Release Date: 03 January 2001
Label: Naxos / Naxos Classics
Packaging Type: Jewel Case
No of Units: 1
Barcode: 636943455821
Genres: Classical
Composer/Series: BARRIOS MANGORE
Description
Agustin Barrios(1885-1944)Guitar music, Vol. 1Agustin Pio Barrios Mangore was born in southern Paraguay on 5th May,1885, and died on 7th August, 1944, in San Salvador, El Salvador. Many considerBarrios to be the greatest guitarist composer of all time. In view of thisfact, it is curious that his music lay undiscovered and unappreciated for overthree decades after his death. In the mid-1970s comprehensive editions of hismusic appeared, making it possible for guitarists of Antigoni Goni's generationto include in their study the music of Barrios, augmenting and complementingmore traditional repertoire by Sor, Giuliani, Carcassi, Tarrega and VillaLobos. The revival began in 1977 when John Williams released an entirerecording of music by Barrios which focused a long overdue recognition on thisforgotten Latin American guitarist. Today Barrios' music is frequentlyperformed by major concert artists and is appreciated by audiences world wide.Young Barrios never studied in a formal music conservatory, andcompleted only two years of high school. He made his living from performing,and had no other professional skills in any other pursuit except playing theguitar and composing music. Performing according to a life-style which requiredhim to travel constantly, Barrios never really settled down in one particularcountry. He lived extended periods of time in Brazil (1915-1919), Uruguay(1912-1915, 1919-1927) and El Salvador (1939-1944). In none of these places didhe establish a conservatory nor did he pursue the systematic publication of hismusic. He escaped from Latin America only once, in 1934, when he visitedEurope, staying just fifteen months, but his lifelong goal of reaching theUnited States never came to fruition.Barrios unfortunately never received the recognition and materialsuccess that his talent merited. Thus it is particularly fitting that his musicbe featured in a number of Naxos recordings. The initial volume offered here byAntigoni Goni begins with Maxixe, an urban dance from Brazil. Barrioshimself recorded this work in 1929 but he did not perform it in concert to anygreat degree. A virtuoso display of both technical prowess and compositionalskill, Maxixe is one of Barrios' greatest works in the genre of musicinspired by folk tradition.The lively Maxixe is followed by the majestic tremolo piece Unsueno en la floresta, perhaps the most difficult and complex tremolo pieceever conceived for the guitar. The extremely romantic flavour and soaringmelody belie the fact that the technical work required here is formidable,requiring extended left-hand stretches, long musical phrases, intricateindependent movement of voices, a virtuosic cadenza and even a high C thatrequires a twentieth fret on the traditional nineteen-fret classic guitar.(Barrios had the Brazilian luthier Romeo DiGiorgio make him a specialinstrument with twenty frets). Un sueno en la floresta elevates thetechnique of tremolo to a new level, carrying it well beyond the earlierFrancisco Tarreg
Tracklisting
Dariia Lytvishko
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra; Marin Alsop
Alice Di Piazza; Basel Sinfonietta; NDR Bigband; Titus Engel
Anna Alas i Jove; Miquel Villalba
David Childs; Black Dyke Band; Nicholas Childs
Yaqi Yang; Margarita Parsamyan; Robynne Redmon; Minghao Liu; Frank Ragsdale; Kim Josephson; Kevin S
Vilmos Csikos; Olivier Lechardeur; Manon Lamaison
Tomas Cotik; Martingale Ensemble; Ken Selden
