Rodrigo - Fantasia Para Un Gentilhombre [Fernandez/Martinez-English Chamber Orchestra] 

What a nice little disc this is, it's re-issued by Decca in a number of guises, but the original as here, is the best way to acquire this, the visuals are excellent, but i'll speak more of that in the next paragraph, of course Rodrigo's two most popular Guitar Works go well together, but since they only make up roughly 45 minutes of music, the question is what to couple them with?, and it's good to have Castelnuovo-Tedesco's work here, the Rodrigo is justly famous for its quotations from the solo guitar works of Gaspar Sanz, Rodrigo orchestrates them, and adds his own special touch to the four pieces, there's very much a sense of the baroque of yesteryear in the writing, which is very similar to what Respighi did with his Ancient Airs And Dances, the same sort of feel, it's a lovely work regardless of how it was 'mined' from another Composer.

Eduardo Fernandez is Uruguayan, he is now 60, he made this recording in 1985 when he was 33, the front cover is a truly superlative photograph, the photographer is not mentioned in the booklet / back insert, which is a shame, the photo is of a courtyard in Navarra, showing the ancient building, lovely tiled roofs, and an octagonal fountain in the middle, but what really makes the picture are three elements, the sunshine, which seems a little washed out on the foreground wall, the darkness of inside juxtaposed against the light outside. and especially the arch which frames the whole thing so superbly, the colours and the lettering add to the whole thing.

The second movement is so wonderful, it's the slow movement of the work, and the longest at just over 10 minutes, in fact it's almost as long as the other three movements put together,.

Here's Ekachai Jeerakul playing the second movement on YouTube.

Rodrigo - Concierto De Aranjuez [Bonell/ Dutoit-Orchestre Symphonique De Montreal]

I decided to go out for a short walk in the late evening, it was dark, and really cold, and i listened to this work while i walked, outside it was freezing, but inside the music is sunny and from Spain, a real contrast!, while i listened i thought how strange it is that the Guitar Concerto isn't more popular, it's an excellent instrument, if Vivaldi could compose for it [albeit the lute], then why not Beethoven and Schubert?, the Rodrigo is a perennial favourite.

Carlos Bonell is actually English, though with Spanish ancestry, hence the name, he was born in 1949, and he recorded this work in 1980,

Rodrigo - Concierto De Aranjuez [Kimura/ Perez-Real Orquesta Sinfonica De Sevilla]

Here's an Artist that is pretty much unknown in the West, with a disc that is equally unknown, this is a Sony Records disc, however they only export Artists to other countries they deem 'exportable', [think Yo-Yo Ma here], but these performers are still fairly big news in their own country, sometimes you have to search through some foreign websites to find a cache of new and interesting Artists, it's sad that we all live on separate islands as it were, only tasting the fruit that is indigenous to our own island.

I found this disc in a second hand shop in London, a great source of uncovering the unknown, all sorts of discs from the world can find their way onto the shelf of some independent second hand shop, like flotsam and jetsam washed on your shore from very different lands / cultures, Ebay is another great searching place, to find something some Asian or whoever has discarded, not available over here [England], and like i've said before, you see these types of discs once on your shore, and if you don't snap them up, then the next tide takes them away, and you usually don't get another chance to acquire such an unusual disc.

Dai Kimura was born in Japan in 1982, and recorded this disc in 2001 at age 19, yes he looks really young, i guess he used a Spanish orchestra because it went with the Spanish Composer, some sort of authenticity or something, maybe it went down well in Japan, the only gripe about the disc is that this is the only work on it, only 23 minutes of music!, i'm sure they could have recorded something else?, but luckily i think i only paid £7 for it, the booklet / back insert are 'different' i suppose, fairly hip, maybe trying to reach a younger audience, nice colours, with Seville architecture in the background, i find it very strange that the booklet doesn't even have the name of the Composer Rodrigo on the front!.

The first movement starts with those wonderful flamenco rhythms, with the solo guitar introducing Rodrigo's most famous composition [0:00-0:25], the chattering woodwind join in, like birdsong twittering [0:26+], and then the strings mimic the opening guitar solo, restrained at first, but gaining in power and volume [0:35-1:00], a little later the the strings come back even heavier [1:12+], here's the opening gambit by Rodrigo, so in summary this whole movement is made up of mainly two elements, the flamenco rhythms, and the chattering woodwind / birdsong, a feature of the rest of the movement, it only lasts for nearly six minutes, a couple of other lovely things i notice later on, the trumpet plays a couple of little flourishes [4:23 & 4:26], sounding like guitar strumming, plus the ending is good, the high woodwind squeal out louder [5:07-5:18], and there's a muted trumpet that has a tick tock figure [5:30-5:34], the recording is reverberant, especially the guitar, but certainly not overly so, also i find Kimura slightly struggling in some of the virtuoso areas, of course he's only 19 on this recording, he's not a Julian Bream or anything, but i'm sure he will develop a maturity later in his life, but i enjoyed this Concerto today, and especially this bustling movement.

