Rodrigo - Fantasia Para Un Gentilhomre [Isbin/ Foster-Orchesre De Chambre De Lausanne]If you love the famous Concierto De Aranjuez, then this is really more of the wonderful same, based on pieces by Gaspar Sanz that Rodrigo reworked into a Fantasia, in essence Rodrigo gives us a bunch of contrasting short pieces all welded together to make a satisfying whole.
Sharon Isbin is delicate in the gentle sections, and virtuosic in the more spirited parts, the booklet cover is a wonderful shot of Sharon by Stuart O'Shields, this always adds to the music, it's such a shame when there is heavenly music on the disc, and a boring booklet picture from hell on the cover!.
This time i enjoyed the Espanoleta second movement, a slow dance with a haunting nostalgic tune, so old worldly, it transports me back to some long forgotten time, it's so good that music can do this to me, it has a nice reprise at the end of the Fanfare De La Caballeria De Napoles, elsewhere in the work the Trumpets have some nice fanfare work.
I can't find a link to Sharon Isbin playing this Fantasia, so here is Narciso Yepes playing the second movement Espanoleta on YouTube.
