Villa-Lobos - 12 Guitar Etudes [Fernandez]
Villa-Lobos isn't a regular in my Blog, and this is only his second entry, but his Guitar Preludes / Etudes really are compelling, i've got a thing about Classical Guitar miniatures, the guitar is such an expressive instrument, and all sorts of 'un'famous Composers can become very skilled in creating a miniature, these 12 Etudes pan out to 32 minutes of music, the shortest is 1:24, and the longest is 4:19, and there's a real tremendous variety, and i find it extremely rewarding getting to know each one individually, the only other Blog entry for Villa-Lobos was a recital by Julian Bream, where i also was transfixed by these Etudes [7th March 2012].
Eduardo Fernandez is Uruguayan, he's now 60, he recorded this disc back in 1985, the front cover is Artwork by John Clementson, showing a crazy picture of a guitar, with lizards and snakes, very colourful in its reds and blues, with equally creative lettering, i actually really like it.
The three Etudes i liked the best were 4 & 11-12, and here's a synopsis of each,
Etude 4 [4:19] - The longest Etude of all [just], and a study in rhythm, very flamenco in the way the strings are Strummed, the volume comes in waves, also the intensity too, there's this wonderful use of a bass note at a lovely penultimate moment throughout, in some ways it may outstay its welcome because of the repetition and the length, but there are subtle changes throughout, repays repeated listening.
Etude 11 [4:10] - At first sounding as if it's going to be a slow study, but actually it's only the long intro [0:00-0:51], it then becomes a highly virtuosic vehicle [0:57+], lots of sour strums interspersed with a pulsating a rhythm, but just when you think these will be the only two elements to the whole piece, a third even more intense harder rhythm comes in [1:48-2:25], and most musically satisfying it changes back to the second subject again [2:25+], it's the pieces wonderful ability to defy what you expect it would / should that makes it an exciting joy to listen to, and surprisingly again we come full circle as the whole piece ends where it started [2:55+], making the whole thing into a great symmetry, my favourite Etude from Villa-Lobos.
Etude 12 [2:14] - The final piece is really is a showstopper, a great finale if you like, played very frantically, and its intensity comes from its speed, real twangings here [0:00-0:43], lots of travelling up and down the fret, superb virtuosity from Fernandez, i like the close repetitive notes in the middle of the piece [0:42-1:17], the beginning returns as a nice A-B-A structure [1:18+], and right at the end there's a nice final flourish as a 'cherry on the top' of the whole piece / work! [1:57-2:07].
Eduardo Fernandez is Uruguayan, he's now 60, he recorded this disc back in 1985, the front cover is Artwork by John Clementson, showing a crazy picture of a guitar, with lizards and snakes, very colourful in its reds and blues, with equally creative lettering, i actually really like it.
The three Etudes i liked the best were 4 & 11-12, and here's a synopsis of each,
Etude 4 [4:19] - The longest Etude of all [just], and a study in rhythm, very flamenco in the way the strings are Strummed, the volume comes in waves, also the intensity too, there's this wonderful use of a bass note at a lovely penultimate moment throughout, in some ways it may outstay its welcome because of the repetition and the length, but there are subtle changes throughout, repays repeated listening.
Etude 11 [4:10] - At first sounding as if it's going to be a slow study, but actually it's only the long intro [0:00-0:51], it then becomes a highly virtuosic vehicle [0:57+], lots of sour strums interspersed with a pulsating a rhythm, but just when you think these will be the only two elements to the whole piece, a third even more intense harder rhythm comes in [1:48-2:25], and most musically satisfying it changes back to the second subject again [2:25+], it's the pieces wonderful ability to defy what you expect it would / should that makes it an exciting joy to listen to, and surprisingly again we come full circle as the whole piece ends where it started [2:55+], making the whole thing into a great symmetry, my favourite Etude from Villa-Lobos.
Etude 12 [2:14] - The final piece is really is a showstopper, a great finale if you like, played very frantically, and its intensity comes from its speed, real twangings here [0:00-0:43], lots of travelling up and down the fret, superb virtuosity from Fernandez, i like the close repetitive notes in the middle of the piece [0:42-1:17], the beginning returns as a nice A-B-A structure [1:18+], and right at the end there's a nice final flourish as a 'cherry on the top' of the whole piece / work! [1:57-2:07].
