Duarte: Concerto Democratico Op108; Ballade Op53; Diptych No1 Op80 : Tentos 1 Op63; Going Dutch Op36; Little Suite No1 Op68; English Suite No3 Op78; Sonatina di Primavera Op27a; Americana Op96a; Moraviana No2 Op146; TCHAIKOVSKY Three pieces from Album for the Young Op39; Four pieces from Album for the Young Op39: DELIUS : Serenade from Hassan: PRAETORIUS: Four French Dances: DUARTE: Four Elizabethan Pieces; Four Pieces from the Mulliner Book; Four French Renaissance Dances : Three French Renaissance Works; Tack fur Allt (Thanks for Everything) Two English Traditional Songs.
Quartetto Santorsola
Brilliant Classics 96443
This double album is the fourth in an ongoing set to record everything that the wonderful com poser John W. Duarte wrote for his beloved instrument. Having played what music of his was available for most of my classical guitar life, I am still in awe as to exactly how much he really did write for the guitar, because there is a vast amount I never knew about until these recordings starting coming out.One thing that any player of this man’s music will realise is just how varied his actual compositional style could be, from very tonal , to extremely dissonant and everything in between, which in itself is a fascinating thought.
The first CD consists of his original works for 4 guitars, and CD2 are the arrangements and transcriptions, and there are a massive 40 first recordings here too. So we begin with the three movement Concerto Democratico Op108, which is a lively work with lots of jazz harmonies where the four parts are equal in difficulty, hence its title, to the Ballade Op53 with a number of different sections, very varied in sound, and then to the Diptych No1 Op80 , consisting of a slow Aria, and a vibrant Toccata, all quite different in character and yet fascinating nevertheless.
The album No1 then goes to the very unusual Tentos 1 Op63, written apparently specifically to see just how experimental he could write a work for 4 guitars, and it is certainly full of unexpected sounds in every way. After that we get the five movement Going Dutch Op36 , all very short movements, and ranging from the very lyrical Windmill to the bizarre , yet fully entertaining March.The first album closes with the four movement Little Suite No1 Op68, which is a modern version of a Baroque Suite with an Anglaise, Sarabande, Bourree, and Gigue, to the 3rd English Suite Op78, works which are all written for different instrumental combinations, and is here in 3 movements Rufty Tufty, a country dance , The Crystal Spring, and finally the fast and very dance – like The Black Nag.
The second album are his arrangements and transcriptions, beginning with some of his own works, as in the Sonatina di Primavera Op276a, originally for solo guitar, but in the end considered too difficult, hence this new arrangement (even though John Williams had performed it for solo guitar) It is a lovely piece that deserves to be heard more often, with a gorgeous second movement, which is an Espressivo, being a real find. Americana Op96a is another solo work re-written for quartet, with a humorous jazz like feel to the opening Broadway , complete with sound effects mimicking car horns, amongst other things, a very bluesy spiritual feel to the wonderful second movement Work Song and Blues, which picks up its speed slightly in the middle. Hoedown is every bit as vital and lively as its name suggests. This threesome is a fabulous work, and I cannot understand why we haven’t heard it more often! Moraviana No2 Op146 is a cut down version of a longer solo work .Again this is a lovely melodic and involving set of three pieces, with a particularly humorous final movement called What is Happening Behind the Barn?
The two sets of arrangements from Tchaikovsky’s longer suite of 24 pieces called Album for the Young are every bit as fine as you might expect from Tchaikovsky!
Delius’ Hassan is one of my very favourite works and hearing this arranged for guitar is a surprise, but a wonderful one. Fabulous!
As for the rest of the album, it is made up of Baroque and Renaissance pieces, by Michael Praetorius, and items from various lute and other volumes by a number of composers, and every one of these last 20 odd items are quite short often less than a minute, but nevertheless are well worth hearing and very enjoyable .
So in essence this is a superb new addition to the Duarte legacy, and there is nothing in this collection that is second – rate, for all the tracks are fabulous, the playing is wonderful and the recording is really well balanced and nice and clear.
Chris Dumigan
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