this recital if it were called popular, light classical or something of that kind. Music is just music in the end, and this is very good music and very unchallenging music. As for guitar players, I'm sometimes inclined to think that there's Bream and there's everyone else."

This CD will take you to Spain--whether you've been before o

Frank Beck | New York, NY USA | 03/07/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It's true that both Albeniz and Granados--the two composers whose music makes up most of this recording--came from Catalonia, but for me these pieces breathe the jasmine-scented air of Andalucia. If you've ever watched the sunrise from the hills above Malaga or spent an August evening in the plazas of San Lucar de Barrameda, these works for guitar will bring back the tang of a good manzanilla to your lips. If you've never set foot in Spain, this music will bring you close to her summer nights--the softest I've ever experienced--and you may well find yourself longing to go.



Surprisingly, many of these pieces were born on the piano keyboard, but the ear of any Spanish composer is so attuned to the guitar that each of these works seems inseparable from the strings of the guitar. These haunting melodies--stately or spritely, meditative or lyrical--were meant to be plucked and strummed.



Julian Bream has devoted much of his life to this music, and he does not so much play them as let them come to life under his fingers. Listen to how the tentative, intimate beginning of 'Mallorca' opens onto a rippling dance figure. The most difficult passages unfold without apparent effort, but what is more unusual is Bream's ability to shape even the quietest passages with unobtrusive care.



If you love the Spanish guitar, treat yourself to this recording. If you've never heard how one guitar can weave a spell, this is your chance to find out.



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