DOMENICONI : Koyunbaba: YOCOH : Sakura: BROUWER: Elogio de la Danza: MOREL: Danza Brasilera: DUARTE: Sua Cosa Op52: R.SAINZ DE LA MAZA: Rondena: DYENS: Libra Sonatine
Katharina Godolt
KSG Publishing : 67039
German guitarist/composer Katharina Godolt has here produced a recording with seven of our greatest composers on it, and not only that seven of their most famous works to boot! Of course none of these pieces are going to be new to many of you, but in the end it comes down to the musicianship and that is frankly wonderful from start to finish.
Carlo Domeniconi’s four movement suite Koyunbaba is one of those pieces that from the day it surfaced, it became well- known and often played. One reason for its popularity was its unusual tuning of a C#m chord, which to my knowledge had never been attempted before on a classical guitar. The unusual tuning meant that the piece could, and did, have all manner of different sounds that simply could not have been conveyed using ordinary tuning. The four movements of Moderato, Mosso, Cantabile, and Presto offer a considerable challenge to any players, and Katharina makes a superb job of it. A good start!
Yuquijiro Yocoh’s version of the traditional Japanese melody Sakura (Cherry Blossoms) really brought Japanese guitar music to the fore, when it first came out .The endearing quality of the melody ( a pentatonic tune ) and its harmonies made it a popular piece from the outset and our guitarist brings out the piece’s beauties.
Leo Brouwer’s Elogio de la Danza, like all his guitar works is a wonderful example of modern guitar music at its very best. He is never afraid to put in some sharp dissonances along the way but they are always for a reason. Elogio de La Danza’s two movements, Lento and Obstinato are superbly played and Katharina manages to highlight all the important parts of the piece with great results.
Jorge Morel is another great contemporary player composer whose works are many, varied and always beautiful to play, even if they are hardly ever very easy! Danza Brasilera is perhaps his best known piece .Its Samba tempo and feel and very memorable melody make it one of those pieces that most good players would have tried at one time or another, especially if they had (as I have) the Ashley Mark Publishing books of his music, from the early 80s.Of course Katharina makes a fine job of this great piece.
John W. Duarte, another giant of the guitar of the 20th Century wrote so many very varied works in a number of different styles that several can be quite a surprise when you first come across them. He wrote such a vast amount that even now, several years after his death many new works are still being published! This work, composed as a tribute to the jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery, uses in several places one of his often used devices, the melody in octaves. The music is superbly handled and our guitarist shows what a fine work this is, and that it should be played even more often than it is.
Regino Sainz de la Maza, and his brother Eduardo wrote some of the most beautiful and different sounding music that has always been some of my favourite items in my vast collection. The Rondena of brother Regino is very Spanish sounding but with many very clever touches of harmony and melody along its path that makes his music stand out from other writers. (His brother’s music is less Spanish, and has more than a hint of Debussyan impressionism for much of the time).Another fine performance, beautifully recorded
The final work by that much missed master of the guitar Roland Dyens, his Libra Sonatine is set in three movements, India, Largo, and a final Fuoco. All three are in Dyen’s inimitable and highly original style and it makes a fine finale to this beautifully played and recorded CD of some of the finest pieces from the last century, written by some of the greatest composers for the guitar of the last hundred or so years. Of course they have all been recorded a number of times before but if you find yourself without a recording of many of these pieces, you won’t be disappointed by either their content, or the remarkable playing of Katharina Godolt
Chris Dumigan
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