Here's John Williams playing the first movement on YouTube.

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.

Rodrigo - Concierto De Aranjuez [Yepes/ Navarro-Philharmonia Orchestra]

Here's this sunny evergreen again, this time played by Narciso Yepes, who has helped immensely in bringing this work into the public eye.

In a lot of ways the booklet picture says it all, the Royal Palace at Aranjuez, with a tree overhanging in the foreground, the Concierto was inspired by the gardens of this palace.

I cannot help being moved by the middle movement Adagio, even though the outer movements are of a very high calibre, my heart always returns to this central piece, it speaks for many people, it starts with the guitar gently strumming, and then the tune comes in with the cor anglais [0:07-0:41], the perfect instrument to evoke something long lost or far away, on this wonderful intro the guitar is able to build on with its solo appearance [0:41-1:16], however the cor anglais keeps making its presence felt [1:20-1:51], and the guitar keeps responding [1:53-2:34] the two intertwine in a touching dialogue, Rodrigo's wife Victoria revealed that this slow movement was 'an evocation of the happy days of their honeymoon', [and the sad days at the miscarriage of their first pregnancy], i don't know if Rodrigo is the guitar, and his wife the cor anglais, but it is a phenomenal duet, towards the end of the movement, the Orchestra explodes into a forte of the main tune [8:55-9:54], a hair raising moment, what a perfect middle movement.

Here's Narciso Yepes playing the Adagio on YouTube, notice the ten string guitar he plays.

Vivaldi - Guitar Concerto [Isbin/Foster-Orchestre De Chambre De Lausanne]

And finally, here's the last work on this disc i played, which i was surprisingly taken aback with, Vivaldi has written so many Concertos [roughly 500], that it's easy to get lost in the quantity, and lose the real quality of some of these pieces, he's been accused of writing the same Concerto five hundred times.

Written originally for the Lute, but i find that instrument lifeless and bland, the guitar works so much better, and Sharon Isbin's interpretation is just great.

This is the first time i've actually heard this work, and the slow movement is truly a gem, a great discovery for me, and it's a perfect companion piece to the Rodrigo works, the guitar gently picks as the strings play a soft melody [0:00-1:21], it stays slow and sweet, meanders here and there, gets more complex and less complex, goes into a short minor key episode [2:44-3:18], the ending is gentle and relaxing [4:20-5:59], very soothing, reminds me of the rain falling.

Here's Boris Bagger playing the slow movement on YouTube.

Rodrigo - Concerto De Aranjuez [Bream/ Gardiner-The Monteverdi Orchestra]

Here's Rodrigo's most famous work again, i never tire of this piece, it's gives me such a sunny feeling, and sounds so Spanish.

The Englishman Julian Bream is one of the greatest Classical Guitarist ever, having done so much to put many guitar works on the map, he is now retired from performing.

It seems that John Eliot Gardiner is out of place Conducting this work, and The Monteverdi Orchestra?, more used to playing Baroque on period instruments maybe, but the Bream / Gardiner partnership works well.

Well, what can i say?, i love that central Adagio, the Cor Anglais opens with that endearing melody [0:07-0:39], and the Guitar weaves its magic by taking up the tune [0:40-1:12], and in a touching dialogue between the two, a real sense of memory is created, the melody never leaves you, its one of those things you're glad that's stuck in your brain, Guitar and Orchestra explore all sorts of permutations of the tune, this recording was made in the seventies, but sounds digital, a wonderful experience.

Here's Bream playing this lovely adagio on YouTube, with Charles Groves conducting.

Rodrigo - Concierto De Aranjuez [Isbin/Foster-Orchestre De Chambre De Lausanne]

A wonderful interpretation of Rodrigo's Guitar Concerto by the American Guitarist Sharon Isbin.

Of course i love the slow Adagio, it feels like it's shrouded in mystery, evoking the Gardens of Aranjuez hundreds of years ago in a time long forgotten, this movement is more like a Double Concerto for Guitar & Cor Anglais, rather than a Guitar Concerto, the Cor Anglais played by Markus Haberling, is the perfect foil in a dialogue between Guitar and Orchestra, of which this Cor Anglais is the main voice in the Orchestra.

The Adagio starts with the quiet strumming of the Guitar [0:00], while the Cor Anglais plays this achingly beautiful tune [0:08-0:48], the Guitar responds by repeating the tune [0:49-1:25], again the Cor Anglais replies more impassioned [1:31-2:10], and again the Guitar matches that passion [2:13-2:55], this beginning is probably the most wonderful moment of the whole Concerto, the dialogue keeps going back and forth between Guitar and Orchestra, getting more complex, there's also a substantial virtuoso cadenza, and a satisfying coda, how can anyone resist this dreamy piece of music?, i just love the way is transports me.

Here's Sharon Isbin playing the Adagio on YouTube, not a very clear picture, though it is Sharon.

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.