Rodrigo - Fantasia Para Un Gentilhombre [Yepes /Navarro-English Chamber Orchestra]Narciso Yepes passed away 13 years ago, but has left a wonderful legacy behind, mainly of recordings, but also of popularizing certain works, elevating the Spanish guitar from a folk instrument to a serious Classical one.
This work is actually a transcription of four pieces [or maybe five], originally written for solo guitar by Gaspar Sanz, and set to Orchestra and guitar by Rodrigo, the sort of thing that Respighi did with Ancient Airs and Dances, it works, the Orchestra can elevate solo guitar/piano music.
I must admit i liked the second movement Espanoleta the best, it starts off as a nice gentle tune on the guitar [0:09-1:16], with soft strings in the background, the tune is repeated three times, however each time the guitar plays higher and higher [0:09, 0:44 & 1:03], to great effect, individual instruments come and go, sometimes only for a few seconds to colour things nicely, the guitar gets to play a more complex version of the tune [3:27-3:54], and then the oboe takes over the tune while the guitar continues a more complex background rhythm [3:54-4:20], there's a middle section called Fanfare de la Caballeria de Napoles [Fanfare of the Cavalry of Naples], a more faster and military section [4:42-6:44], starting off with strumming guitar [4:42+], sharp trumpet comes in [5:09+], and even piccolo [5:43+], all the while in the background the violins play a quiet sour sound, the Espanoleta returns at the end to make it a trio movement, i think what i liked the most is the triple ascending guitar sound at the beginning, it's wonderful when you notice the structure.
Here's Yepes playing the second movement on YouTube.
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