Guitar CDs

[Guest]

Inspired by Sir Velo, I've thrown together a must-have cross section of guitar CDs. It is not intended to be exhaustive, but indicative of the directions in which the repertoire and performing styles have diversified. Bream holds his own, indeed still reigns supreme, along with Williams in his very different way. Segovia is well represented on You Tube, especially in those clips from the Nupen film, I would not recommend any Segovia CDs these days. Some of the instruments are particularly interesting, I've indicated those. If people want individual disc no's, feel free to PM me.

Luis de Narvaez, Musica del Delphin (16th century Spanish guitar music) - Pablo Márquez, ECM

Gaspar Sanz La Preciosa (17th Century Spanish) - Gordon Ferries, Delphian Records

JS Bach - Chaconne, Partita BVW 1006A, Prelude Fugue and Allegro BVW 998 - Julian Bream, EMI (one of Bream's last 4 CDs, played on the legendary Rose Augustin Hauser)

Baroque Guitar Recital RCA, Julian Bream

Fernando Sor Early Works (played without nails on repro 19thC guitar) - William Carter, LINN

Miguel Llobet "Respuesta" - Complete music for Guitar, Stefano Grondona, Stradivarius CDs (played on an 1887 Torres guitar, with gut and silk strings)

Villa Lobos Complete Music for Guitar - Norbert Kraft, Naxos

Julian Bream Plays Granados and Albeniz (Music of Spain, RCA, RCD 14378 - may have been repackaged)

John Williams - The Seville Concert (JW's discography much repackaged)

John Williams - El Diablo Suelto (Venezuelan composers), Sony

Julian Bream - 20th Century Guitar - his famous RCA disc inc Britten Nocturnal, Henze, Martin etc.)

Rodrigo/Arnold/Takemitsu concertos ("To the Edge of Dream") - Bream/Rattle/CBSO EMI (or Bream/JEG...)

British Guitar Music (Walton Bagatelles, Maxwell Davies, Rawsthorne, Berkeley, Richard Rodney Bennett) - Graham Anthony Devine, Naxos (played on 1965 Hernandez y Aguado guitar - lovely)

The Romantic Guitar - guitar duets played by Ida Presti and Alexandre Lagoya, Belart 450 46-2

(failing that, or as well as, Bream/Williams, "Together")

Paco Peña A Flamenco Guitar Recital (live at Wigmore Hall) - 40th anniversary. Wigmore Live.

[verismissimo]

So Summer stretches into Autumn. Lovely day. Picked brambles. Enough to see us through the Winter.

[Richard Tarleton]

As I said here, I realise it's a bit late. But no need to be quite so dismissive

[verismissimo]

As I said here, I realise it's a bit late. But no need to be quite so dismissive

Didn't mean to be dismissive, RT. Great list, none of which I have.

[Sir Velo]

A very fine list, RT, to which I must add William Carter's conspectus of the works of Corbetta, also available on Linn.

Bream's own recent collection, "My Favourite Albums" on 10CDs (RCA) is recommendable, bringing together the great guitarist's own ten favourite albums. However, a note of warning: the live double LP "Together Live" duet with John Williams, only gives in effect the first two sides; unaccountably missing off sides 3 and 4, which would have comfortably fitted onto a single CD. The original booklet notes are reproduced, as are the LP covers, but have been so reduced in size that one's eyesight is at risk struggling to read some of them!

[Richard Tarleton]

Yes I don't know what happened with Bream and RCA, a relationship that lasted at least 45 years. The CD issue of his 1965 "Baroque Guitar" LP has as its cover illustration the nut and first fret of a steel stringed acoustic guitar with a plectrum tucked under the strings, a solecism that would have been grounds for divorce in itself. Anyway, his last glorious recorded swan song (1993-5) was four CDs on EMI.

Agreed re Carter....there's also his Santiago de Murcia baroque guitar CD on LINN......

[johnb]

Bream's own recent collection, "My Favourite Albums" on 10CDs (RCA) is recommendable, bringing together the great guitarist's own ten favourite albums.

As has been commented on previously, there is also the tempting new 42 disc boxed set from RCA:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Julian-Bream/dp/B00BCCEBRI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1380448729&sr=8-1&keywords=julian+bream