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A Guitar for Segovia / Somoza
Brilliant Classics

A Guitar for Segovia / Somoza

$13.99

Details

Composer
CASTELNUOVO-TEDESCO PONCE
Artist
Javier Somoza
Format
CD
Discs
1
Label
Brilliant Classics
Released
Aug 18, 2017
Catalog #
BRI95487
UPC
5028421954875

About

There are two themes to this recording: the time-honored genre of the folia, and an instrument made for and played by the greatest guitarist of the 20th century, Andres Segovia. With his determination to expand the repertoire of guitar music and extend the instrument beyond its associations with his native Spain, Segovia commissioned three works played here by Javier Somoza: the Variations à travers les siècles by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Variaciones y Fuga sobre la Folia de España by Ponce and a set of Four Short Pieces by Frank Martin. Segovia eventually decided that Martin’s idiom was too dissonant for his taste and so never played them, but the pieces have since become classics of the mid-20th-century repertoire alongside works by Britten and Henze. As their titles suggest, however, the other two works have a conscious relationship with the history of the guitar and its repertoire, developed from the lute and vihuela of previous centuries. Ponce only partially fulfilled Segovia’s request for ‘a series of brilliant variations on the Folias de España theme […] in the Classical Italian style of the 18th century.’ What resulted was a monumental, thoroughly eclectic work definitely not in 18th-century style. Segovia, again, decided to adapt the piece for his own ends but Somoza has returned to the original. Meanwhile Castelnuovo-Tedesco, in his first work for the guitar, also consciously embraced eclecticism in a series of different idioms: a stylized chaconne reminiscent of early music; a free variation, a waltz, and a foxtrot. There is one more modern work on the album – the dazzling Tiento by Maurice Ohana that also looks back to 18th-century Spanish idiom – which functions as a pivot between the ages. Two examples of the folia theme-and-variation form by Santiago de Murcia date from roughly 1730; and to open, Somoza travels back in time to the tientos of 16th-century Spain with three brief works by Alonso Mudarra. ‘A Guitar for Segovia’ is both an absorbing journey through the history of guitar music and an important record of a Segovia instrument: a significant addition to the expansive library of guitar music on Brilliant Classics.

Tracklist 13 tracks

  1. 1 3 Libros de musica en cifras para vihuela, Book 1: Pavana 01:59
    Track
    1
    Title
    3 Libros de musica en cifras para vihuela, Book 1: Pavana
    Duration
    01:59
    Composer
    Alonso Mudarra
    Performer
    Javier Somoza
  2. 2 3 Libros de musica en cifras para vihuela, Book 2: No. 26. Kyrie primero, de la Missa de "Beata Virgin" (after Josquin des Prez) 03:26
    Track
    2
    Title
    3 Libros de musica en cifras para vihuela, Book 2: No. 26. Kyrie primero, de la Missa de "Beata Virgin" (after Josquin des Prez)
    Duration
    03:26
    Composer
    Alonso Mudarra
    Performer
    Javier Somoza
  3. 3 3 Libros de musica en cifras para vihuela, Book 1: Fantasia que contrahaze la harpa en la manera de Ludovico 02:45
    Track
    3
    Title
    3 Libros de musica en cifras para vihuela, Book 1: Fantasia que contrahaze la harpa en la manera de Ludovico
    Duration
    02:45
    Composer
    Alonso Mudarra
    Performer
    Javier Somoza
  4. 4 Folias Italianas 08:42
    Track
    4
    Title
    Folias Italianas
    Duration
    08:42
    Composer
    Santiago de Murcia
    Performer
    Javier Somoza
  5. 5 Folias Españolas 03:05
    Track
    5
    Title
    Folias Españolas
    Duration
    03:05
    Composer
    Santiago de Murcia
    Performer
    Javier Somoza
  6. 6 Tiento 04:38
    Track
    6
    Title
    Tiento
    Duration
    04:38
    Composer
    Maurice Ohana
    Performer
    Javier Somoza
  7. 7 Variazioni attraverso i secoli, Op. 71 09:31
    Track
    7
    Title
    Variazioni attraverso i secoli, Op. 71
    Duration
    09:31
    Composer
    Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco
    Performer
    Javier Somoza
  8. 8 Theme - Variations 21:12
    Track
    8
    Title
    Theme - Variations
    Duration
    21:12
    Composer
    Manuel María Ponce
    Performer
    Javier Somoza
  9. 9 Fuga: Moderato 03:38
    Track
    9
    Title
    Fuga: Moderato
    Duration
    03:38
    Composer
    Manuel María Ponce
    Performer
    Javier Somoza
  10. 10 No. 1. Prelude 02:44
    Track
    10
    Title
    No. 1. Prelude
    Duration
    02:44
    Composer
    Frank Martin
    Performer
    Javier Somoza
  11. 11 No. 2. Air 01:54
    Track
    11
    Title
    No. 2. Air
    Duration
    01:54
    Composer
    Frank Martin
    Performer
    Javier Somoza
  12. 12 No. 3. Plainte 02:52
    Track
    12
    Title
    No. 3. Plainte
    Duration
    02:52
    Composer
    Frank Martin
    Performer
    Javier Somoza
  13. 13 No. 4. Comme une gigue 02:13
    Track
    13
    Title
    No. 4. Comme une gigue
    Duration
    02:13
    Composer
    Frank Martin
    Performer
    Javier Somoza