This recording contains guitar music by five Spanish composers of the 19th & 20th centuries, as well as one important Venezuelan master of today. The...

This recording contains guitar music by five Spanish composers of the 19th & 20th centuries, as well as one important Venezuelan master of today. The starting point for our attention here is the work of the Spanish composer, guitarist and guitar teacher Francisco Tárrega (1852-1909), whose "school" influenced numerous Spanish composers who, like Tárrega himself, saw the guitar as Spain's national instrument.

The 19th century was a time when large concert halls were being constructed, something which, as the guitar began to enjoy increasing popularity, became rather problematic for guitarists, particularly as far as the acoustics were concerned. It was the Spanish guitar maker Antonio Torres (1817-1892) who, basing his designs on those of previous guitar makers, combined with the most up-to-date research into acoustics, developed larger instruments, something which Tárrega found vitally interesting, so much so that he developed a new playing technique. Through the evolution of his style of legato fretting and his own particular perception of the diverse timbral possibilities of the guitar, Tárrega created sounds that virtually made the instrument sing.